OTL / WINE
The Importance of European Wine STORY BY TONY SCHLOTZHAUER hen it comes to ideology, religion, politics, etc., the world has always been di vided for the most part. It’s inevitable, we’re only human, and some things are so rooted in passionate disagreement, that it’s impossible to find common ground on. If there are a few things that subscribe to history, culture and artistry that everyone can agree on and share, it’s food and wine. The “golden rule” that has always served me so well when human connection is involved, is that, when at the dinner table, don’t discuss politics or religion. It’s the fastest way for a carefully prepared meal to take a bad turn. We do ourselves justice by focusing on those things that bring us together in the first place, and those things we have in common. This sentiment is one that should carry over into more facets of daily life than solely just the dinner table. How is it possible that there are people who can’t appreciate the few things that connect us as humans? Wine has been a cornerstone of so many uniting events in history, that the history of wine itself should be something we ought to think about. Especially since the development of the American wine industry was so strongly influenced by the European influx and influence. Keep in mind that the Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776 over a bottle of Madeira wine, a favorite of George Washington, who was reputed to drink a bottle of it each day. Also, Thomas Jefferson was the first, and possibly greatest wine collector in America who regularly had bottles imported from his favorite wine regions of France and Italy. The Old World Even though we know that wine predates written records, the oldest evidence of wine
60
FEBRUARY / MARCH 2020
was traced back to Georgia from as early as 6000 BC where they would age in qvevri, or clay, beeswax lined vessels called amphorae (often still used in Georgia). It was also traced back to Greece (4500 BC) and Sicily (4000 BC). Then Armenia from 4100 BC, where the first evidence of a winery was discovered. Almost all of these wines were used for religious purposes due to its consciousness-altering properties. Civilizations such as Greece and Italy worshipped Bacchus and Dionysus as cult figures. Some early records suggest that wine was also used medicinally in some eastern regions in the Golden Age, due to Islam’s forbidding the consumption of alcohol. During the 780-725 BC, the Muslims and Phoenicians were instrumental in spreading viticulture to the Mediterranean. In the first few centuries AD through the 15th century, with the expansion and industrialization of Europe, wine consumption and production grew like wildfire. The Romans and Greeks started to spread viticulture into France, which they knew as Gaul, and encouraged the planting of vines in Bordeaux, Burgundy, Alsace, Loire, Champagne, Languedoc and the Rhone Valley. After the fall of the Roman Empire, wine was flourishing in the south of France and largely seen as a status symbol by those in the north. The church, who was using wine as a sacrament in the Eucharist, was a massive influencer in helping the wine industry survive, even though it was often used in Pagan rituals, as well. In 1152, Eleanor of Acquitaine (Bordeaux) married the future Henry II of England, and a beautiful trade relationship was born. The Dutch wine traders soon followed suit and the export market was in bloom. The 19th century brought boom and bust to the wine industry of France. While the trade market with England had brought a golden
