WINE TODAY

The last century has consolidated the impact of developments in the scientific, technological and transport worlds. Discoveries of the scientific basis for malolactic fermentation and for keeping oxygen away from wine have altered what we drink--as has the fact that Jacob's Creek Chardonnay can be shipped from Australia to the UK for less than 10p per bottle (US15¢). Perhaps the main change since the Second World War, however, has been in consumption practice. Mediterranean countries have traditionally consumed a lot of wine, but in England wine was considered a drink for the aristocrats, in Australia for alcoholics and in the US it had been banned under prohibition. However, the impact of war (during which many young men were introduced to wine), along with growing disposable income and the rapid development of technology (making cheap but fruity wine commonplace), all spread wine drinking. In the last decade, this has extended to include Japan, China and Southeast Asia. It is now normal for shoppers in a UK supermarket to pick up a bottle to drink with their evening meal-something their parents would never have done. The spread of wine consumption has spawned an industry of education in the subject. Writers like Hugh Johnson are owed a large debt by the wine industry for making this product so well understood

WHY DO WE DRINK WINE?
Technically, alcohol is a depressant, acting on the nervous system in a similar way to some tranquilizers, and in moderate amounts creating a feeling of contentment and cheerfulness. But alcohol is also found-in stronger form-in spirits. So why do we not drink spirits exclusively?

Because there are other reasons for drinking wine-magic, for example. In earlier times people did not understand the process of fermentation, and believed that when they drank wine, gods had taken over their bodies. The relationship between wine and ritual continues in the communion service of the Christian Church today.

Another reason was that wine was safer to drink than water. Until the development of pure water supplies 160 years ago, water carried all kinds of bacteria, causing dysentery, cholera and typhoid. The alcohol content of wine, however, sustains very few bacteria and none of them are harmful. So wine became the safe drink of choice in the Mediterranean countries, just as beer was in northern Europe.

As wine became the daily drink, a natural relationship grew between wine and different styles of food. In Spain, for instance, inland regions make full-bodied red wines to go with their heavy food, which is often based on lamb. Their white wines-rioja is a good example-are traditionally also full-bodied to match the fleshy river fish of the central areas. Coastal regions produce lighter wines. The crisp, fresh, albarinio-based wines of Galicia in the northwest and the sparkling cava of Catalonia are classic examples which marry better with the seafood or shellfish of those areas.

We cannot avoid mentioning the relationship of wine to status. There has been a tension throughout history between wine as an elite beverage and wine for consumption by the masses. In ancient Egypt, wine tended to be the preserve of the rich. In Greece, it was everyone's everyday drink, From the eighteenth century on in the United Kingdom-later in other northern European and English-speaking countries-wine was associated with the moneyed classes, while even the peasants drank it daily in southern countries. For the former it became associated with pretension and snobbery, giving rise to ideas of connoisseurship and "tasting"-concepts that would have been completely alien to most of the world's wine drinkers.

CULTURAL TASTES
National tastes vary, and there are even different cultural tastes within the same country. The volume of wine consumed also varies between countries; but these consumption patterns are subject to change. Since the mid-1980s, it has been clear that there is a process of "convergence," with respect to alcohol consumption, between different cultures. It has been found, for example, that beer drinkers have the occasional bottle of wine, confirmed wine-lovers take a beer now and then, both sometimes try spirits and spirit drinkers themselves may indulge in both wine and beer.

The chart detailing consumption trends in three different countries shows that, in a typical southern European wine-producing country such as Portugal, consumption has halved over about 35 years. In Germany, on the other hand, a country which makes and imports wine, there has been a steady growth in the amount drunk. From the small base in the United Kingdom, there has been rapid growth, particularly in the last ten years. Worldwide, in the long term, if markets in China and the United States grow, then overall consumption may increase. In the countries of Southeast Asia recently there has been a dramatic increase in the consumption of red wine.

Tastes in wine vary considerably. As a rule, Germans like their white wine light and slightly sweet. Italians enjoy their whites dry and rather neutral, to match but not dominate their food. Traditionally, the Portuguese and some eastern Europeans prefer their whites heavy and oxidized. Australians like very fruity wines, while the French opt for some restraint. All of this is good news for wine lovers, for it means there are many types of wine to explore and, for each style you dislike, there will be many others you will appreciate.

Winemakers are catering for different national tastes. An Australian producer of a large-consumption branded chardonnay can adjust the residual sugar levels in the drink so that it is comparatively sweet for the Japanese market, has some noticeable softness for the domestic or Scandinavian market, rather less for the United States and is fairly dry for the UK market.