How wine made the modern world

Max Mitchell: Welcome to the EI Podcast. I’m Max Mitchell, Podcast Editor here at Engelsberg Ideas. Today I’m joined by the historian Kathleen Burk. Welcome, Kathleen.

Kathleen Burk: Many thanks.

Max Mitchell: Kathleen is Professor Emerita of Modern History at University College London, but she’s also a much-respected wine critic and wine lover. She’s here to talk about her new book, Wine: A Global History. Wine is not your day job, so tell our listeners how you came to love wine and how it became such a big part of your life.

Kathleen Burk: I grew up with it. I grew up on a grape farm in California, where I picked grapes, tied vines, drove tractors, and helped on the family farm. Later, while I was at Berkeley, I had a boyfriend with a 750cc motorcycle who drove me around Napa. He drove, and I drank – I hadn’t yet discovered the concept of spitting wine out. Oxford was where I really began learning about European wines and had my first experience of proper wine tasting. My husband and I drank a lot of different wines and bought many different bottles. By the late 1990s, I wanted to understand why wine was good beyond simply liking it, so I took the wine trade exams. After that, people began asking me to judge wines and write about them. Since around 2000, I’ve been writing substantial articles for an excellent wine magazine, The World of Fine Wine. I continue to share wine, drink it, talk about it, and write about it. I wouldn’t say it has taken over my life, but it’s certainly quite different from Anglo-American relations, which was my main field of study.

Max Mitchell: Quite a change of tone from the history of diplomacy and the Special Relationship. The book is wonderful, and it really is a global journey through the history of wine across time and space. What is the earliest archaeological evidence we have for a wine-drinking culture?

Kathleen Burk: It depends on what you mean by ‘culture’, of course. The earliest evidence we have dates to about 8000 BC. Wine wasn’t invented – it was discovered. We don’t know exactly how. It was probably connected with religion from the beginning because people must have wondered how this bubbling liquid came into being and why drinking too much of it made you fall over and wake up with headaches and nausea. Wine also became an early form of medicine. Our understanding of these early periods comes almost entirely from archaeology. Without it, we wouldn’t know about wine, or many other aspects of human life, before the invention of writing.

Archaeologists painstakingly excavate sites, reconstruct broken amphorae used for making, storing, and transporting wine, and analyse the residues inside them. They discovered tartaric acid preserved in the vessels, which became the fingerprint for identifying ancient wine. That’s how we’ve been able to trace its earliest development.

Max Mitchell: Another important archaeological discovery is that the modern wine grape is quite different from its wild ancestor before domestication. You write that the modern vine is hermaphroditic and doesn’t require insects to pollinate it. How did people discover that they needed to change the grape in this way?

Kathleen Burk: That’s right. Originally there were separate male and female grapevines. Somehow, whether through people or simply through bees, they crossbred. The resulting vine became hermaphroditic, allowing it to produce grapes reliably. Once that happened, people could harvest the fruit, extract the juice, and make wine. So archaeology tells us part of the story, but bees probably deserve some of the credit too. That’s really what domestication means in this case: bringing the two types together to create the grapevine we still use today. At this stage we’re talking about the Caucasus, especially Georgia, where the earliest archaeological evidence for wine has been found. People tested the residues, worked out what they were, discovered that the drink tasted good, and from there wine gradually developed.

Max Mitchell: What role did the Canaanites and the Phoenicians play in the spread of wine culture across the Mediterranean?

Kathleen Burk: The Canaanites are some of my heroes. The land of Canaan included what is now Lebanon, Israel, and parts of Syria. The Canaanites lived mainly along the coast, close to the Bekaa Valley in Lebanon, which remains one of the great wine-producing regions today. The Egyptian pharaohs prized the cedars of Lebanon for building, so the Canaanites filled their ships with cedar wood. Alongside it, they would carry amphorae of wine and the equipment needed to serve it: a cup, a ladle, a strainer, and so forth. These made impressive gifts for kings and pharaohs, who soon wanted to produce wine themselves. Naturally, they turned to the Canaanites for advice.

The same thing happened in Crete and Cyprus. Over time, the Phoenicians emerged from the same region – they weren’t invaders but developed out of the Canaanite culture – and they continued expanding the wine trade across the Mediterranean, eventually reaching Spain. One of their great achievements was founding Carthage in what is now Tunisia. Carthage planted extensive vineyards and exported wine to places such as Etruscan Italy, now Tuscany. The Greeks then entered the trade and competed with the Phoenicians, before the Romans eventually supplanted the Greeks. That’s how the story continued.

Max Mitchell: What kind of wine were people drinking in the ancient world? What would it have tasted like? Was it very different from the wine we drink today?

Kathleen Burk: It wasn’t so different from the sweet wines we still drink today. Until about the seventeenth century, almost all wine was sweet. The Greeks loved sweet wine. Remember, there was very little sugar available apart from honey, so wealthy people got much of their sweetness from wine. Sweet wine also keeps well because the sugar acts as a preservative. Even today, a bottle of Sauternes or another sweet wine will last much longer after opening than a dry wine. For most people, however, wine wasn’t simply a luxury. It was safer than water, provided calories, and formed a basic part of the diet. Bread and wine were more than just a religious symbol, they were everyday sustenance. Throughout Europe, wine was an essential part of life.

Max Mitchell: You devote chapters to both the Greeks and the Romans. How did they approach wine differently?

Kathleen Burk: In Greece there were really three different drinking cultures. Elite men gathered at symposia, where they drank fine wine and discussed philosophy, politics, and sex. Plato presents a rather polished version of these occasions.
Poorer people drank in taverns, where they could buy inexpensive wine, eat, and drink to excess if they wished. Women, however, were generally forbidden to drink wine. It was believed that wine would inflame women’s naturally passionate nature, and men feared what their wives might do if they drank. In extreme cases, if a husband discovered his wife drinking and killed her, society regarded it as justified.

Rome was very different. Women attended dinner parties alongside men and drank wine themselves. Roman society was generally much more relaxed about wine and its place in everyday life. Everyone drank it. For poorer people it supplied calories and was thought to have medicinal qualities. For the wealthy it was also a source of pleasure, and pleasure itself was celebrated throughout the Roman world.

Max Mitchell: Christopher Nolan’s adaptation of The Odyssey is currently in cinemas, and everyone seems to be talking about it. One of the famous scenes is when Odysseus gets the Cyclops drunk on sweet wine before blinding him. What sort of wine would that have been?

Kathleen Burk: It would have been a dark red, very sweet, highly alcoholic wine. Most people diluted their wine with water. The Greeks generally diluted it very heavily – sometimes as much as twenty parts water to one part wine – because the wine itself was extremely strong. The Romans also diluted their wine, but much less, perhaps three parts water to two parts wine. They were far more relaxed about drinking. The famous wines of places such as Lesbos and Crete were all sweet. Dry wine simply wasn’t popular then. That’s a much later development.

Max Mitchell: One of the great turning points in the history of wine is the fall of the Roman Empire. You write that vineyards require political stability and secure trade routes. What happened to wine after Rome collapsed?

Kathleen Burk: Mediterranean wine trade declined dramatically because piracy made sea travel dangerous. Transport by land was possible but much more difficult. Wine itself didn’t disappear, but vineyards became less widespread. The various so-called barbarian peoples who conquered parts of the Roman Empire generally preferred beer. They either neglected vineyards or destroyed them. Things changed under Charlemagne, later Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. He was an exceptionally organised ruler who issued detailed instructions on everything from cleanliness to farming. He expected wine as part of the produce owed to him, but more importantly, his reign brought a long period of relative peace. That stability encouraged people to plant vineyards once again.

Much of what is now Germany formed part of Charlemagne’s empire, and as a devout Christian he encouraged monasteries to spread along the Rhine. These monasteries needed wine for the liturgy and were expected to provide hospitality to travellers, who also expected wine. As a result, viticulture expanded through Germany and eventually into places such as Poland. Much of that revival can be traced back to Charlemagne’s policies and his encouragement of monastic wine production.

Max Mitchell: You write that pilgrimage played a major role in the revival of wine during the Middle Ages, as did the Crusades and the need to supply soldiers with wine. Could you tell us more about the role religious orders played?

Kathleen Burk: Monasteries were already widespread across Europe. Within a generation of their foundation, for example, there were around 400 Cistercian monasteries. Religious communities were everywhere. As travel gradually became safer, people began making pilgrimages. We all know The Canterbury Tales, which follows pilgrims travelling to the shrine of Thomas Becket at Canterbury Cathedral. Many others journeyed to the Holy Land.

Wherever pilgrims travelled, they drank wine. That encouraged renewed wine production throughout Europe. Monasteries along the pilgrimage routes provided food, shelter, and wine to travellers. The Crusaders also required wine, both because it was safer than water and because it was thought to give strength and courage. Monastic communities planted vineyards wherever they settled, particularly in the Holy Land and along major routes. The combination of pilgrimage and the Crusades created enormous demand for wine and turned it into a thriving commercial enterprise.

Max Mitchell: Speaking of the courage soldiers gained from wine, we still have the expression ‘Dutch courage’. The Dutch also played a fascinating role in the history of wine. After the Venetians and Genoese had dominated Mediterranean trade, how did this small, swampy country on the North Sea come to dominate the wine trade?

Kathleen Burk: For one thing, the Dutch possessed the largest merchant fleet in the world. Their ships sailed around southern Africa to the Dutch East Indies, making them some of the greatest traders of the early modern period. Wine became one of their principal commodities. They also made a remarkable contribution by draining marshland around Bordeaux. That transformed one of the world’s greatest wine-producing regions.The Dutch also wanted more white wine for their own taverns, so they encouraged production in regions such as the Loire Valley and Sauternes. They discovered these wines, promoted them, and built thriving export markets. They also played an important political role. Britain and France spent much of the eighteenth century at war, and the Dutch frequently smuggled French wine into Britain. For roughly three centuries, they drove both the wine trade and the development of new wine-producing regions.

Max Mitchell: During this period, we also begin to see a change in the style of wine. Wines become lighter and clearer – the kind that came to be known as claret – instead of the thick, sweet wines people had traditionally drunk. How did that change come about?

Kathleen Burk: It was closely connected to England’s control of parts of Aquitaine and Gascony during the Hundred Years’ War. The wines produced there were light red wines, which the English called claret because of their clarity. The English developed a taste for these lighter, drier wines. They were also the wines most readily available from territories under English control. Over time, English tastes influenced the wider wine world. By this period, the English had developed a reputation for having some of the finest palates in Europe. Even today, Britain remains one of the world’s most knowledgeable and adventurous wine markets. Wine producers from around the world still bring their wines to London, hoping to establish themselves there first. Success in the British market often leads to success elsewhere. The English tradition of appreciating and evaluating wine has very deep roots.

Max Mitchell: Moving beyond Europe, one of the most interesting chapters in the book explores Islam and its complicated relationship with wine. What was wine culture like in pre-Islamic Arabia?

Kathleen Burk: Before Islam, wine was widely consumed throughout Arabia for the same reasons it was elsewhere. It was a normal part of daily life, and Arabic poetry often celebrated wine. When Muhammad established Islam in Mecca and Medina, the question arose whether wine should continue to be permitted. It was eventually prohibited, largely because drunkenness was considered incompatible with the kind of life that Allah intended. In practice, however, the situation remained complicated for centuries. While ordinary people were discouraged – or forbidden – from drinking, many rulers continued to enjoy wine themselves. The prohibition was never applied consistently.

One aspect I find especially interesting is the tradition of wine poetry. Omar Khayyam is the best-known example. Because direct praise of wine could be dangerous, poets often used wine as a metaphor or coded language for broader ideas about freedom, pleasure, and spiritual life. Educated people gathered privately in their homes to drink wine and read poetry to one another. I’ve sometimes thought of this as an early form of samizdat – the underground circulation of literature in the Soviet Union.Other great wine poets emerged as well. One was celebrated for his libertine lifestyle and his brilliant verse, admired centuries later by writers such as T. S. Eliot. Another approached wine from a more spiritual perspective. Together they show that, despite official prohibition, wine remained deeply embedded in Islamic literary culture.

Max Mitchell: What does the Qur’an actually say about drinking wine?

Kathleen Burk: The Qur’an contains several passages discouraging wine, saying that it is harmful and displeasing to Allah. At the same time, other passages acknowledge that people do drink it. For example, believers are instructed not to attend prayers if they have been drinking wine or have recently been with a woman, which clearly assumes both things happen. There is also the famous promise that Paradise contains rivers of wine. More than one poet observed that if wine is acceptable in Paradise, why should it be forbidden on earth? That tension has remained part of the Islamic world’s relationship with wine ever since.

Max Mitchell: We only begin to see formal wine classifications in the mid-19th century. How did those come about, and why are they important?

Kathleen Burk: They originated in 1855, when Emperor Napoleon III wanted France to put on an international exhibition that would rival the Great Exhibition held in London in 1851. The Bordeaux Chamber of Commerce decided that wine would be the region’s showcase. The challenge was deciding which wines were the best. In the end, the classification wasn’t based directly on quality but on market price – and those prices were largely determined by what English buyers were willing to pay. The wines were divided into five growths. The First Growths included estates such as Château Lafite Rothschild, while other wines were ranked lower through the Second, Third, Fourth and Fifth Growths. Below those were wines later known as crus bourgeois.

The Bordeaux brokers preferred that consumers didn’t know exactly where the wines came from because they wanted buyers to continue purchasing through merchants rather than directly from producers. Merchants bought wine from estates, blended it where appropriate, and sold it under their own commercial arrangements. Remarkably, the 1855 Classification is still influential today. It’s especially important to collectors and investors, including many buyers in Britain, the United States and China. Today, however, wine criticism has become much broader. Consumers pay attention to critics they trust, and many shops display medals and recommendations from publications such as Decanter. At the same time, wine drinkers have become much more adventurous.

People now explore wines from Georgia, Ukraine, Germany, Austria and many other regions rather than focusing solely on the traditional elite wines of Bordeaux. Wine merchants regularly hold tastings, and producers visit shops to introduce their wines directly to consumers. Overall, wine culture has become much more democratic than it once was.

Max Mitchell: I found your chapter on the United States particularly interesting. You point out that around two-fifths of Americans don’t drink alcohol at all, and that around 70 per cent don’t drink wine. Yet American wineries produce excellent wines. I’ve had wonderful wines from California, Idaho, Washington State and Oregon. Every state now produces wine. Why hasn’t a stronger wine culture developed?

Kathleen Burk: Historically, the United States has been a spirits-drinking nation. Whiskey was deeply embedded in American culture. Wine remained largely an elite drink for much of the country’s history. Prohibition, from 1920 to 1933, nearly destroyed the American wine industry, especially in California. Many vineyards disappeared, and it took decades for the industry to recover. One lasting effect of Prohibition was a shift towards sweeter wines. Before Prohibition, Americans generally drank dry wines. During Prohibition, much of the wine that continued to be produced, legally or illegally, was sweet, and people became accustomed to that style.

The period itself is fascinating because the law contained several loopholes. One allowed people to produce fruit juice. The legislators hadn’t really considered that grapes are fruit. California growers shipped grapes across the country, particularly to cities such as Chicago and New York, where many Italian-American families made wine at home. Grapes were sometimes packed into bricks with a packet of yeast hidden inside. The instructions warned people not to mix the yeast with the crushed grapes because that would turn the juice into wine – which, of course, was illegal. People continued drinking wine throughout Prohibition, although much of it wasn’t very good. Fine wine largely survived only among wealthier communities, particularly in places such as New York and San Francisco, which remain major centres of American wine culture today.

Max Mitchell: Your book is substantial, but it never feels like an encyclopaedia. It has a real narrative, which makes it such an enjoyable read. At the end of the book, you turn to climate change. Wine depends entirely on the natural world – on vines, soil and climate. How do you think climate change will affect wine in the future?

Kathleen Burk: It depends very much on where you are. As temperatures rise, traditional wine-growing regions in the south are becoming increasingly difficult places to grow certain varieties. One of my favourite wines is Châteauneuf-du-Pape in the southern Rhône. Growers there are already facing significant challenges, even with grape varieties that traditionally thrive in hot climates. Bordeaux is also likely to be heavily affected. On the other hand, some regions are benefiting from warmer temperatures. Germany, for example, is now producing far more red wine than it once did, while its white wines are changing as conditions evolve. As the climate continues to warm, wine production is moving north. Norway now has several impressive wineries, as do Sweden and even Denmark.

By contrast, countries such as Tunisia, Morocco and Algeria, all of which have produced increasingly good wines in recent decades, may find the future much more difficult. Growers there will need to make careful decisions about vineyard locations and how to manage rising temperatures. Climate change is also changing which grape varieties can be grown. Bordeaux, for example, has approved several additional grape varieties, including Portugal’s Touriga Nacional. That raises an important question: if Bordeaux wines increasingly rely on different grapes, how much will they still resemble the Bordeaux wines we know today?

Burgundy has taken a different approach. When growers were encouraged to consider alternative grape varieties, they reacted with horror. They remain determined to preserve Pinot Noir, despite the challenges posed by climate change. Most producers of fine wine want to preserve their traditional grape varieties for as long as possible. They are experimenting with different techniques to adapt, but ultimately they’re trying to hold back forces much larger than themselves.

Max Mitchell: Professor Kathleen Burk, thank you very much.

Kathleen Burk: My pleasure. I’ve enjoyed it.