Discussion on Wine and Culture

 a) Reflect on our Field Study to Kelleris and b) discuss the important ways in which wine has and continues to play a role in human society and culture.

During our field study to Kelleris I learned more about making wine and the tradition behind Danish wine.  It was fun to get to go out and see all of the grape vines that made the wine we would later taste.  I found it interesting to hear about the background of making wine in Denmark and how they selectively chose different plants to breed into one that would have a good season time in Denmark’s chilly weather.  I have never been to a wine vineyard before and was not aware of how small the one we went to was.  It wasn’t until I asked him how many bottles the vineyard produced each year, that I understood that it was not large.  I think something that really stood out to me was that he had one year where the bad conditions led them to only produce 40 bottles of wine.  It really shows how different weather patterns can change the outcome of the yield.  It reminded me of when he talked about the plant disease that caused a lot of the wine grapes to be ruined.  I also thought that was interesting when he talked about how quickly the bacteria spread because it could travel by air from different vineyard to vineyard. 

There are many important ways that wine plays a role in human society and culture.  Throughout history wine has been used as a drink and thought of as an aphrodisiac. In ancient Greece wine was used during symposium (which means ‘drinking together’) where Greeks would mix wine and intellectual discussions.  Another way wine plays a role in society was demonstrated on our field study when we had a wine tasting.  I also did a wine tasting in Italy over my long study break. It was a great way to experience Italian culture and hang out with some friends over wine and cold cuts of meat.   Wine is a great drink to pair up with dinner and lets people relax and be more open in conversation.  

Wine has also been proven to improve your health, in moderation.  Red wines are known to contain many beneficial antioxidants such as polyphenol and resveratrol that have cardio-protective effects and anti-cancer properties.

Relevant websites:

11)   http://facts.randomhistory.com/2009/08/21_wine.html

22)   https://www.wiine.me/10-amazing-facts-about-wine/ 

33)   http://interestingthings.info/food-and-beverages/10-interesting-facts-wine-know.html

44)   http://denmark.dk/en/lifestyle/food-drink/winegrowing-at-the-northern-limit/

55)   http://www.kellerisvingaard.dk/kelleris-vineyard.html

Image citations:

11)   http://www.createawine.com/About%20Us.htm

22)   http://www.agoracosmopolitan.com/news/Business/2013/04/02/5675.html

33)   http://theysmell.com/six-health-benefits-wine/