But for some regions in Europe it means traditions older than the Roman empire, related to wine growing, can disappear. On steep sunny rocky slopes where little else will grow well, and it’s often really deeply embedded in almost everything in such a region: restaurants, tourism, landscape… 80% inhabitants are somehow linked to the winery. Then it’s not anonymous capitalist sounding “industry” but just some guy in a small village whose father’s father’s father … once started an Inn with winegrowing on the side and when all 4 of such businesses in a village go bankrupt the entire village can become an abandoned wasteland in just a few years.
Modern wine-farming isn’t all romantic traditions either though. It has been mechanized and intensified over the last few decades as well, with some notable disadvantages to the landscapes that have been formed by vineyards over centuries.
I understand the existential threat, that a shrinking market poses to some wine-farmers. But I don’t think wine is going to disappear completely. And maybe there’s also a chance for a healthy transformation.
The problem is, that we’re gonna let merciless market dynamics decide, who can stay and who cannot, and usually that doesn’t go in favour of the small players.
Yes the ones that stand a chance are higher segment, turn to biological wine only and to “luxury experience at our vineyard”. But no way French, Italian, Spanish or German wine can continue to compete in lower segments on world market flooded by cheap mass produced wine from South America, South Africa etc while demand declines. Of course it will not disappear completely from Europe, but the risk for certain villages and regions is very real because wine from other continents is silly cheap. If you do drink wine once in a while: buy regional if possible! (That goes for all agricultural products that are available from your own region)
I agree there are few advantages to alcohol.
But for some regions in Europe it means traditions older than the Roman empire, related to wine growing, can disappear. On steep sunny rocky slopes where little else will grow well, and it’s often really deeply embedded in almost everything in such a region: restaurants, tourism, landscape… 80% inhabitants are somehow linked to the winery. Then it’s not anonymous capitalist sounding “industry” but just some guy in a small village whose father’s father’s father … once started an Inn with winegrowing on the side and when all 4 of such businesses in a village go bankrupt the entire village can become an abandoned wasteland in just a few years.
Modern wine-farming isn’t all romantic traditions either though. It has been mechanized and intensified over the last few decades as well, with some notable disadvantages to the landscapes that have been formed by vineyards over centuries.
I understand the existential threat, that a shrinking market poses to some wine-farmers. But I don’t think wine is going to disappear completely. And maybe there’s also a chance for a healthy transformation.
The problem is, that we’re gonna let merciless market dynamics decide, who can stay and who cannot, and usually that doesn’t go in favour of the small players.
Yes the ones that stand a chance are higher segment, turn to biological wine only and to “luxury experience at our vineyard”. But no way French, Italian, Spanish or German wine can continue to compete in lower segments on world market flooded by cheap mass produced wine from South America, South Africa etc while demand declines. Of course it will not disappear completely from Europe, but the risk for certain villages and regions is very real because wine from other continents is silly cheap. If you do drink wine once in a while: buy regional if possible! (That goes for all agricultural products that are available from your own region)