The rest of the world: Eastern Europe, Asia, Africa/Islam-China, Japan, and Polynesia, Banana Beer
In addition to a class lecture, we will also watch the film Tampopo and discuss the relationship of food, wine and society as presented in the film.
Man's way to God is with beer in hand. --Koffyar Tribal Wisdom, Nigeria
China
The origins of fermenting and drinking wine in China go far back in time. It has always been recognized and used as a celebratory drink. The ancient Chinese used wine as a libation to their forefathers to express reverence, to enjoy by themselves while writing poetry or prose, and to toast their relatives and friends during a feast. Of course, China's territory is vast and its resources, abundant. Each region has its own character, and its own crops and styles of wine.
For the most part, wine was made from grain in ancient China. But the grain was also important for food, and a good harvest allowed grain for both. Over the ages, wine gradually became directly linked to the daily life and tax burden of the people. It was also an inseparable part of the life of ordinary Chinese people.
There are various legends regarding the origin of wine in ancient Chinese books. Folk legend regards Tu Kang as the man to first make wine, as the God of Wine, such legends continue to have folkloric significance.
As early as in the Shang dynasty of the 18th through 11th centuries B.C., the use of grain to make wine had become widespread. Inscriptions on bones and tortoise shells as well as bronze inscriptions preserve many records of Shang-era people worshiping their ancestors with wine, and of the fact that wine drinking was very popular at the time. For example, a Shang-era winery site was discovered among recent archaeological excavations.
The development of Chinese winemaking techniques accelerated after the 3rd century A.D. Each part of the nation used different grains to produce yeast and wine. This not only led to an increase in the varieties of wine, it also indicated progress in the technology of yeast production.
Wine was a part of civilized Chinese society, and the banquets of ancient emperors and kings could not take place without it. In turn, wine vessels became important sacrificial objects for burial chambers and rituals.
Wine was frequently cited as a joy and inspiration by most Chinese men of letters, Tao Yuan-ming, the prominent Chin-era poet, had the greatest interest in wine. He could drink, brew his own wine, and enjoyed the careful process of wine connoisseurship. His love and understanding of wine was quite different from most Wei or Chin literati who enjoyed "doing nothing and drinking to their hearts' content." He successfully combined wine with literary creation, thus "his poems are imbued with wine, and there was poetry from his wine."
But drinking too much wine and engaging in merriment could lead to debauchery or loss of composure, harming oneself and others. Some with an ethical frame of mind spoke of the virtues of wine drinking and devised certain teachings on self-restraint, advising people against drinking too much. Others with a medical frame of mind were particular about the medicinal properties of wine, and produced medicinal wines or used wine as a tonic.
In a detailed description by Tu Fu, a famous Tang-era poet, the eight renowned "wine immortals" of the Tang dynasty are each depicted as having charming inebriated postures and a full complement of wine-drinking behavior. This led later generations to romantic flights of fancy about the links among wine, poetry, and literati.
In addition to a zest for wine, drinkers had to have stamina in order to drink to the full. In China, you had to know how to hold your liquor. During a feast, playing finger-guessing games with excited shouts-much like battle cries-was called a wine battle. The opposing guests, competing like two armies facing each other on the battlefield, played finger-guessing and other drinking games, such as thinking up new songs at the table, composing impromptu poems, singing in unison, dancing, and the like. All of these became amusements that added excitement to banquets. The parallels to the Greek Symposium are obvious.
Chinese scholars claim that winemaking techniques offer a glimpse of the wisdom of the ancient Chinese. The relationship between wine and literati or knights, as well as various writings relating to wine, offers a history of poetry and philosophy. Governmental policies show the link between wine and taxes, as well as the relative success of each harvest. The social behavior of wine drinking is used to demonstrate cultural concepts and the ideology of the Chinese people.
Today wine continues to enjoy a key role in Chinese society, both on the mainland, and in Taiwan, where wine companies have blossomed in the last few decades. There is renewed interest in wine in the China of today. Recently the Chinese government decreed that all toasts at national banquets will be with wine, rather than with more powerful spirits. And the new wine industry is growing at a fast pace.
Japan
It is said that the gods first drank o-sake and so it is still used in religious rites, and placed on family alters to pay respect to deities and the cherished dead. Marriage ceremonies include ritual o-sake drinking and at many annual festivals sake is consumed in great amounts because the gods love sake and clearly those who drink the rice wine are closer to the divine.
The word sake is actually a general reference to alcoholic beverages, the word o-sake or the more precise nihonshu (literally meaning Japanese liquor) is used by the sake tsu (connoisseur) when referring to the full bodied rice wine. Nihonshu is brewed from rice and there are many grades, varieties, and styles from which to choose.
Junmai-shu is a pure rice wine without any additives and it's the only variety allowed to be imported into the United States. This style of o-sake is closest to the drink as it was in the classical Edo period. The Japanese government specifies that the alcoholic content of nihonshu be around 15 to 16.5 percent.
O-sake comes sweet (amakuchi), or dry (karakuchi). The casual drinker or non-connoisseur enjoys the "lighter" sweetish taste of amakuchi, but the tsu much prefers the heavier dry style of o-sake. O-sake can be served both cold or hot, depending upon your mood or the dictates of the season. Hot summer days are made more tolerable by serving chilled o-sake, some say that this is the only way to drink rice wine as it is more flavorful and the alcohol is not so quickly absorbed into your system. The sake bottle (called, tokkuri), and cups cups (sakazuki), are all kept chilled for this service.
The cold winter season calls for hot o-sake. To warm your o-sake, pour it into a small ceramic flask and place the flask in a small sauce pan filled with cold water. Bring the water to a slow boil but don't let it boil. Boiling the o-sake damages its flavor. The o-sake should be served at about 125 degrees F.
O-sake is traditionally best appreciated when there is something to eat, even if it is only tsukemono (pickles). O-sake goes well with fish dishes as well as the popular stews (nabemono), of winter. Because o-sake is made from rice it is considered redundant to drink o-sake while eating rice, so drinking stops before the rice is served!
Etiquette demands that one should always pour o-sake for others but never for oneself. When a guest or friend's cup is empty, it is the responsibility of the host or other guest to fill it. It is also correct to lift your cup from the table when o-sake is being poured for you. When drinking with friends or associates the traditional toast is "Kampai!" (meaning, "to the bottom of the cup.)
The Japanese wedding ceremony usually takes place in a Shinto shrine or in a chapel, which are now frequently located on the premises of the catering establishments where post-ceremony banquets are held. The bride wears a wedding kimono of lavishly decorated white or red silk and an elaborate white headpiece, and the groom wears a black kimono decorated with his family crest in white.
The actual ceremony is small, attended only by members of the immediate families and the go-between and his or her spouse. A Shinto serving girl, or miko, places three stacked sake (rice wine) cups before the bride, who sits beside the groom. An elaborate ritual in which the bride and groom drink alternately is performed, at the conclusion of which the couple is considered married. After this ceremony there is a banquet for friends and relatives, with speechmaking by those people most closely acquainted with the couple.
This has similarities to the Chinese wedding ceremony, where the bride and groom drink wine from cups linked with a red thread, and the Jewish ceremony, where they drink from the same cup, then the groom smashes it.
Romania
As legend has it, Dionysus, the god of wine, was born in Thracia, in what is now the territory of Romania. Wine has been produced in this area since the 7th century BC. The abundance and fame of the Dacian (as this part of Thracia was called) wines were so well-known that, to put an end to the migratory people's incursions, the Dacian king Burebista (1st century BC) ordered all the vineyards destroyed. Of course, not all the vineyards were uprooted and soon may of them were replanted. After Dacia was conquered by the Romans (106 AD), on the coins issued by the victors, the new Roman province called Dacia Felix (Happy Dacia) was represented as woman to whom two children were offering grapes, a symbol of the regions main riches. During Roman times, vine growing was one of the basic occupations of the local inhabitants.
In more recent times, four phases of Romanian history have had a great influence on the country's wine industry: close links with France during the 19th century, equally close links with Germany and Austria in the inter-war years, the establishment of communist rule in 1948, and the liberalization of the economy in the post-1989 period.
The links with France were strong not only during the 19th century, but right up to the outbreak of the First World War. French culture, education, and engineering were much appreciated, and French was the formal language of the educated classes. When phylloxera hit Romania (the infestation was at its most destructive during the last two decades of the 19th century), it was natural that Romanian viticulturalists would seek advice and practical help from the French. The result was that much replanting post-phylloxera was carried out using "French" vine varieties: Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Chardonnay,
Sauvignon Blanc and others. Thus, these varieties have been in Romania for almost twice as long as in most other East-European countries.
One of the consequences of the shift in cultural ties in favor of Germany and Austria in the period between the First and Second World Wars was the introduction into Romania of the "spritzer": wine mixed with sparkling mineral water. Even today, this remains a popular way for Romanians to drink wine, which, in turn, has lead to a tendency for Romanians to prefer (and winemakers to produce) white wines with toned-down fruit flavors, since these, rather than strongly fruity wines, produce the best spritzers.
During the communist rule, three distinct types of wine-producing organizations developed: research establishments, wine estates, and co-operative vineyards linked to state wineries. The research establishments are fully owned and controlled by the government. In the early days, each research establishment operated independently, but in 1967 they became part of the National Institute for Vine and Wine Research, with its headquarters at Valea Calugareasca in the Dealu Mare region, and ten branches, one in each of Romania's main grape-growing regions. The Institute carries out all the usual work of such an organization: genetic improvement of vine material through breeding and clonal selection, rootstock propagation, development of improved vine cultivation technology, research into improved vinification. Wine estates are large enterprises comprising both vineyards and wineries.
Before 1948, these estates would have been owned by wealthy individuals or families. With the coming of communist rule, the estates were nationalized and kept as single units. The majority of Romanian grapes were grown in "co-operative" vine farms which were formed by the enforced collectivization of previously peasant-owned land. The grapes from these "co-operatives" were vinified in state-owned wineries, each winery being allocated the production of the surrounding vineyards.
The liberalization of the Romanian economy after 1989 has left the research establishment largely unaffected. However, the "co-operative" vineyards have been returned to private hands. The state wineries and the wine estates are in the process of being privatized as well.
Wine in India Wine has been known about and imbibed in India since prehistoric times. Artifacts of the great Indus civilization, contemporaneous with Egypt of the Pharaohs have indicated its use. Wine, then known as soma, was associated with Indra, the warrior god and the most popular diety of the Hindu pantheon. Soma was poured as a libation and drunk at religious festivals. Macedonian colonies established in India by Alexander the Great, also propagated the wine (the British museum has a attractive silver wine bowl from this culture). Wines have been lauded in poetry for many centuries, the most famous example being the immortal verses of the renowned Indo-Persian maser Omar Khayyam (1048-1131)in his celebrated 'Rubaiyat'. Early European travellers to the courts of the grand Moghul Emperors, Akbar (1550 - 1605), Jehangir (1605 - 1627), and Shah Jehan (1627 - 1658, famous for building the 'Taj Mahal') have had the opportunity to taste the famous wines of Hyderabad, Surat and from the renowned royal vineyards in Maharashtra. Alas, no examples of these wines exist today. But many pictures and works of art including, particularly a gold coin ordered by Jehangir himself, brandishing a wine cup remain with us and bear testimony to the popularity and enchanting qualities of the wines of that era. In the 19th century, under the British influence, vineyards wre also established in Kashmir and Baramati,Maharashtra (land of the twelve soils). At the Great Calcutta Exhibition of 1884 a number of Indian wines were exhibited and favourably received. Sadly, in 1890 the Indian vineyards, as had happened to those in Europe, were decimated by Phylloxera (a wine louse that destroyed most of the wines in the world). Despite a strong recommendation then, to the Imperial government of the day by eminent Professor Royle, that grafted American vine roots should be utilized, it has taken nearly a century for Indian vineyards to reach anything approaching their former glory. Wines have been made in India for some time. But Classic wines are new to India. By this we mean, wines made in the traditional French style, from specially grown grapes, rootstocks of which are imported and grown on Indian soil. These are also referred to as "Authentic Wines", "French, Classic Wines" or "Fine Wines". The current Renaissance of Classic Wines has taken place in the traditional areas of Maharashtra under the inspiration of Mr. Sham Chougule, chairman of the Indage Group Of Companies. With root stocks of Chardonnay, Ugni Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Noir specially brought from France, vineyards have been re-established at a height of about 850 meters above sea level and a major state-of-the-art winery built, to produce exclusive Sparkling Wines by Methode Champenoise i.e. the traditional Champagne method, as practiced in France. Wine culture in India has finally begun to grow, though at slow pace and is unfortunately mostly restricted to rich society and gourmet circles. This is perhaps because wine is an alien taste for the Indian palate except perhaps for the sweet port type wines we drink at weddings. In India, wine drinking attracts snobs and those who have never tried it are afraid of seeming ignorant. They do not know what flavour to expect, often are unaware of such terms such as 'dry' or 'brut','medium-dry' or 'demi-sec' and 'sweet' or 'sec/doux'. “The important thing to understand and accept is that wine is an accquired taste, and only consistent drinking will educate your taste buds to the new flavour. What happens when you offer our foreign guest a glass of jal jira ? Or even some chaas (buttermilk)? He is out at sea initially, but as his palate absorbs the flavours, by the third or fourth attempt I have known many to have loved the drink! Soon you will find him discussing the finer points of the various versions of chaas and lassi, the finer points of paani puri ka pani as compared to jal jira and the pros and cons of additives such as meetha/teekha chutneys. Wine tasting is no different. After a few trials, you will learn to discern the delicate naunces and decide which of those you like.”
Equatorial Guinea - Cuisine
The mainland Fang have traditionally relied on the meat of hunted forest animals and crayfish caught by women and children. The chief staple in the forest is gari, a flour made from the cassava tuber. The Fang cook gari into a thick porridge and eat it with a spicy sauce made from a variety of such local ingredients as crushed gourd seeds, leaves, and insects. The forest also provides mushrooms and snails. Throughout the country plantains and yams are popular, and their leaves often serve as platters for food. In the cities, beef and chicken are prepared on skewers, cooked over an open fire, and served with rice and spicy sauce. In Equatorial Guinea, people brew their own millet beer and palm wine and press the juice from sugarcane.
Banana beer or tonto is a major alcoholic beverage traditionally produced in Uganda. However, very little is documented about this commodity. Investigations on traditional production of the beer were carried out. Chemical and sensory characteristics during 8 days of storage were determined. A low alcohol content (2% v/v) tonto was produced. Overall acceptability tests of the beer showed the beer can remain drinkable for about 4 to 5 days.
In the Sudan, alcoholic drinks are officially banned under strict Islamic law, but 'bootleg' liquor can certainly be found. Aragi is a clear, strong spirit made from dates, merissa is a type of beer, and tedj is the name given to a range of wines made from dates or honey.
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