Subject: Re: Bulgaria:Birthplace of Wine?

From: [email-masked] (Stephanie A. Hall)
Date: 12 May 1995 04:23:39 GMT

Ed Ward ([email-masked]) wrote:
: For an article on Bulgarian food relating to Christo's wrapping of 
: the Reichstag, I wonder if someone could point me to a solid 
: confirmation of the rumor I've heard that Bulgaria is considered the
: place (although it was part of Greece back then) where wine was 
: "invented" by the Greek gods. Does Bulgaria have the world's oldest 
: viticultural tradition? I know the stuff they make at the moment's 
: pretty awful... 

According to Reay Tannahill's _Food in History_ grapes were first 
cultivated in the Caucasus mountains, where the wild vine originated. 
And so wine-making (from grapes) probably originated there (see pp. 
77-79). The Georgians are still renouned for their wine-making. 

The "first wine" may have been made from something other than grapes, of 
course.

Stephanie

Stephanie A. Hall, Archivist - [email-masked]
Library of Congress, Washington, DC 20540-8100
Opinions mine

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From: [email-masked]
Date: 12 May 95 08:37:49 EDT

In article <[email-masked]>, 
Judy Gerjuoy <[email-masked]> writes:
> The problem with that is that Tannahill's FOOD IN HISTORY is a "pop" 
> history of food and not always correct.  I would look for a better source 
> than that.  

You seem to be implying that "pop" implies "not always correct".  Just 
because a book is written for popular consumption it does mean, necessarily,
that it has errors of fact.  I've seen plenty of non-"pop" books that
contain errors.  By combining the two allegations as you have done you
imply a causal relationship.
Kate