9.11.2011


The landscape changes constantly when travelling from Holland to a south European holiday destination. This year I travelled to Italy. From the flat Dutch polders we entered the rough industrial landscape in the German border states. After a day or so the hills became higher until we reached high peaks on the road from Switzerland to Italy. Although we drove almost 1200 km trough this variety of landscapes one thing seemed constantly part of the landscape.

It seems wine could grow everywhere. These days the alcoholic grape drink is not only made in warmer South European countries but could also be bought from Switzerland, Germany and even from the Netherlands. Since the ingredients of wine usually are made in nature each wine is different. The flavor is amongst others influenced by the type of the grape, the soil it grows on, the climate, the barrel it ripens in and so on. You can image the difference between wines grown in warmer climates and those which are grown in countries like the Netherlands where temperatures are more moderate.

Wine growers also use different techniques to grow their grapevines. Some grow parallel others follow the slopes of the mountains. Some wine grows in very steep hills where pickers need special lifts to pick the grapes. In other areas terraces are made not only to make picking easier but also to profit from the daily warmth during the night.

Besides all the different types of wines and the different countries it grows in it is also drunken by a whole variety of people. Although wine used to be for the rich or religious people, it is now available to almost everyone, bottles already available from less than two Euros each.

As politicians now have hard times to come to an agreement on economic help, military actions and environmental issues there is at least one thing we all seem to have in common. Cheers!