- Alcohol belts of Europe
The alcohol belts of Europe are regions in
Europe which are considered to be divided by association with eitherbeer ,wine or spirits (seedistilled beverage ).The term "vodka belt" appeared in 1964 in a "Time" magazine article about hard drinking in
Poland . [ [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,938454,00.html?promoid=googlep "Roll Out the Bottle"] , "Time Magazine " 6 March, 1964 ]Vodka belt
Being an informal term, the "vodka belt" has no established definition. However, the general definition tends to include the following states:
*Nordic States ( includingFinland ,Norway ,Iceland ,Sweden andGreenland , but notDenmark .)Alexander Stubb , [http://www.alexstubb.com/artikkelit/bw_vodka.pdf The European Vodka Wars] , a December 2006 "Blue Wings" article]
*Lithuania
*Latvia
*Estonia
*Poland [ [http://www.krakow-info.com/drinks.htm "Krakow Beverages"] at krakow-info.com ]
*Belarus
*Russia
*Ukraine The few EU countries of the Vodka Belt produce over 70% of the EU's vodka.
Vodka belt countries generally have cold climates. The southern boundary of the "vodka belt" roughly corresponds to -2 C January
isotherm . With the exception ofUkraine and some regions of southern Russia, cultivation of grapes is impossible or very difficult anywhere in the Vodka belt. Wine producing Mediterranean countries and the "vodka belt" are separated by a so-calledbeer belt , consisting of theBritish Isles ,Denmark ,Benelux ,Germany ,Austria , theCzech Republic , andSlovakia .However, in many countries historically belonging to the Vodka Belt, vodka has been supplanted by beer as the alcoholic drink of choice. Residents of Finland and Sweden consume twice as much beer as vodka (in terms of pure alcohol). [ [http://ec.europa.eu/health/ph_projects/1998/monitoring/fp_monitoring_1998_frep_01_a_en.pdf ALCOHOL IN POSTWAR EUROPE: A DISCUSSION OF INDICATORS ON CONSUMPTION AND ALCOHOL-RELATED HARM] ] The
Polish Beer-Lovers' Party (which won 16 seats in theSejm in 1991) was founded on the notion of fighting alcoholism by a cultural abandonment of vodka for beer. And in 1998, beer surpassed vodka as the most popular alcoholic drink in Poland. [ [http://www.ejpau.media.pl/volume7/issue2/economics/art-06.html CONDITIONS OF ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES CONSUMPTION AMONG POLISH CONSUMERS] ] In Russia, annual consumption of beer has grown from 12 liters per capita in 1995 to 67 liters in 2006 (but still remains lower than consumption of vodka).Fact|date=February 2008The term has been generating much buzz since 2006 in relating to the "
vodka war " [http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/public/story_page/063-2627-030-01-05-911-20070131STO02626-2007-30-01-2007/default_en.htm Vodka war: "MEPs serve up a compromise cocktail"] , aEuroparliament news article] within theEuropean Union about the standardisation of vodka: the Vodka Belt countries insist that only spirits produced from grains and potato must be allowed to be branded as "vodka", according to the long established traditions of its production, a brand protection similar to the "protected designation of origin ". [ [http://www.flexnews.com/pages/5412/European_Union/Spirits/eu_farm_chief_warns_legal_action_vodka_row.html "EU Farm Chief Warns of Legal Action in Vodka Row"] , a 25/10/2006Reuters article] [ [http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/11/23/news/vodka.php "A spirited war: The search for the real vodka"] , "International Herald Tribune ",November 23 ,2006 ] The "Schnellhardt compromise", proposed byHorst Schnellhardt , suggests that vodkas from other than cereals, potatoes and molasses, should be labeled to say "Vodka produced from..."Beer belt
The "beer belt" is the territory covered by countries in Europe where
beer is historically the most popular alcoholic beverage. [cite book |editor=Leon de Stadler, Christoph Eyrich (ed.) |title=Issues in cognitive linguistics: 1993 proceedings of the International Cognitive Linguistics Conference |last=Geeraerts |first=Dirk |chapter=Beer and semantics |year=1999 |publisher=Walter de Gruyter |isbn=3110152193 |pages=p. 35 |chapterurl=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=KHXyiIbucW4C&pg=PA35&dq=%22Beer+belt%22+%2B%22wine+belt%22&num=100&client=firefox-a&sig=ACfU3U0XfBhjL73tpC1dKGqkoeJD1kiuzA#PPA35,M1 |accessdate=2008-06-26] The beer belt is located to the southwest of thevodka belt and to the northeast of thewine belt . [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6767193.stm BBC: Euro MPs spurn 'pure vodka' bid] ] [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6766023.stm BBC: Brussels braced for vodka battle] ]The beer belt includes
Belgium ,Ireland , theUnited Kingdom ,the Netherlands ,Denmark ,Germany ,Austria ,Belgium ,Luxembourg ,Czech Republic ,Slovakia , the northern and eastern cantons ofSwitzerland and the French regions ofAlsace ,Lorraine andNord-Pas-de-Calais and the départment ofArdennes . [ [http://www.bierebel.com/en/index.php?page=paysdelabiere Belgium, country of beer!] ] (It should be noted that there is quite a bit of overlap in these French regions, as well as in southwestern Germany and parts of Austria, due to the considerable consumption and/or cultivation of wine there.) Beer is also the most popular of the three in theUnited States ,Canada ,New Zealand andAustralia owing to the main preference of the nationalities that established themselves there.Historically beer became the main alcoholic beverage in regions with a smaller Roman Empire influence and with cooler climates where cereals are the main agricultural product.
Wine belt
The "wine Belt" is the territory covered by countries in Europe where
wine is historically the most popular alcoholic beverage. The wine belt is located to the south of thebeer belt and thevodka belt . [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6767193.stm BBC: Euro MPs spurn 'pure vodka' bid] ] [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6766023.stm BBC: Brussels braced for vodka battle] ] [ [http://www.economist.com/world/europe/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9334906 The Economist: In vino veritas] ] [ [http://www.slate.com/id/2150160/ Slate: Go North, Young Grapes] ] The wine belt has been variously defined as approximately between 41° - 44°N [ [http://www.canadianvintners.com/woc/ontario.html Wines of Canada] ] , 30° - 50°N, [ [http://www.barlowschoice.com/terroir.html Introduction To NZ Wines] ] and 35° - 50/51°N. [cite book |title=A Journey of Discovery All Around Our House |last=Philp |first=Robert Kemp |year=1867 |publisher=Houlston & Wright |isbn= |pages=p. 51 |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=E_ZOAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA51&dq=%22Wine+belt%22&num=100&client=firefox-a |accessdate=2008-06-26] Countries in the wine belt includeSpain ,Portugal ,Italy ,Hungary ,Moldova , Georgia,Greece ,Bulgaria ,Switzerland ,Romania andFrance . Additionally, southwesternGermany and parts ofAustria could be considered to lie either within the belt or within an overlap region. [ [http://www.bierebel.com/en/index.php?page=paysdelabiere Belgium, country of beer!] ]References
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