The Politics Of Wine In Britain

As a potent symbol of political legitimacy and a leading source of government revenue, wine in England and Scotland was a commodity like no other. This fascinating study shows how the taste for wine both reflected and constructed political power during the two most important centuries of modern British history.

Wine-and how one consumed it-was never neutral; instead, it was inextricably linked to political party, social class, national identity, and gender. Wine was thus essential to creating modern Britain.