Beer

Although evidence suggests that vineyards were planted in China thousands of years ago, it’s really only been within living memory that drinking wine has gained any popularity in Asia. A couple of Chinese Cabernet Sauvignons and some great quality dessert wines have started to emerge. Not to be left out, Cambodia has started to produce Khmer red wine.

Vines were introduced to Mexico and Brazil back in the 15th century by the conquistadors and soon spread across South America. Spanish missionaries traveled south, establishing Chile’s first winery in Mendoza in the mid-16th century, and north, bringing grapes from Mexico to the USA. California still produces five times more wine than the total of the other most popular regions: New York, Oregon and Washington. Sonoma and Napa’s lush, fruit-forward Cabernet Sauvignon continue to have worldwide appeal.

And in the future? As well as sipping reds from China and whites from the Czech Republic, we’ll be drinking fabulous wines from Michigan and Texas and delicate fizz from Franciacorta in Italy. We probably shouldn’t hold our breath for that Chardonnay from Antarctica.

In Belgium, beer was originally brewed in abbeys, where the craft was developed. Heavy taxes on French wines traditionally created a demand for Belgian beer. Although 60 percent is now exported, cafés all across Belgium serve a wide selection of beers, from the darkest of ales to the pale, cloudy and scented witbier.

France also produces a number of excellent beers: a small amount in Brittany, but mostly in the Alsace-Lorraine region, and with its cultural ties to Belgium, the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region, traditionally producing golden, malty Bière de Garde.

Germany’s beer production is legendary, with over 5,000 different beers currently in production and beer consumption per head only trumped by the Czechs.

Austria is a huge consumer of beer and the Upper Austrian region of Mühlviertel, north of the Danube, is home to a wealth of breweries all producing fine Austrian beers.

Not typically known for its wine production, hardier vine varieties are starting to experience some success in Scandinavia. Beer, on the other hand, has been brewed in Norway since the Vikings were creating ale back in the 12th century, and Norwegian craft beer is gaining serious notoriety. In Denmark, giants Carlsberg dominate the market, but microbreweries are emerging in Denmark and Sweden too.

And although the eastern region of Moravia is having increasing success with wine production, the Czech Republic is the world’s biggest consumers of beer. From the creation of the first pilsners to today’s culture of beer spas and even beer hotels, beer is a huge part of Czech culture. There are breweries dotted all across the country, and across neighboring Slovakia, from huge household names to tiny microbreweries, brewing much more than just the typical pale lagers the Czechs are famed for.