| What did the grape say when it was rolled over by a | | | | Mass production of beer really started in the 20th |
| beer keg? | | | | Century - in previous centuries other forms of alcohol |
| Nothing - it just let out a little "wine"! | | | | dominated demand for getting smashed - and wine |
| What we drink says a lot about who we are - if you | | | | was one of the dominant beverages. With mass |
| believe the marketing companies who target the | | | | production came mass marketing and for beer sales, |
| mass markets with multi-million dollar commercials and | | | | blue collar workers were targeted with drinks which |
| campaigns. But is this really true? | | | | were ice-cold and quenched thirst after a hard day's |
| Enjoying both beers and wines is not a mutually | | | | work. Girls, cars, smiling friends and being Mr. Popular |
| exclusive pastime - I personally drink both and | | | | in the bar were all part of the marketing mix thrown |
| conform with neither stereotypical image of either | | | | at potential beer drinkers being sold on fizzy, yellow |
| drinker - I'm not a young stud hanging out with great | | | | brews. The small breweries with a good brew have |
| looking babes in a bar while ice-cold longnecks are | | | | been left at the margins of the beer industry and |
| guzzled by the truck load nor a wrinkly, liberal-looking, | | | | appreciated by beer aficionados. |
| spectacle-wearing foodie with leather patches on my | | | | Marketing perception is rarely an accurate reflection |
| elbows. | | | | of reality, if you consider that wine was discovered |
| Beer and wine have very long histories and a deep, | | | | probably at an earlier date than beer from the |
| cultural significance which is practically universal around | | | | archaeological evidence, wine would appear to have |
| the globe. Who actually invented beer and wine is | | | | been the caveman's first choice of fermented brew. |
| lost in time, but both originated from the Middle East | | | | If a caveman preferred wine to beer, this hardly |
| and probably have been made since Neolithic times | | | | matches the marketing perception that beer drinkers |
| (around 5000 B.C.) - certainly the ancient Egyptians | | | | do not have taste nor being a hard-working |
| and various empires based to the East of the | | | | macho-man precludes you from enjoying wine. Wine |
| Mediterranean Sea have documented wines and | | | | is also a more potent drink than beer for those who |
| beers as well as irrefutable archaeological evidence. | | | | are looking to race to a hangover fast. |
| Certainly in those ancient times, there was no such | | | | On the other hand, wine experts and followers will |
| thing as an NFL or Nascar event while cheese & | | | | probably point to the labor and skill which goes into |
| wine parties were not exactly on the social menu. | | | | creating a fine wine - the reality is that brewing beer |
| The division of potential consumers using marketing, | | | | also requires just as much artistry and imagination as |
| and by extension, social stereotypes for beer and | | | | producing a good bottle of plonk. The number of |
| wine markets has created a false picture of who | | | | micro-breweries and family-owned brewers who have |
| actually drinks them. Since wine producers in California | | | | maintained the tradition for numerous generations |
| started making headway in international markets bck | | | | testifies to the diversity of taste, skill and ingenuity |
| in the 80'sWine was the alcoholic drink of the masses | | | | when it comes to producing a pint. |
| in Europe and not the upper crust - beer was drunk | | | | The bottom line - downing a beer or slurping a wine |
| as water, simply because it was safe to drink due to | | | | is not predetermined by social status or marketing |
| the alcohol content and in fact, beer was not brewed | | | | categorization - it all comes down to one thing no |
| for the purpose of getting drunk, at least, not in the | | | | matter who you are or what you do - your own |
| beginning but to purify water. | | | | taste. |
