Cultures of Drink in Europe
The historical context of drinking practices

Conceptions
of modern European
life are inextricably tied
to many of the routine cultural
practices that have evolved over the
years and have come to define a nation, ethnicity,
or people. Alcohol is a central ingredient in European cultural
practices and rituals, and must be examined as a powerful influence on the
broader study of history, society, and politics. Through this site, we have chosen to
elaborate on three specific topics in which alcohol's role is particularly vital in definining local
identity. The issue of national and regional identity will be examined through an essay on Czech and
Bavarian beermaking, as well as an essay on French wine regions and identity, and lastly a
historical examination of drink, political discourse and German Cabaret.

Click to hear a rousing German drinking song!