442 - Distilled Geography: Europe's Alcohol Belts « Strange Maps - 1 views
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It matters where we are, for it helps determine who we are. Or, as the quote often attributed to Napoleon states: Geography is destiny. That destiny extends to drink, as demonstrated by this map. Where we are determines to a statistically significant degree what kind of alcohol we prefer. Or is it the other way around: the kind of alcohol preferred is determined by the place where it is produced?
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This map shows Europe dominated by three so-called ‘alcohol belts’, the northernmost one for distilled spirits, a middle one for beer and the southernmost one for wine. Each one’s existence and extension are a mix of culture and agriculture.
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The Wine Belt covers the southern parts of Europe, where wine has historically been an important industry and an everyday commodity:
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The Beer Belt comprises areas where beer has been the alcoholic beverage of choice since times immemorial:
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An interesting co-explanation for the prevalence of beer in southern parts of this belt is the relatively weak cultural influence of the Roman Empire on these places. The Wine Belt indeed conforms to a large extent with the territory formerly occupied by Rome, with notable exceptions in areas with large Slavic or Germanic migration (the Balkans, southwestern Germany, northern France respectively), where beer predominates (although often overlapping with wine). The Vodka Belt occupies what’s left of Europe, to the east and north:
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Beer has since surpassed wodka as the most consumed type of alcohol in Poland.
