Description

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¡Vino! explores the history and identity of Spanish wine production from the mid-nineteenth century to today. Nineteenth-century infestations of oidium fungus and phylloxera aphids devastated French and Italian vineyards but didn’t extend to the Iberian Peninsula at first, giving Spanish vintners the opportunity to increase their international sales. Once French and Italian wineries rebounded, however, Spanish wine producers had to up their game. Spain could not produce only table wine; it needed a quality product to compete with the supposedly superior French wines. After the Spanish Civil War the totalitarian Franco regime turned its attention to Spain’s devastated agricultural sector, but the country’s wine industry did not rebound until well after World War II. In the postwar years, it rebranded itself to compete in a more integrated European and international marketplace with the creation of a new wine identity. As European integration continued, Spanish wine producers and the tourism industry worked together to promote the uniqueness of Spain and the quality of its wines.

Karl J. Trybus explores the development of Spanish wine in the context of national and global events, tracing how the wine industry has fared and ultimately prospered despite civil war, regional concerns, foreign problems, and changing tastes.

About the Author

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Karl J. Trybus is an associate professor of history at Limestone University in South Carolina. He is the author of The Rosary, the Republic, and the Right: Spain and the Vatican Hierarchy, 1931–1939.
 

Praise For…

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“This is a much-needed study. In the context of Iberian (Peninsular) studies there is no comparable scholarly book dedicated to the study of Spanish wine, published in English. Of particular interest are the archives of wineries the author has been able to access as well as the government publications that should be of interest to future researchers and scholars. The writing is clear and easy to understand, and at times mixes personal anecdotes that makes the reading engaging.”—H. Rosi Song, author of A Taste of Barcelona: The History of Catalan Cooking and Eating