Eastern Europe – history

The eastern part of Europe, and indeed the Middle East countries of Israel and Lebanon, have had a more turbulent recent history than most other countries of the European region. Early history also has a huge Roman influence with the Roman Empire covering much of the region until its collapse. The middle ages brought similar waring kingdoms that defined Europe of the period, apart from the occasional invading force from the east. However, it was the 20th century that has defined their recent history. Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria were all part of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). Following the devastation caused to Russia and its neighbours during WW2, many countries aligned themselves with the communist government of the former Russia behind a border that became known as the ‘Iron Curtain’. One of the principles of communism is that the state government own all business, privately-owned business is not allowed, and all profits made go to the state instead of taxes. One of the drawbacks of this system is that it is unable to ensure that the right expertise is in place while it also prevents investment as all profit is used elsewhere. This caused most businesses to gradually fail as they lost touch with progress made with privately owned companies which led to the people of the USSR to live very difficult lives with very low incomes. This failure eventually caused the collapse of the system which began in 1989 when the Berlin wall fell (Germany was split in two with the city of Berlin being divided by a high wall to separate the two counties of East and West Germany). Over the following decade, countries within the USSR became independent and created their own governments based on more liberal attitudes to business and markets. Wine production continued in many of the countries with suitable climates, but lack of investment and knowledge meant that wines were of very low quality with many regions being forced to rip out vines in favour of basic food crops. Following the end of communism, wine production returned but there was a real need for skilled winemakers to bring production back up to modern standards. During the 1990’s, many of the flying winemakers included doing harvests in countries such as Romania and Bulgaria while Hungary had managed to retain quality due to a long tradition of producing valuable and sought-after wines.

In contrast, the region around Israel and Lebanon has a history of wine making dating back many centuries, however, this area has also had a troubled recent history. Israel was created from lands that have been at the centre of conflict since Roman times, following the holocaust of WW2. Regional disagreements have escalated into a mixture of terrorism and religious wars between rival factions in this predominantly Muslim region. Despite this, both countries continue to make wine for their multifaith populations with increasing interest and growing export markets.