Stephen V. BITTNER, Whites &amp; Reds. A History of Wine in the Lands of Tsar &amp; Commissar
Journal: Cahiers du monde russe
Year: 2021

“Like a study of panda bears in Patagonia or dolphins in the Sahara, this book is devoted to what may seem an entirely incongruous topic – the history of wine and winemaking in the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union,” comments Stephen Bittner in a slightly sardonic voice at the outset of his work. In his argument, the author connects wine domestication to the ambiguities of Russian imperialism with winemaking as the driving force behind an assimilatory process. While wine had been traded and...