Successful conclusion of the conference „Wine, place and space - Global geographies of wine cultivation, production and consumption“

Wine cultivation, production, and consumption is a social phenomenon that intersects various scientific disciplines. Besides the natural sciences and technological dimension of cultivation and production, wine is an economic common and as such part of the global economy. As a consumer product, wine is entangled with (regional) identities and imaginaries and is mobilized as a token of distinction and social class.

Various trends have shaped and are about to influence the production and consumption of wine considerably: shifts of wine cultivation areas due to climatic changes (e.g., Nordic countries), re-organization of wine production in global production networks, negotiation of work conditions in wine cultivation and production, digitalization of cultivation and production practices, and changing consumer dynamics.

This workshop aimed to discuss these developments based on current theoretical approaches in human geography, sociology, philosophy, history, anthropology, cultural studies, and others and is particularly interested in the spatial configurations of these dynamics, for example with regard to scales, networks, territories or places.

After a successful get-together on the evening before the event with a tasting of various wines and plenty of background information from the Franconian wine-growing region, the first day of the conference began with presentations and discourses on new practices in natural viticulture, new spaces and places, as well as territorial changes and the evaluation and qualification in the wine industry.

Day 2 also offered discursive insights on topics such as the transformation of wine networks, sustainable viticulture and wine and its changing traditions. Numerous topics that call for a continuation.