| Series Title | European Voice |
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| Series Details | Vol.12, No.9, 9.3.06 |
| Publication Date | 09/03/2006 |
| Content Type | News |
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Many of the European Union's best and brightest are currently exercised about ways to determine what constitutes vodka. A question-mark over what the clear spirit should be made of began to emerge when vodka-producers Sweden and Finland first joined the EU in 1995. The Nordic countries, now backed by Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Germany, insist that the czars' favourite drink can correctly be made only from cereals or potatoes. Opponents claim vodka was originally made from grapes, pointing to traditional vodka names that suggest a link with wine, such as br�vin (Sweden) and viin (Estonia). With a newer grape-based vodka from the world's largest spirits manufacturer Diageo selling well in Europe and the US since 1993, grain and potato vodka-makers claim that their centuries-old traditions are under threat. A review of 1989 EU legislation setting out definitions of all spirits, from rum to whisky and whiskey, has given both sides a chance for a bar brawl. The law currently defines vodka as a spirit drink distilled from agricultural raw materials. Its "organoleptic [taste and smell] characteristics" must have been "selectively reduced" by the time it is bottled for sale. It also has to contain at least 37.5% alcohol. As proposed by the Commission late last year, the reviewed EU spirit drinks legislation would leave the basic definition and minimum alcohol level unchanged. But the grain and potatoes lobby has taken this opportunity to argue that grape-based vodka is not vodka at all. Meanwhile fans of grape distillation say that since the fundamental definition of vodka is that it should have no overpowering smell or flavour, only the fermentation process defines vodka. Peeter Luksep of Sweden-based drinks suppliers Vin & Spirit said it was "nonsense" to think grape vodka tasted at all like grain or potato vodka and that it was wrong to think of vodka as a "neutral" tasting drink: "Even different types of potato produce different tasting vodkas." But Alan Butler of Diageo said countries which felt their national standards were being undermined could protect them with a geographical indicator, such as the "Swedish vodka" label already used for the vodka produced using traditional Swedish methods. He said Diageo welcomed the review suggestion that all vodka labels should clearly show what the drink was distilled from. But though 90% of vodkas produced in Europe are made of grain and potatoes, not all manufacturers using alternative sources of carbohydrate are equally happy with the labelling suggestion. Shoppers might like the idea of associating cornfields or vineyards with supermarket shelf vodka but molasses might not be so easily sold. A short history of vodka... Until the 18th century, voda, from the Russian word for water, was a crudely distilled liquor, used as often to treat diseases or make gunpowder as to offer a toast to friends. Early flavourings, added in an attempt to mask its rough taste, included acorn, horseradish and absinthe. Vodka's transformation into a sophisticated international tipple began 250 years ago with the discovery in St Petersburg that alcohol could be purified using charcoal filtration. The drink was immediately improved from the days of using sand and felt filters. But its progress to becoming the key ingredient in New York's 21st century signature cocktail, the Cosmopolitan, was really launched by Vladimir Ilyich Lenin. Following the 1917 Russian revolution, Lenin's Bolshevik party confiscated private vodka distilleries, forcing producers to flee the country and set up distilleries abroad. In Paris, �gr�iotr Smirnov changed his name to Pierre Smirnoff and introduced Left Bank intellectuals to his family brand. Between the 1930s and 1960s dozens of vodka brands were launched onto a willing world, which had now discovered you could mix the drink with other things besides absinthe. The Moscow Mule, the Harvey Wallbanger and the Bloody Mary soon followed. Global vodka consumption is 4.4 billion litres a year, of which 500 million is in the EU, whose total vodka production is 650m litres a year. Article reports on the review of 1989 EU legislation setting out definitions of spirits focussing on the definition of vodka. The grain and potatoes lobby took the opportunity to argue that grape-based vodka was not vodka at all. |
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| Subject Categories | Business and Industry |
| Countries / Regions | Europe |
