The Importance of South African Wines in the British Empire

The wines of Australia, South Africa, and New Zealand are widely consumed around the world, especially in the UK, the heart of the former British empire. And that’s no coincidence. The British imperial project was central to the cultivation and distribution of wine from its colonies, for reasons both ideological and economic. Historian Jennifer Regan-Lefebvre discusses three centuries of imperial wine production and consumption, once primarily reserved for the elite, then later consumed by the lower classes.

Resources:

Jennifer Regan-Lefebvre, Imperial Wine: How the British Empire Made Wine’s New World UC Press, 2022

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