the phrase “wine culture” in China and Wan xiaoyan (2009) explains that the wine culture has broad and narrow meaning. In the broad sense, wine culture including wine technology with thousands of years’ enhancement, technological level, legal system and drinking customs; in the narrow sense, wine culture is just referred to drinking etiquette, custom and anecdote. There are many experts devote themselves to the research of wine culture, but it’s difficult to give a clear definition. Wine culture represents different characteristics in different times and has different effects on society.
Throughout the Chinese wine culture’s history, we know that wine culture studies the material, brewing techniques of wine and its social attitude. Xu Shaohua (1999) said that wine means drinking in social activities has a specific effect on politics, economic, culture, military affairs, religion, art, science and technology, social psychology, and folk customs. Wine culture is the combination of material culture and spiritual culture. It's a special and attractive culture.
3.2 Wine Culture in the West
In the west, wine culture is also a richly historical culture. In most time, wine culture refers to grape wine in west countries. “It has a history more than 8000 or at most 10000 years since wine appeared, and much longer than the liquor history in China.”(Li xiaoye, 2010, P8) To western people, wine is a special kind of art and has its glamour. When we meet troubles in our daily life or feel sad, wine can help us become strong and comfort us. So there is no doubt that wine culture is not only a kind of material culture but also a kind of a spiritual culture. Owing to the different cultural backgrounds, the western people’s understanding of the wine culture tends to the symbol of the right and gives it elegant and luxury image. For example, they believe wine can enrich their life and regulate their feelings. Xu Yan (2004) said this view of life can be expressed as drink one’s sorrows/ troubles, drown one’s troubles away, drink down sorrow. Wine culture is the reflection of culture in history and it’s the witness of history.
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