Book excerpt: Wine has held its place for centuries at the heart of social and cultural life in western Europe. This book explains how and why this came about, providing a thematic history of wine and the wine trade in Europe in the middle ages from c.1000 to c.1500.Wine was one of the earliest commodities to be traded across the whole of western Europe. Because of its commercial importance, more is probably known about the way viticulture was undertaken and wine itself was made, than the farming methods used with most other agricultural products at the time. Susan Rose addresses questions such as:Where were vines grown at this time? How was wine made and stored? Were there acknowledged distinctions in quality? How did traders operate? What were the social customs associated with wine drinking? What view was taken by moralists? How important was its association with Christian ritual? Did Islamic prohibitions on alcohol affect the wine trade? What other functions did wine have?