Why wine drinking and monogamy go together

August 27, 2011
Among the many jabs temperance advocates like to take at alcohol is that it promotes promiscuity. One glass over the line and we all know what comes next. Loveless sex, lecherous men and “fallen women.”
But what if I told you that wine-drinking cultures throughout history have tended to be more monogamous than their abstinent counterparts? What if polygyny – the social doctrine sanctioning multiple female partners for a man – tended to prevail in societies that did not imbibe?
That paradox was uncovered recently by two economists in Belgium who decided to pore over mountains of ethnographic data going back thousands of years. The more a society drank, they found, the more likely it was to endorse monogamy. (Believe it or not, “frequency of drunkenness” records have been kept for centuries.)
“Women or Wine? Monogamy and Alcohol,” published in December in the journal of the American Association of Wine Economists, lays bare an historical truth that might unsettle your pastor, rabbi or imam. It astonished even the researchers.
“It’s amazing,” said Mara Squicciarini, co-author of the paper with Jo Swinnen. “We were surprised to find that there is a trade-off between alcohol consumption and the number of sex partners” that men tended to keep at any one time.
Though much has been written about alcohol consumption and human mating habits, respectively, the authors believe that they are the first to prove a strong correlation between societies that imbibed and those that enshrined monogamy into law. It might come as news to many people today, in fact, that polygyny was the norm in most pre-industrial societies.
Unfamiliar with the term polygyny? It refers to multiple-wife arrangements, as opposed to polyandry, in which women keep multiple male sexual partners. The latter is exceedingly rare, which is why the researchers use the term polygyny and not the often misused polygamy, which refers to multiple partners for both sexes. Clear?
Some of the bedroom trivia related in Ms. Squicciarini’s paper would be enough to make Charlie Sheen blush. Lord Krishna, worshipped in Hindu tradition, was said to have 16,108 wives. King Solomon, of Old Testament fame, juggled 700 wives and 300 concubines – all without the advantage of Facebook or a BlackBerry. Monogamy, the norm in most cultures today, emerged in tandem with the spread of alcohol, primarily wine, starting in the West.
Specialists in development economics, Ms. Squicciarini and Dr. Swinnen decided to turn their attention to alcohol and monogamy while discussing a curious fact over a glass of wine near their offices at the Catholic University of Leuven. They wondered why the two most prominent religious groups we associate with polygyny today, Muslims and Mormons, also happened to abstain from alcohol. “At a certain point, we said, ‘Oh, come on. Is there a trade-off between sex and alcohol?’ ” Ms. Squicciarini told me over the phone.
They spent a year combing through published ethnographic studies of more than 300 distinct societies. Case after case showed a strong correlation between wine and one-woman men. (I say “wine” specifically because that beverage, not beer, was the chief focus of the study.)
It was an arduous pursuit because the two main databases used in the study – G.P. Murdock’s Ethnographic Atlas and M.K. Bacon’s A Cross-Cultural Study of Drinking, both from the 1960s – were available only in paper form, not previously keyed into computers for swift number-crunching. “Every day, I was finding out something different and new,” Ms. Squicciarini said.
And there’s an all-important twist to the findings. If you were wondering whether there is a causal link compelling drinkers to be monogamous or, conversely, prompting monogamous men to take up the bottle, your answer is no. It’s merely an historical accident. “We call this in economics a spurious correlation,” Ms. Squicciarini said. Both phenomena are independently related to economic factors in each society, specifically three important movements in history.
Cracks in the polygynous wall first formed in earnest with the expansion of the Greek and Roman empires, which not only spread vines and winemaking expertise but also happened to be the first cultures to introduce formal monogamy, Ms. Squicciarini said. Later came the influence of the Christian church, with its “blood of Christ” oeno-symbolism and insistence on marital fidelity.
Lastly, the Industrial Revolution in Europe prompted a growth in alcohol consumption for the simple reason that more people could afford to drink. That same economic shift also put a serious dent in the female-hoarding powers of superrich landowners. Factory jobs meant wealth was being distributed to a greater number of males, who now were working for cool cash rather than subsisting virtually penniless – and in many cases wife-less – on feudal farms. In contemporary parlance, a good job gets you the girl – the girl who would otherwise have shunned your romantic advances to settle for the posh life of a rich guy’s harem. “Since females are better off by sharing the resources of a rich male rather than singularly enjoying the limited resources of a poor male,” the authors write, “there is a positive correlation between polygyny and male inequality.”
So, sorry, you can’t rationalize your boozing by arguing that it will turn you into a more loyal husband. You’ll have to find another reason to drink, if the pleasure of a glass of good wine weren’t enough.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/food-and-wine/beppi-crosariol/why-wine-drinking-and-monogamy-go-together/article1890628/

Although the Philippines is not known for being the wine capital of Asia, Clark Pampanga is the most frequently visited destination for wine lovers in Cebu, Angeles City and Manila to shop for some good vintage wine. The famous wine shop outside Manila called Clark Wine Center is the largest wine shop in Philippines which offers over 2000 selections of fine vintage wine from all wine regions, vintages spanning over 50 years covering all price ranges.

This wine shop in Clark is highly recommended as one of the best places to buy wine in Pampanga. Clark Freeport is just outside Manila near Subic and Angeles City Philippines is Clark Wine Center. Visitors buy wine in Manila and Pampanga should not miss stopping at this wine shop for a few bottles of fine vintage wines to bring home.

Established in 2002, YATS WINE CELLARS is a wholly-owned business unit of Hong Kong-based Yats International which owns and operates resort, wine shops, wine bars and fine-dining restaurant properties in Clark Freeport in The Philippines. YATS WINE CELLARS caters to a clientele of discerning wine lovers from all over the world. Besides a good selection of wine for everyday enjoyment, YATS offers a unique selection of aged vintage wines made available to wine enthusiasts at remarkably affordable prices. Vintages span over a century and the selection of old- and new-world wines covers all major wine regions.

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Getting to this wine shop in Pampanga Angeles City Clark Freeport Zone Philippines from Manila
Getting to the Clark Wine Center wine shop from Manila is quite simple: after entering Clark Freeport from Dau and Angeles City, proceed straight along the main highway M A Roxas. Clark Wine Center is the stand-along white building on the right, at the corner A Bonifacio Ave. From the Clark International Airport DMIA, ask the taxi to drive towards the entrance of Clark going to Angeles City. From Mimosa, just proceed towards the exit of Clark and this wine shop is on the opposite side of the main road M A Roxas.

Clark Wine Center
Bldg 6460 Clark Observatory Building
Manuel A. Roxas Highway corner A Bonifacio Ave,
Angeles Clark Freeport Zone, Pampanga 2023
(045) 841 4006 / 0922-870-5173 / 0917-826-8790 (ask for Ana Fe)

Wine@Yats-International.com

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Manila Sales Office
3003C East Tower, Phil Stock Exchange Center,
Exchange Rd Ortigas Metro Manila, Philippines 1605
(632) 637-5019 0917-520-4393 ask for Rea or Chay

Best place to buy wine in Clark Pampanga outside Manila near Subic and Angeles City Philippines is Clark Wine Center.
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While in Clark, it might be a good idea to enjoy an evening of wine-and-dine in the fine dining Yats Restaurant and Wine Bar that features an award winning 2700-line wine list. It is located in Mimosa Leisure Estate of Clark Freeport Zone. For more information, visit http://www.YatsRestaurant.com

YATS Leisure Philippines is a developer and operator of clubs, resorts and high-class restaurants and wine shops in Clark Angeles Philippines http://www.YatsLeisure.com

Looking for famous tourists spots, places to visit and see, relax and unwind in Clark, Pampanga, Philippines? You may want to check out these sites also:

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http://www.YatsWineCellars.com

Yats Restaurant is the best restaurant for special dinner, best restaurant for dinner with friends near Manila, also the best place to celebrate special events.

Famous Restaurant in Pampanga, a place to dine with friends in Clark, cozy restaurant with a nice ambience, a nice function place for special occassions

Are you looking for an attractive restaurant or a nice place to eat with friends in Clark, Angeles City Pampanga? Yats Restaurant and Wine Bar is a restaurant with good food and good wines for dinner located at Clark Angeles City Pampanga. Perfect for exclusive dinner venues for groups, recommended for private dinner in Philippines. A Restaurant in Clark for business dinner meeting. Private dinner place or dinner restaurant in Clark Subic Near Manila Angeles City Pampanga. Yats Restaurant is one of the Good Restaurant in Pampanga Angeles City Clark near Manila.

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Looking for interesting hotels near Manila Subic Clark Angeles City Pampanga?
Trouble free hotels and well recognized hotels in Subic Clark Angeles City Pampanga
Clearwater Resort and Country Club offers a good place to stay in Subic Clark Angeles City Pampanga. In offers nice place to have rest in Subic Pampanga outside Manila.
One of the Philippines top hotels in north Luzon.

Where to go in Clark? Hotel Clark Philippines is a De Luxe Hotel in Clark and Subic, a risk free place to stay, cozy and nice ambience, a nice function place for special occassion

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