“Away with ‘šmarnica!’”

Abstract

In the 1920s a stereotype developed in Slovenia about the poisonous and harmful wine ‘šmarnica’. According to the stereotype ‘šmarnica’, because it contained methyl alcohol, caused madness, blindness, irrational behaviour, and aggressiveness. The stereotype was furthered and maintained particularly by articles in the winegrowing periodicals, and the authorities, too, joined the fight against ‘šmarnica’. In the 1920s the first measures and regulations were adopted to restrict the development and sale of ‘šmarnica’ and other native grapevine varieties and their wines. The authorities continued these activities until the beginning of World War II. Testimony to this are the minutes taken at the Dravska banovina province council meetings, which speak of long quarrels over what measures should be taken and whether they were needed in the first place. The representatives of the districts that produced the most 'šmarnica' initially opposed the provincial measures; however, they probably realized that the 'ban', who headed the province, was unrelenting in his decision. They eventually realized it was pointless to oppose the measures, and their opposition to them gradually diminished. The stereotype of the dangerous ‘šmarnica’ had thus successfully found support and became widespread. It was only later, when sample analyses showed that the wine ‘šmarnica’ contained only small quantities of methyl alcohol, that it became clear that the true danger in 'šmarnica' had a different origin. ‘Šmarnica’ was dangerous not because of the methyl alcohol, but because of the competition that this wine type represented for the quality types that found themselves in deep market crisis after the World War I.