One thought on “Beverages”

1. Being a connoisseur of all things boozy (AKA wino/lush/drunk), I’ve been intrigued about the intended flavors of various alcoholic beverages mentioned in ASOIAF. So far, I’ve been trying to approximate every mention of a variety or beverage to a modern equivalent, or at least try to figure out what variety Martin may have had in mind while he was writing. So far, my personal system goes something like this:

   Strongwine (used as anesthetic or to kill boar-hunting monarchs)
   - Fortified wine, either over-fermented grapes, or wine and distilled brandy mixed together
   - Region seems ambiguious, since the point of strongwine is simply high alcohol content

   Summerwine (Produced by the temperate/Mediterranean South only in times of constant heat- Sweet, fruity)
   - Either a Cab Sav or Merlot, depending on the Northmen’s definition of ‘sweetest’
   - Is considered to be far superior to dryer or colder-weather varieties, and fairly sugary
   - Rare for Westeros, growing season confined to about only 1/4 of years, depending on Worlderos’s unpredicable seasonal cycle
   - Mentioned to be grown in either the Reach or the Arbor

   Dornish Red (Restricted to Dorne, a perpetually warm/desert climate)
   - Definitely Shiraz
   - Dry, hot climate and dry red wines

   Northern Wine (Rarely mentioned and considered inferior, even by Northmen)
   - Riesling
   - Said to be dry and without any sweetness
   - Apparently grown in all three seasons but winter, which might contribute to varying quality and price

   Arbor Gold (Regionally-constrained to the Redwyne’s island)
   - Chardonnay?
   - Considered to be the most expensive wines in Westeros, if not most of the world
   - Heavily restricted by climate and location; House Redwyne takes most of it’s exceptional revenues from the global export of this product

   Myrish Fire Wine (??????????????????)
   - Said to burn, as if it has a high alcohol content
   - But also seems to have a ‘hot’ flavor or piquancy as well that affects taste
   - Stumped on this; I once infused tequila with serrano chiles and got a similar effect of burning from the taste and the alcohol at the same time, but can’t see this as a ‘wine thing’

   Dreamwine
   - Wine sweetened with a tiny dilution of sweetsleep, a narcotic sedative
   - Mentioned to thin the blood excessively, and implied to cause major health problems or addiction if administered regularly within a period of a few months

   Milk of the Poppy
   - Laudanum or something similar
   - A habit-forming and exceptionally powerful painkiller/sedative
   - May cause mental instability after addiction (Case in point: The Mountain)

   Moon Tea/Tansy Tea
   - An estrogen production-inducing mixture, used exclusively for birth control
   - A regular, monthly consumption seems to prevent pregnancy entirely
   - Concentrated doses mixed with other chemicals and poisons are considered to be a reliable abortative

   I doubt that Martin himself would care to explain any of these terms further (that would ruin the atmosphere) but if we’re trying to recreate the food and drink of his series, then it seems useful to at least speculate and trade ideas regarding these beverages.

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