Spent Volcano Coming Up

It was as though the English had said no thanks to roast beef, as though the Germans had sworn off beer. Italy's sunny vineyards were heavy with grapes as they had not been in years, but Italians no longer seemed to care. With horror, the government reported that Italy's domestic wine consumption had fallen from 100 liters per year per head before the war to a mere 70. The cause: high cost of living and a taste adulterated by foreign imports. "Before the war," sighed one expert, "when you went to a country osteria, you found only wine. Today you find beer, orangeade and Coca-Cola." A good percentage of Italy's young people, according to the government survey, even prefer plain water to their elders' wine.

To stave off the crisis, Italy's winegrowers took a desperate and humiliating step: they offered a prize of 1,000,000 lire for a soft-drink formula that would use wine as a base but not taste like wine. In Rome last week, five of Italy's top authorities on vine culture were gloomily contemplating the 46 formulas that stood as finalists in the contest. Unable to bring themselves to taste the stuff personally, they had farmed out the final judgment to Rome's nightclub patrons. When the winning formula is picked, the winegrowers will bottle and sell it under a name to be chosen in still another contest. Among names already submitted: Faith, Hope, Charity, Vulcano Spento (spent volcano).

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