As for the English, even the most ardent mercantilist would rather they left viniculture to others.But if a country's God-given advantages were clear to Ricardo, they are less so in modern practice.
Many terms relating to dress and fashion, cuisine and viniculture, politics and diplomacy, drama and literature, art and ballet come from French.
Soon, the old hybrid vines were replaced with respectable varietals that could produce more refined (and more marketable) wines, and a new kind of viniculture flourished alongside the valley's orchards.
These are the descendants of a viniculture that goes back some nine millennia.
Since landing in Burgundy four years ago, he has tried to immerse himself in the local culture and has worked the grape harvests in Gevrey-Chambertin to try to understand the complexities of the local viniculture.
The change is helping to turn Nordic viniculture from a retirement hobby into a small but resilient commercial reality – there are more than a dozen vineyards selling to the country's alcohol stores, while many more have created businesses around their wine.
One of only two Turkish Aegean islands, it is famed for its imposing fortress and thriving viniculture (try its corvus wines).
Growers like Allen are against the measure, pointing out that industries such as viniculture and hard alcohol require the regulation of multiple state agencies due to their complexity.
Anyone still doubting British viniculture should head to south Devon, where a collection of vineyards around Exeter region have produced a number of respectable tipples over the last few years.
