The Land Where Lemons Grow

Grasse was busy, crowded, and workmanlike. It fell into the perfume business through a combination of luck, sheep, buffalo, and Catherine de Médici. In the Middle Ages, Grasse was a tanning town, treating sheepskins from Provence and buffalo hides from Italy. Part of the process required the use of aromatic herbs (and if you’ve ever smelt a tannery

Beer’s eventual predominance stems from the preservative effect of hops. Ale, whatever its strength or herb flavour, has a short shelf life, a couple of weeks at best, and much less if the weather is hot. Beer will keep successfully for many months, however. From a commercial point of view this is clearly a major benefit, allowing large-scale produ

Olive Garden’s seven hundred–plus restaurants sell more wine than any other