Wine Makers and Bottle Makers: a Parable

Abstract

A CERTAIN country was noted for its wonderful native wines, both sparkling and mellow. Grapes were grown by small individual owners, and each specialist was proud of his product and of its distinct taste. For fermentation and ageing, wine was poured into various casks, skins, bottles, jugs, etc., as the case might be. From time to tune there was some talk about the containers being not always satisfactory and certainly not uniform. Gradually the makers of bottles and jugs organised an association to improve and to standardise their products, so as to provide the wine makers with better containers and thereby to assist them both in the production and marketing of the wines.