TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE AND THE CULTURAL SIGNIFICANCE OF HOMEMADE WINE IN JOANNE HARRIS’S BLACKBERRY WINE

Abstract

Traditional knowledge is the sum of knowledge, practices and cultural
experiences passed down from generation to generation. Blackberry Wine (2000) by
Joan Harris is a novel about the cultural and emotional importance of homemade
wine, in the form of Jackapple Joe Cox, an old man who lives in the garden and is an
amateur winemaker who has a profound impact on the life of Jay Mackintosh. The
novel is not only about the drink itself, but also about the cultural memory as well as
the traditional craftsmanship, friendship and human relations. Joe's expertise in
gardening, seasonal fruits and winemaking emphasizes the value of learning from
hands-on experience and observing the natural world. His self-made wines turn into
repositories of personal recollections, tying together the young with the grown-up life
of Jay. This paper will explore the connection between traditional knowledge, food
culture and cultural identity in the novel. It discusses the transferal of traditional
practices, the importance of nature and the emotional attachment to homemade
products, from a cultural study and a memory studies perspective. It asserts that Harris
embodies the art of winemaking as a form of cultural transmission and as a way of
fostering inter-generational bonds.