Prohibition and the Great Depression: Echoes
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Even French wine was bad in 1931. A poor vintage capped a pretty miserable year around the world. Of course, you couldn’t get Burgundy or Bordeaux legally in the U.S. -- Prohibition was the law of the land. Still, those with friends and contacts could find their way to bottles (and cases) from the legendary 1929 harvest and the excellent 1926.
Prohibition is going through something of a renaissance in today's popular culture, from Ken Burns’s terrific PBS series to the riveting HBO show "Boardwalk Empire," with its savagely charismatic crime boss, Nucky Thompson.