Wine War

The Wine War is an ongoing economic conflict between Corumm and Aciria following the Corummese Atomic bombing of Shimrra in 2022. The conflict started on the same day as the atomic bombing, when in the afternoon Emperor Ignazio I officially condemned the bombing. Corummese officials reacted to the statement quickly with an initial blanket ban on all imports of Acirian wine, citing research done by the Corummese Food Sanitation Agency to have discovered high amounts of lead in Acirian wines used as a sweetener, and the grapes used in the winemaking were alleged to contain trace amounts of arsenic.

The Imperial Seat stayed quiet following the Corummese statement, but Acirian vintners called the Corummese research biased and falsified. The Imperial University of Trossera reported no lead or arsenic discovered in either the wine or the grapes, which then resulted in an Acirian ban on Corummese exports entirely. Corumm responded with its own ban, now including all Acirian imports. Following talks held in 2024 the sanctions were unofficially lifted, with Acirian wines being imported to Corumm regularly and Corummese products regularly stocking Acirian grocery store shelves. The governments of both parties still regularly either add or remove sanctions on specific products.

Corummese domestic response and governmental measures
Most experts agree that the initial Corummese decision to ban Acirian wine was a purely political reprisal in response to the condemnation issued at the League of Nations by Acirian delegates. Pressure from the Slozo lobby could have also played a factor, with foreign imports of alcoholic beverages seen as a threat to Slozo's market share. The small Corummese wine sector saw only very limited growth in this period, as all fiscal and commercial incentives were funneled to Slozo producers as the more 'national' drink. Chaotic scenes were seen at dumps as lines of trucks carrying wine jostled to get in and dump their loads; with reports of wine being dumped in lakes, rivers or the sea. Semi spontaneous demonstrations against Aciria (often organized by Party functionaries) sometimes escalated to near riotous excitment, with piles of steamed hams(an Acirian signature product) dumped in the streets and stomped and spat upon.

After the initial government declarations, supermarkets and importers were required to dump their stocks of Acirian wine within 48 hours or face punitive fines or even temporary closures. A raft of tax breaks were announced for a list of food industries to bolster their productivity and initiate a system of imports substitution.