The study of various beverages brings us to the conclusion that apart from certain regions where beer and cider were consumed for lack of wine, wine remained the preferred drink of the Middle Ages. But what kind of wine? White, at first, before red came to be preferred. Wine was consumed all year long, for no way of storing it was known. The habit of drinking spread to the lower classes. And medieval people drank a great deal. Wine was also a cornerstone of social life. It was important to observe certain customs and not drink any which way. Wine could end friendships, in so much as drunkenness led to quarreling.