A Brief History of Wine

Early Beginnings

Fossils have been discovered showing that a type of vine flourished in the then sub-tropical forests of eastern France before there were men, but the first grapes cultivated for use were probably grown in Asia Minor (south of the Black and Caspian Seas, in the general are that includes Georgia) between 7000 and 4000BC.

In one form or another wine production has been carried out for thousands of years; pottery discovered in Persia (present-day Iran), dated at 5,500 BC show evidence of grape use for winemaking and jars from Jiahu in China containing wine from wild grapes date to between 6000 and 7000 BC.

Did Noah Have a Hangover?

Grapes would have been valuable to primitive people; high in natural sugar they can be dried and stored to provide a source of nutrition in the winter or in times of crop failure.

Vines can be trained as protection from the sun and will grow, like the olive, in regions that are virtually useless for any other crop.

The Bible credits Noah with planting vineyards after The Flood and became the first person the Bible records to be drunk; despite this vineyards are mentioned in many passages of the Old Testament as being a valuable possession.

Although the vine was cultivated by the people of Mesopotamia and the Ancient Egyptians, the Phoenicians were probably responsible for bringing grapes and vine stocks to Greece , Italy and France .

Medicinal, Religious and other uses

As well as being an enjoyable drink, wine has natural disinfectant and medicinal properties; it was used as a restorative and a sedative and as a precaution against infection in regions where the water supply was suspect. Foodstuffs could be washed with wine, kept edible in a marinade of wine, oil and herbs and wounds were cleaned with wine.

Wines' multitude of uses made it inevitable that it would play an important part in religious rituals. Dionysus, the Wine God was an important element in the life of Ancient Greece

Wine also features in the Christian religion, Jesus referred the Himself as “the true vine” and since then wine and clusters of grapes have featured in all forms of Christian art.