Wine-Wine Making History

At it's most basic – wine is either red or white.  Wine is one of the most popular drinks since – well, no one has determined an exact date yet, however, certain historical information does exist.  Seeds and residue of wild grapes have been found and dated back as far as 350,000 years ago (at Terra Amata, modern day Nice in France).  Earlier finds also include Franchthi Cave in Greece, dated to ca. 12,000 years ago, Grotta del ‘Uzzo, Sicily, mid-eight millennium B.C., and in various places in the eastern Mediterranean and near east that range between the 11th and seventh centuries B.C. These finds were among human settlement remains.  It is presumed that the grapes were used for food and (perhaps) also for wine.

Evidence such as seeds, empty skins, stains and residue, possibly from wine, were found in earthenware jars at sites dating from the Neolithic Age (8500-4000 B.C.). Though this doesn't necessarily indicate (as fact) that the contents in these jars was wine.  The more popular theory is that wine was fermented from pictorial and literary sources of times coming later.  What is certain to have been the earliest wine (dated ca. 5400-5000 B.C.) was found at Hajji Firuz Tepe, in the Zagros Mountains of Iran. What was discovered there did contain residues of grape juice AND resin from the terebinth tree (known as a preservative used in ancient wine-and still used in Greek retsina to this day) and was found in earthenware vessel-like containers.

More than likely, wine production was an accident, therefore it was more of an "discovery” than an  “invention.”

Wine enthusiasts base classification on a variety of factors, including but not limited to; color, smell, taste, place of origin,  alcoholic strength, vinification (Process/es used for turning grapes into wine) method/s and also style.  Classifications based on style consist of:  Sparkling, Fortified, Cooking, Fruit, Table, and Dessert.

The main four factors leading to the growth of wine production include:

1 - Knowledge and practices that were part of the information and technology shared between cultures coming into contact with one another. Indians were said to be the best producers because they learned the process from their forefathers.

2 - Wine became a part of cultures in both secular and religious practices.  I know of one altar boy who just loved to prepare the communion cup at his church.

3 - Wine was developed as a profitable agricultural product and trade commodity.

4 – Markets emerged to represent wine cultures.  A modern example of an emerging market is related to Mark Twain, after successfully publishing  his book, "Celebrating Jumping Frog of Calaveras County," he left California for New York in 1866 to promote those wines in the East. Both white and red wines experienced a sharp increase in sales just one year after he arrived-1867.

Entire industries were spawned with the 'discovery' and development of wine.  To honestly appreciate the aroma and flavors of different types of wine, use different types of wine glasses.  For Example -

Sparkling Glass - designed with a tall and more narrow bowl so that it holds carbon-dioxide for a longer time and lets you appreciate and enjoy the sparkling or bubbling that goes with wine.

Red Wine Glass – designed with a more defined round bowl.  The larger opening lets you dip your nose into the glass, letting you truly appreciate the distinct aromas of red wine. There are many brands of glasses available in the market.

Wine become a very important commodity, and more cultures began to learn and develop methods for its production, making it more common throughout the ancient world.  Wine remains an important commodity today. Cheers!