History Of Wine

Wine has been around for thousands of years. From ancient civilizations to modern times, wine has been produced and enjoyed by many, from peasants to kings.

Beginnnings
Evidence of wine production dates as far back as 6000BC, to early Mesopotamian culture. The Mesopotamians were the first known people to cultivate grapes.

The ancient Egyptians recorded the harvest of grapes on stone tablets and the walls of their tombs. The Egyptians loved wine and even imported what they could not grow. The Egyptian Pharaohs were especially fond of wine. Some of them were even buried with bottles of wine, in order to make their journey to the underworld more tolerable. Wine was a very social drink in Ancient Egypt and great importance was given to its production and consumption.

The Egyptians were not the first to grow wine, but they were the first to record the process of wine making and celebrate its values.

Wine in Ancient Greece and Rome
Wine in ancient Greece was praised and immortalized by her poets, historians and artists. Wine also played a role in the religion of Ancient Greece, associated with the god Dionysus.

Like the Egyptians, the ordinary citizens did not consume wine. It was considered a privilege of the upper classes. Wealthy Greeks even invented a popular wine tossing game that consisted of throwing the last few mouthfuls of wine from a guest's cup into the air. The object was to hit a delicately balanced dish on a pole with the "tossed" wine.

During the time of the Roman Empire, the production of wine spread throughout Europe. At this time, wine also became available to the common citizens. Some cities even built bars on almost every street in order to promote wine.

Roman wine was said to be sweet rather than dry. Pure red or white wines were almost unthinkable in Ancient Rome. The Romans believed that flavoring was more important than the original taste of the wine. They added such flavors as fermented fish sauce, garlic and onion to their wines.

The Dark Ages
During the Dark Ages wine production was mainly kept alive through the efforts of monasteries. As the Church extended their monasteries, they began to develop some of the finest vineyards in Europe. Although most wine production was done in monasteries, some religious believers diluted their wine with water in order to make it "safer" for them to drink.

Due to the fact that most of Europe lacked a reliable source of drinking water, wine was still considered to be an important part of everyday diet. During this time, people also begin to favor stronger, heavier wines.

England began importing wine from Germany when they lost Bordeaux to the French in the 14th century. Portugal also shipped wine to England, which helped keep the two countries on friendly terms.

Shakespeare's Time
During Shakespeare's time, wine was very much a staple of the diet. Beer was a favored alternative, yet wine enjoyed more attention. It was during this time, when wine began to diversify and consumers began to value the concept of variety in their drinking. Citizens of Shakespeare's age clearly enjoyed drinking wine and began to discuss its virtues and pitfalls with greater enthusiasm than in the previous centuries.

By the end of Shakespeare's life, an abundant supply of fresh drinking water was available to London for the first time, and so the wine industry was moved into a new age.

17th and 18th Century
The wine industry saw a brief decline in the 17th century. Politics and religious propaganda did little to promote the drinking of wine for pleasure. Wine also had to face the rival of a clean and readily available supply of drinking water. Wine was no longer needed as a major part of the daily diet.

Despite all of this, many new developments helped the wine industry keep its popularity. The invention of better glass making, the cork and other accessories, as well as better methods of production helped wine through the 17th century.

Wine went through several changes during the 18th century. England witnessed many of these due to its political relations with France. Because of the strained relations with France, the English were without a major source of wine and had to look elsewhere for their drink. They turned to Portugal, Holland, and South Africa for their wine.

Despite their strained relations with the British, the French wine industry soared in the 18th century. Many people feel that this was when the wines of Bordeaux really began to flourish. The merchants who frequented the Bordeaux region came from Holland, Germany, Ireland and even Scandinavia. As a result, Bordeaux was able to successfully trade wine for coffee and other much sought after items from the New World, which helped cement the role of wine in the growing industry of world trade.

19th Century
During the early 19th century, when the British were fighting the Napoleonic Wars, they were unable to get a steady supply of wine from France, and instead turned to Portugal. Port became the favored wine in England during this time.

Champagne also gained favor in the 19th century. The French widow Nicole-Barbe Clicquot-Ponsardin is credited with making Champagne the celebrity wine of the world. She found easier ways to remove the sediment from Champagne and replaced it with wine, sugar, and brandy. She also organized the production of Champagne so that it could be done in an assembly line, making this beverage truly "modern."

The wines of New World began challenging those of the Old World in the 19th century. Thomas Jefferson was convinced that the lack of fine wines in America was driving his fellow citizens to drink too much hard liquor. This idea carried on after his death and influenced the way Americans viewed wine. Ohio was the first region in America to successfully grow grapes for wine. Its glory soon faded, however, and California soon took its place.

Although the 19th century is considered to be the golden age of wines for the Bordeaux and Burgundy regions, it was not without tragedy. Around 1863 many of the French grapevines began to suffer from a mysterious disease. It was soon discovered that this disease was the caused by the Phylloxera aphid. Some French winemakers at this time, moved to the Rioja region in northern Spain, and taught the Spaniards to make wine from local Tempranillo grapes.

Modern Times
The last 90 years have seen a revolution in the wine industry. The scientific background of wine making has developed greatly, allowing for many things that were once impossible to be accomplished. An example of this would be refrigeration. Before the 1940s, wine was supplied to people according to their geographic location. After the development of refrigeration, it was easier for wineries to control the temperature of their fermentation process. This enabled high quality wines to be produced in hot climates.

Machines that harvest grapes more quickly have allowed vineyards to become larger and more efficient. Grapes can also be harvested during day or night, allowing vineyards to control the temperature and climate when grapes are harvested.

Modern wine makers can now achieve total control of every stage of wine making, from harvesting, and crushing to bottling. Though recent advances in technology have benefitted the wine industry, they have also led to the temptation to produce more wine at the expense of quality. Wine makers face the challenge of producing wine for a larger market without losing the character and individual flavor of their wines.

More countries are producing more varieties of wine than ever before. Advances in technology will ensure that this trend will continue, with more countries producing more wine, and better wine.