The Ancient Wine Industry

When considering how important wine is to human society, you must realize how old the wine industry is.?And how old is it?

Well, it's ancient.?

The ancient wine industry is far from what the modern wine industry is today, but having said that, it represents to us as a species a blend of art, culture, and economics with roots that trace back over millennia. It reveals that wine plays an integral role in the development of civilizations across the globe.?

The earliest evidence of winemaking dates to around 6000 BCE in the Caucasus region of Eurasia, specifically in modern-day Georgia. Here, archaeologists uncovered pottery fragments with residues indicative of grape wine, marking the inception of viniculture in human history (McGovern et al., 2017). This discovery highlights the ingenuity of early humans in cultivating grapevines and fermenting grapes, laying the foundation for a wine culture that would spread globally.

The cultivation and trade of wine rapidly expanded across the Mediterranean, becoming a cornerstone of cultural and religious practices in numerous ancient civilizations. In Egypt, wine was esteemed for its medicinal properties and played a crucial role in religious ceremonies as early as 3000 BCE (Harutyunyan & Malfeito-Ferreira, 2022). Similarly, the Greeks integrated wine into their mythology, attributing its creation to Dionysus, the god of wine and festivity. Wine became a symbol of divine gift and social status, with Greek wines, particularly the renowned "Opimian" wine from Lesbos, being traded extensively (Van Limbergen, 2016).

The Romans further advanced the winemaking process, introducing technological innovations such as wooden barrels for storage and a wine classification system. The Roman Empire's vast network facilitated the spread of wine throughout Europe, establishing the beverage as a central element of Roman culture and economy (Van Limbergen, 2016).

Beyond the Mediterranean, the ancient Egyptians pioneered winemaking in Africa, producing varieties including red, white, and rosé wines. The aromatic white wine "shedeh" was among the most celebrated (Valamoti et al., 2019). Though winemaking was less prevalent in other parts of Africa, records indicate production in Ethiopia by the 2nd century CE, including the honey wine "tej," a tradition that persists (Bahiru et al., 2006).

The wine trade significantly contributed to the economies of ancient societies. The Phoenicians, renowned for their seafaring and trading capabilities, played a pivotal role in disseminating wine culture across the Mediterranean and North Africa, illustrating the global reach of the ancient wine industry (Malykh, 2023) .The archaeological and historical evidence provides a window into the past, revealing how deeply engrained wine is to us as humans.

In all, the ancient wine industry exemplifies the intersection of agriculture, culture, and commerce. So yeah… we’re a wine world, and have been for a long time.

Additional Sources:

McGovern, P. et al. (2017). Early Neolithic wine of Georgia in the South Caucasus. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. Link to the study

Harutyunyan, M., & Malfeito-Ferreira, M. (2022). The Rise of Wine among Ancient Civilizations across the Mediterranean Basin. Heritage. Link to the study

Van Limbergen, D. (2016). Wine, Greek and Roman. Link to the study

Valamoti, S. et al. (2019). More than meets the eye: new archaeobotanical evidence on Bronze Age viticulture and wine making in the Peloponnese, Greece. Vegetation History and Archaeobotany. Link to the study

Bahiru, B., Mehari, T., & Ashenafi, M. (2006). Yeast and lactic acid flora of tej, an indigenous Ethiopian honey wine: variations within and between production units. Food Microbiology. Link to the study

Malykh, S. (2023). The Memphite Region and the Eastern Mediterranean in the 1st Millennium A.D.: More on Provincial Trade of the Roman and Byzantine Empires. Vostok. Afro-aziatskie obshchestva: istoriia i sovremennost. Link to the study