The history of wine

So where did the first wine originate? Who do we have to thank? Well, fortunately it's not the French. The earliest known evidence of a fermented wine-like drink is from the Chinese village of Jiahu dated from 8000 to 9000 years ago (6000 to 7000 B.C.)

The millet or rice wine was discovered by chemically analyzing traces from 16 buried jars. The wine was found to contain rice, beeswax, hawthorn or wild grape fruit. A 3000 year old bronze jar was unearthed still containing a similar liquid wine.

Chemical tests of ancient pottery jars reveal that wine was (like beer) produced about 7000 years ago in what is today Iran, and is one of the first known biological engineering tasks, where the biological process of fermentation was used in a process. It is also believed that the name of the Shiraz grape originates from the Persian town of the same name. This discovery is particularly significant, as this area was not a grape growing one, the main crops were grains and the preferred drink of the time was beer, which suggests that wine was probably used as a commodity.

Wine played an important part in ceremonial life in ancient Egypt. Although the wild grape never grew there, a thriving royal winemaking industry had been established in the Nile Delta - most likely due to Early Bronze Age trade between Egypt and Canaan by at least Dynasty 3 (ca. 2700 B.C.), the beginning of the Old Kingdom period. Winemaking scenes appear on tomb walls, and the accompanying offering lists include wine that was definitely produced at vineyards in the Delta. By the end of the Old Kingdom, five wines - all probably made in the Delta - constitute a canonical set of provisions, or fixed "menu," for the afterlife.

After the Egyptians, the Greeks spread grape growing and winemaking throughout the European Mediterranean area.