History of wine starts thousands of years ago, and is inextricably connected to the history of agriculture, ceramics, culture and humanity itself.
Recent archaeological evidences found that the earliest systematic cultivation of vine as known today, was made in the region of the Caucasus, around 8,000 BC, between current Iran, Armenia and Georgia.
The oldest known winery was discovered by American and Irish archaeologists in the “Areni-1” complex of caves in the Vayots Tzor region of Armenia in January 2007. The winery dates back 6,100 years, contains a wine press, fermentation vats, vases, and bowls. Archaeologists found also grape seeds of the Vitis Vinifera species. Archaeologists found also grape seeds of the Vitis Vinifera species.
There are numerous historical referencesregarding the history of wine.
According to the Bible, after the great flood, Noah’s Ark stood at the top of Mount Ararat. When the waters receded, Noah descended the Ararat valley with his two sons and planted the first vines.
This is how, according to the Bible, cultivation of the vine started in the modern world.
The earliest recorded myth, however, concerning the discovery of the wine comes from Iran, and King Jamshid and his harem. The king banished one of his harem’s women, which after this disappointment, she wanted to kill herself. In the palace underground warehouse she found and drank from a jar that contained remains of rotten grapes, which was identified as ‘poison’. The girl drunk the content of the jar, fell asleep, but when she woke up the she discovered the interesting effects of this so called ’poison’. She took her discovery of the King, who accepted her back to the harem, and ordered that all cultivated grapes in the Persepolis region should be used only for winemaking. Of course the poison from the grape remains in the jar, was the result of fermentation!
The Phoenicians known as excellent sailors and merchants were the ones that received the wines from the Eastern regions of that time, and through their extensive network, played a key role in the distribution of grapes, wine and winemaking technology of that time, through the Mediterranean Sea. Phoenician amphora was extensively used for storing and transporting wine across the seas, and that was an important contribution to the development of wine industry in Ancient Greece and Rome.
Through Ancient Greece wine was widely known throughout the Mediterranean Sea and numerous Greek amphorae have been found throughout the whole region. Greeks had the key role for the development and distribution of wine in ancient Egypt, Italy, Sicily, France, Spain and all the Ancient world.
The oenological technology developed extensively during the Roman Empire. A crucial step, was the discovery of wooden barrels in the 3rd century AD as a result of the commercial and military trade with the Galatians. The barrels took the place of the amphorae, and later on the glass bottles were the ones that contributed to the improvement of wine technology. Wines could now be stored longer, sealed with cork and aged, protecting and enhancing its important features and characteristics.
Since wine transportation became easier, it soon became an important and integrated part of the Roman diet.
Almost all the major wine growing regions of today’s Western Europe were established during the Roman Empire. After the decline of the Roman Empire and the Byzantium, the Christian Church became strong supporters of winemaking during the middle ages. Wine production gradually increased along with its consumption from the 15th century and onwards.
In the Middle Ages, wine was the common drink for all classes in Southern regions of Europe where there was a very large amount of vine cultivation. To the north and east, where grapes grew significantly less, this place was taken by beer. Wine was introduced gradually in the northern regions, but it was expensive, and rarely consumed by lower classes. Wine was necessary for different celebrations of the Catholic Church and the Benedictine monks were the largest wine producers in France and Germany.
In late 19th century however a great disaster appeared. Fylloxera, an insect that moved from the new world America, damaged and destroyed almost all the vineyards of Europe, together with the wine production. The economic impact was devastating, including the loss of many indigenous grape varieties. However, the positive side of this severe loss, was the strengthening of more robust vineyards in Europe that survived the insect and the development of new wine making regions, the so-called ‘New World of wine’ which include the regions of California, Argentina, Chile, Australia and South Africa.
The unique microclimate of the Ararat valley, is perhaps one of the most important elements for the cultivation of the indigenous varieties. The valley has more than 30 different types of soil, altitude of 700 meters above sea level and enjoys 300 days of sunshine per year. The most popular indigenous varieties that were not affected from fylloxera are Areni, Voskehat and Nerkeni.