Wine History Through the Ages
Throughout history you can find wine intermingled with social cultures and historical events.
Even in countries were alcoholic beverages are forbidden such as Islamic regions such as Iran (Persia) you can find a wine referred to a mei. The earliest known evidence of a fermented wine drink is from a village in China called Jiahu. This wine product is dated from 8000 to 9000 years ago or 6000 or 7000BC. This wine made of rice or millet was found by analyzing trace amounts left in 16 buried jars. The wine found contained rice, beeswax and some type of wild grape or hawthorn fruit. Also discovered was a 3000 year old year that still contained a liquid of similar content.
Early evidence of wine is dated to 5400 B.C. in Hajji Firuz Tepe in the Zagros Mountains of present day Iran. Tests to ancient pottery jars found there show that wine was being produced by using the biological process of fermentation.
This region was not a grape growing area, in fact grain was the main crop and beer was the drink of choice. This suggests that wine may have been used as a commodity since ancient Babylon was located on the Silk Road from China to the Mediterranean.
In ancient Egypt wine was used frequently for ceremonial offering. Wild grapes never thrived or grew in Egypt, however a prominent winemaking industry did become established in the Nile Delta. This can be attributed to the early Bronze Age trade that took place between Egypt and Canaan around 2700 B.C.
Scenes of winemaking do appear on tomb walls and offerings at burial sites include wine produced at the Delta vineyards.
During the Roman times in ancient Greece winemaking spread throughout Europe.