Wine history

The history of wine started 8000 years ago, when the grapes were brought from Minor Asia to the Mediterranean. In the year 2000 B.C. the art of wine making was already known in Egypt, on the island Crete, on the territory of Israel and actual Palestine. This fact is proven by the existence of many writings on the rocks, and the Egyptian papyrus.

Greece
Many mythological characters are related to wine and wine making, such as the God Dionis in Greece, Bahus or Libero –in Rome, and Shay in Egypt.

The Greek God Dionis appeared before other gods, that is why he wasn’t recognizing as a god at first. Dionis has been in many countries and wherever he went he taught people how to grow grapes and make wine. To prove his godlike powers, Dionis would make wonders. Once, he was mistaken for a noble young man and abducted by pirates. They were already counting how much gold they would receive as ransom for selling Dionis on the slave market, but they made a mistake. Dionis showed all his might. By a charm all the ropes untied and the canvas got covered with grapes. It seemed all the ship was going to become a vineyard. The astonished pirates jumped over the board, and Dionis turned them into dolphins, and kept sailing alone on this ship until he found his future wife Ariadna будущуюженуАриадну.

Egypt
The wild grape never grew in ancient Egypt.

Yet a thriving royal winemaking industry had been established in the Nile Delta—most likely due to Early Bronze Age trade between Egypt and Palestine, encompassing modern Israel, the West Bank and Gaza, and Jordan—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.

The Roman Empire
The Roman Empire had an immense impact on the development of viticulture and oenology. Wine was an integral part of the Roman diet and wine making became a precise business.

As the Roman Empire expanded, wine production in the provinces grew to the point where the provinces were competing with Roman wines. Virtually all of the major wine producing regions of Western Europe today were established by the Romans.

Wine making technology improved considerably during the time of the Roman Empire. Many grape varieties and cultivation techniques were developed and barrels and bottles began to be used for storing and shipping wine and bottles. Following the Greek invention of the screw, wine presses became common on Roman manors. The Romans also created an early form of appellation system, as certain regions gained reputations for their fine wines.

Wine, perhaps mixed with herbs and minerals, was assumed to serve medicinal purposes. During Roman times it was not uncommon to dissolve pearls in wine for better health. Cleopatra created her own legend by promising Marc Anthony she would "drink the value of a province" in one cup of wine, after which she drank an expensive pearl with a cup of wine. When the Roman Empire fell around 500 AD, Europe went into a period known as the Dark Ages. This was a period of invasions and social turmoil. The only stable social structure was the Catholic Church. Through the Church, grape growing and wine making technology was preserved during this period.

France
Commercial winemaking in France has Roman origins, and it is somewhat ironic that although Italy still makes more wine than any other country in the world, the great red wines come from France.

The word 'art' is used deliberately, since the French believe that the making of wine is more of an art than a science, and great wines are regarded as being created by great artists, as great as any using palette and oils. Although there are many factors that contribute to the end result, each maker is able to add their own personal touch or special method that makes their wine unique. Whereas in Italy wine is regarded as a liquid food to be mass produced, in France it is produced for quality rather than quantity.

There is a very wide variety of French wines, the characteristics of each being determined by the type of soil, the climate, the grape variety and date of picking and even the type of fermentation vessel used and how long fermentation is allow to continue and the wine is stored. There are many more factors that determine the difference between wines, and that result in wines produced in the same area and made from the same grapes being distinctly different from one another. The French call these factors 'terroir'.

The great French wines include the reds of Burgundy and Bordeaux, the home of claret. There is Beaujolais, famous for its November Nouveaux rush, the Rhone valley with its grand Cote De Rhone, and the great whites of Alsace and the Loire - Sancerre being the most famous, made from the lovely sauvignon blanc grape. However, it only just beats Puilly-Fumé made down the road using the same grape.

Then of course we have the Champagne district, of which little need be said. It is the world's recognized tipple of the rich and the wine of love. However, French wine is lot more than champagne and the name given to it, rather than Chardonnay, is an indication of how French wines are named by district rather than grape variety.

This is largely because each district takes pride in its own product, and the French winemaker regards the grape as only one of the many variables that determine the nature of the wine. The same grapes can used in many winemaking districts and chateaux, but each wine is distinctly different. For these reasons they do not regard it as logical to label the wine with the grape rather than the area in which it is produced.

There are, in fact, seven major wine growing regions in France: those mentioned apart from Beaujolais with the addition of Provence. Bordeaux, however, is the main red wine area of France, with cabernet sauvignon grapes favored on the more gravelly left bank of the river and Merlot on the right with its more claylike soil. This great red grape region, interestingly, also produces the famed sweet white Sauternes, one of the best dessert wines in the world.

The favorite grapes to French winemakers include the fore-mentioned chardonnay and sauvignon blanc, and also chenin blanc, muscadet and pinot blanc. Riesling is also popular in Alsace. Among the reds are the great cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc, merlot, Grenache, syrah and pinot noir though the grape variety is generally only mentioned on the description rather than the front label.

At one time the French drank only their local wines, but as transportation improved they began to try wines from other localities. The French were the biggest drinkers of French wines, but now there are more imports from the New World and exports are of extreme importance to France. French wines are no longer regarded as necessarily the best and some Californian and Australian wines are overtaking France, not only in the quality of their wines but also in the development of new winemaking techniques.

However, connoisseurs of wine will still regard the great French reds as being the best and it is unlikely that French winemaking will suffer greatly through this competition. Winemaking in France is traditional, as are the tastes of many European wine connoisseurs, and it is difficult to see them abandoning the great French reds and mellow whites for the newer methods of Australia and California

Europe XVIII-XIX centuryes
In the late 1800s the Phylloxera louse brought devastation to vines and wine production in Europe. It brought catastrophe for all those whose lives depended on wine. The repercussions were widespread, including the loss of many indigenous varieties. On the positive side, it led to the transformation of Europe's vineyards. Only the fittest survived. Bad vineyards were uprooted and better uses were found for the land. Some of France's best butter and cheese, for example, is now made from cows that graze on Charentais soil which was previously covered with vines. "Curvées" were also standardised. This was particularly important in creating certain wines as we know know them today — Champagne and Bordeaux finally achieved the grape mix which defines them today. In the Balkans where phylloxera did not hit, the local varieties survived but along with Ottoman occupation the transformation of vineyards has been slow. It is only now that local varieties are getting to be known beyond the "mass" wines like Retsina.