Winemaking history

Winemaking arose after the development of viticulture - the development of the cultivation of grapes by people; this happened in the Neolithic era in the Middle East ^[2] . Winemaking began to develop around 6000 BC in the region of Transcaucasia , Eastern Anatolia and the north of the Zagros Mountains (modern Iran) ^[3] .

The oldest remains of cultivated grapes found date back to around 6000 BC. e. and found in Georgia and Turkey ^[2] .

On the territory of Iran in the Haji-Firuz region inhabited 7000 years ago (the northern part of the Zagros mountains ), during excavations organized by Mary M. Voigt, pitchers with a volume of about 9 liters were found with a yellowish sediment. The analysis showed the presence of substances that clearly indicated grape wine. Pitchers were built into the earthen floor along the wall of the "kitchen" of the Neolithic adobe house, dated about 5400-5000 BC. As of 2009, it was the oldest find indicating wine production. It is believed that even then a type of grape was grown, similar to the modern Vitis vinifera , from which most modern wines are made. Winemaking was used to store perishable grape varieties. Whether the resulting drink was specifically designed for intoxication is not known. ^{[4] [5] [6] [7] [8]} .

Winemaking spread to neighboring regions, penetrating into Mesopotamia , Cyprus and Greece .

On the territory of Greece, traces of targeted pressing of grapes dating back to 5 thousand BC were discovered. e., which can serve as evidence of the early production of wine in this region ^[9] .

In 2010, in Armenia, in the caves near the village of Areni ( Areni-1 cave), the oldest known winery, dating to 4100-4000, was discovered. BC e. ^{[10] [11] [12] [13]} .

According to archeology, in ancient Egypt, wine was consumed as early as 3150 BC. e. ^[14] .

In 1980, in the tomb in Xinyang ( Henan Province , China) found 2 whole bottles of wine, bottled in 1300 BC. e. This wine is considered the oldest in the world ^[15] .

In 1867, a bottle of liquid wine was discovered in the tomb of the Roman aristocrat, dated between 325 and 350 years BC. e. - A bottle of wine from Speyer ^{[16] [17]} .

In the 2nd millennium BC e. through the Phoenicians, winemaking spreads throughout the Mediterranean . Over time, wine became one of the most significant cultural symbols for various peoples of the Mediterranean, and took an important place in their mythology and rituals, and later in the Christian worship (see Eucharist ) ^[18] .

Ancient Near East

In ancient Egypt, wine was consumed as early as 3150 BC. e. ^[14] . Many jugs with traces of wine were found in burials of the 2nd dynasty (XXIX-XXVII centuries BC), seals on clay corks of vessels testify to the development of viticulture in Lower Egypt . The fame of the wineries of Pharaoh Djoser remained for a long time after his death; in addition to the Pharaohs' own wineries, wine was transferred to the treasury as a tax and trophy; at the same time, for the pharaoh himself there was an official ban on wine ^[19] .

One of the gods of the Egyptian pantheon - Osiris , king of the underworld, judge of the souls of the dead, was the god of wine and rebirth. Wine, along with beer, was deified and offered in offerings to the gods. The cellars and the presses had a divine patron, whose character means the press. The ancient Egyptians knew at least 24 varieties of wine, both men and women drank wine.

In ancient Egyptian literature, the image of good land was described as follows: “there are more grapes and more wine than water”; wine also occupies a prominent place in love lyrics ^[19] .

During the decoding of ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs, it was possible to read the notes regarding the technology of cultivating dark grapes.

In ancient Mesopotamia as early as 2700 BC. e. worshiped the goddess of wine and other wine deities, regularly offered the gods beer and wine.

The Phoenicians made a great contribution to the development of viticulture, spreading winemaking throughout North Africa, including Carthage , southern Spain, Sicily. The Carthaginian writer Magon drafted instructions on how to care for the vine. The ancient Greeks adopted many of the technologies of viticulture and winemaking from the Phoenicians.

Greece

The art of winemaking reached the Greek peninsula around 2000 BC. e. By 1700 BC, winemaking in Greece became commonplace. Later, winemaking became an important sector of the economy, and wine - one of the main export items ^[18] .

Over the next thousand years, wine performed the same function: it was included in religious rituals. It has become an important drink for receiving guests, for medical purposes, has become an integral part of the daily meal. The wine was drunk warm and chilled, clean and diluted with water, simple and with spices. Wines were considered so important to the Greeks that their use was considered a hallmark of Greek culture; those who did not drink wine were considered barbarians ^[4] .

Thucydides believed that the inhabitants of the Mediterranean bid farewell to barbarism when they began to cultivate grapes and olive .

The Greeks were one of the most moderate in the use of wine peoples. This, apparently, was due to their rules of moderate alcohol consumption, their traditions of moderation in everything. An exception to these traditions was the cult of Dionysus , when it was believed that intoxication brings people closer to their deity ^[4] .

At that time, household drunkenness was a rare occurrence; drunkenness at feasts and festivals was commonplace. Such an important component of men's pastime among the Greeks as symposia , as a rule, ended in drunkenness. In ancient Greek literature there is no evidence of drunkenness among the Greeks, however, there are references to this from other peoples.

The philosophers Xenophon (431–351 BC) and Plato (429–347 BC) highly appreciated moderate consumption of wine and believed that it had a beneficial effect on people's health, but both of them pointed to problems of drinking. Plato believed that no one under the age of eighteen should drink wine. Hippocrates (about 460-370 BC) revealed the healing properties of wine, which has long been used for therapeutic purposes. Aristotle (384–322 BC) and Zeno (about 336–264 BC) also criticized drunkenness.

The Macedonians regarded intemperance as a sign of masculinity and were well-known drunkards.

Wine was consumed in classical Greece for breakfast, during symposia in the 1st century BC. e. it was used by most Roman citizens. Greeks and Romans, as a rule, drank diluted wine (1 part wine and about 4 parts water).

The ancient Greeks were able to withstand wine . Some wines were stored in sealed clay amphorae for many years.

Rome

The Romans took over the viticulture and winemaking from the Greeks, introduced many improvements and distributed winemaking throughout the Roman Empire , which had suitable soil and climatic conditions ^[18] .

Even before our era, Magon ’s instruction on viticulture was translated, and Cato the Elder wrote on the same topic. The crown of ancient Roman viticulture was the work of Columella , in which he advised instead of trees to use special trellises to support long vines.

The Romans considered wine a "democratic" drink. Wine was available to slaves, peasants, women and aristocrats. To ensure a stable supply of wine for Roman soldiers and colonists, viticulture and winemaking were cultivated in all parts of the empire. The Romans diluted the wine with water. Wine was also used for religious purposes and for offering to the gods.

In Rome, Greek Dionysus , the god of vegetation, viticulture and winemaking, was known as Bacchus , Bacchus or Liber. The Romans held holidays where wine was served to guests throughout the day, along with three changes of dishes.

Homemade wine was considered more prestigious than purchased ^[20] .

The use of beer in ancient Rome was gradually replaced by wine ^[21] .

The culture of growing grapes by this time spread to the more northern regions of Europe , as well as in Asia and Africa . In Europe, winemaking was most developed in France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Germany, Hungary.

During this period, almost all of the most famous wine-growing regions of Europe were determined. Monasteries began to play a noticeable role in the cultivation of grapes, work was carried out there on the cultivation of new varieties ^[18] .

If viticulture in the Middle Ages approached in terms of sophistication and complexity of techniques to modern technologies, then winemaking itself was very far from modern methods. In the Middle Ages, wine was consumed within one year after preparation, since the maximum period during which the wine did not deteriorate so much that it could only be thrown away was one year. Young wine was valued more, and the producers tried to sell the wine of the new crop as quickly as possible, or to get rid of the already aged wine, mixing it with a younger one - against which numerous bans were issued. Given a slightly better preservation, winemakers were more profitable to produce highly acidic wine ^[22] .

In Europe during the Middle Ages, grape wine remained the prerogative of the upper classes.

With the unsanitary conditions of medieval Europe, the consumption of alcoholic beverages helped to avoid waterborne diseases such as cholera . Drinking wine and beer was safer than water, which was usually taken from contaminated sources. The alcohol contained in the drinks facilitated their disinfection and preservation for several months. For this reason, they were stored on board sailing ships, as an important (or even the only) source of liquid for the crew, especially during long voyages.

Most of the wines produced in Northern Europe at that time were light-flowing, light in color and low in alcohol. Such wines could not be aged and over time they were vinegarized . Wine producers did not consider it necessary to bear the cost of aging the wine. By the sixteenth century, aged wines were made only in the Mediterranean countries.

In the XVII century , two events took place that radically changed the wine industry. The first is the use of corks and glass bottles , which made it possible to store and transport wines in a practically sealed environment. Prior to this, wine was bottled only before serving, and barrels were used for storage ^[18] . The second event is the growing popularity of fortified wines such as port wine , madeira and sherry . The addition of alcohol was used as a preservative , allowing the wines to withstand long sea voyages to England, America and the East Indies.

During the 17th century, competition from fortified wines, as well as newfangled drinks - coffee, cocoa, spurred improvements in the quality of wines - their varietal composition, methods of preparation and storage, and led to the creation of modern types of wine in the first half of the 18th century. If at the end of the XVII century the most popular product was still ordinary low-grade young wine, then in the XVIII century it was necessary to create red wines of the best brands, aged for five years or more and still known and popular. ^[22]

When Europeans colonized new territories, traditional European winemaking spread throughout the New World : in the 16th century, the Spaniards began to cultivate grapes in Mexico, and later in Peru, Chile and Argentina; In California and Australia, viticulture began to develop from the end of the 18th century ^[18] . In North America, the local wild-growing grape of endemic species, which was part of the diet of the Indians, was considered unsuitable for making wine, as a result European grape varieties were brought to America.

In the 2nd half of the 19th century, most European vineyards suffered from grape phylloxera and fungal diseases, which led to the decline of winemaking. By 1885, wine production fell from 80 to 25 million hectoliters . Restoring vineyards and returning the volume of wine trade and the quality of wines to their former state took a lot of time and required significant funds. ^[18]

New types of wine

In the XVII century sparkling champagne debuted. One of the first propagandists of sparkling wine was the French monk Perignon . Pierre Perignon made a number of innovations in the technology of its production, opened the possibility of blending, combined juices of different grape varieties, began to pour wines into bottles with thick glass, which made it possible to safely retain carbon dioxide, which previously destroyed barrels. Perignon was one of the first to make plugs in barrels of cork oak bark ^[23] .

In 1786, Antonio Benedetto Carpano founded in Turin the first industrial enterprise for the production of vermouth - fortified wine flavored with wormwood, as well as fruits, spices and medicinal plants.

In Russia

Winemaking is gaining practical importance in Russia in the 2nd half of the 19th century. The founder of winemaking in Russia can be considered Prince L.S. Golitsyn , who created wine centers in Massandra and Abrau-Durso . ^[18]

• History of alcoholic beverages

• The history of wine in civilization and literature. - The tradition of Culture. - 1999. - ISBN 5-88901-018-2 .
• The history of wine drinking. Bacchus. - Brasque. - 1994. - ISBN 5-85089-030-0 .
• J. Ribero-Guyon, E. Payneau, P. Ribero-Guyon, P. Ciudro. Theory and practice of winemaking = Sciences et techniques du vin. - M .: "Food Industry", 1979. - T. II.
• Iain Gately. Drink: A Cultural History of Alcohol . - Penguin. - 2008.