The privilege of being called the “birthplace of grape alcohol” is disputed by several countries at once:
Georgia, Turkey, Armenia, Iran, Azerbaijan and Abkhazia, Canada. The first findings testifying to the presence of the early winemaking, were found on the territory of these ancient regions. Order the best wines from around the world here – The wine bar Toronto.
The discoveries date back to the Neolithic Era, to the 6th millennium BC. The disputes continue, the searches are continuing, and the race of supremacy is joined by the new countries.
More recent finds in the form of wine presses and shards of ancient vessels date back to the V-II millennium BC and belong to Cyprus, Greece and Egypt. The most ancient surviving wine was found in one of the Chinese tombs. It was bottled in the XIVth century B.C. The Phoenicians, Greeks and Romans made the greatest contribution to the wine-making process.
The first actively spread the drink throughout the Mediterranean region, North Africa, Sicily and Spain. Greeks and Romans, taking the baton, continued what was started, considerably deepening and expanding Phoenician traditions.
Ancient Hellenes turned drinking wine into an art form, experimenting with temperature, ways of serving and including unusual additions in the drink in the form of various spices and herbs.
The Greeks also invented ageing wine: they were the first to try to extend the life of the beloved product. It is interesting to note that in ancient Greece people were not encouraged to drink wine (on the contrary, moderation was encouraged) and the drink was diluted with water to make it less strong.
The exception was during feasts and celebrations when wine literally flowed like a river.
The Romans borrowed Greek traditions and gradually replaced the previously popular beer with a new drink that became universal and affordable. Wine was consumed by everyone, from slaves to rulers. The people of the Roman Empire added useful improvements to winegrowing, such as supports in the form of trellises (previously trees had been used for this purpose). Wine was also used as an offering to the gods. With the ancient Egyptians, unlike the Greeks and Romans, wine was considered a precious drink. The most important were the pharaoh’s vineyards, although the ruler himself could not drink strong drink: it was forbidden.
Liquor was deified and offered as offerings to earthly and heavenly patrons. The art of winemaking was passed on to descendants in the form of records of recipes and technologies for processing vines. At least 20 varieties of grapes were known to the ancient Egyptians.
From the Middle Ages to the present day
By the Middle Ages, grape plantations had spread to northern European, Asian and African regions.
Beverages from France, Spain, Italy, Germany, Hungary, and Portugal became most famous.
During this period, winemaking developed in several directions: Monasteries played an important role: they owned huge vineyards, bred new varieties and produced large batches of spirits.
In Europe the main wine-making regions were formed, which formed the basis of the modern division into priority and less important zones in the field of wine production.
The cultivation and processing of vines improved and achieved high results, while the drinks made from grapes themselves were very mediocre. Young wine was highly valued because people had not yet learned how to keep it for more than a year: they tried to sell the stale products quickly. Grape drinks were available only to the upper strata of the population and were considered the privilege of the aristocracy. Alcohol, and wine in particular, helped in the fight against infectious diseases, but not as a cure but as a substitute for contaminated water, which was often the source of infection when consumed internally. The new times brought many discoveries and inventions to the European wine industry.
A long process of improvement of drinks and search of ways to prolong their “life” has begun. Up to the XVII century aged wines were produced only in the Mediterranean countries. The new period was marked by several “ingenious discoveries”: Wines began to be poured into glass bottles and corked. Before then only wooden barrels had been used.
Fortified drinks (madeira, port, sherry) quickly became popular. The addition of alcohol in wines allowed to increase the shelf life and to transport alcohol to other continents. The qualitative composition of wines improved, new methods of production appeared (blending, aromatization with herbs, fruit, spices, etc.) and aged products became more valued. In the XVII century the first champagne was invented.
In XVIII century many well known brands of winemaking were formed. The development of New World territories as plantations for laying vineyards has begun. In the XVI-XVIII centuries European varieties appeared in Mexico, Chile, Argentina, Peru, California and Australia.
The most difficult for European winemakers was the XIX century, when the invasion of phylloxera and fungal diseases damaged many vineyards. Much effort, money and time was spent on their recovery. For Russia, on the contrary, this period was favorable. In the XIX century, the local winemaking acquired an industrial scale, the main wine-making regions were formed.
A special scale of wine production has reached the Kuban, the Crimea, Dagestan, Krasnodar and Stavropol regions, the Rostov region. XX century of winemaking revival and the active development of the wine business in Europe.
The growth of grape alcohol production in the New World.
The decline of the wine industry in the Soviet states, where the anti-alcohol campaign destroyed huge vineyards and many unique varieties.