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Wine History - The Making of Wine The history of wine in many ways coincides with the history of the western world. Historians generally agree that wine was probably discovered accidentally in the Fertile Crescent area, the region between the Nile and Persian Gulf during the time of the world's first civilizations between 4000 and 3000 B.C. As small settlements grew into city-states and trade began to develop on a large scale throughout the Mediterranean, the grape enjoyed transport by peoples such as the Phoenicians, Greeks and Romans until the knowledge of winemaking spread throughout the Mediterranean region and eventually through much of Europe.
Fermented beverages have been preferred over water throughout the ages: they are safer, provide psychotropic effects, and are more nutritious. A great benefit of drinking wine was health as we lived longer and had greater reproductive success and some say it was the primary agent for the development of Western civilization. Wine is the fermented juice of grapes. Only one species of grape, Vitis vinifera, is used for nearly all the wine made in the world. From this species as many as 4,000 varieties of grape have been developed. These varieties differ from each other, though sometimes only slightly, in size, color, shape of the berry, juice composition, ripening time, and resistance to disease. Of the 4,000 or more varieties, only about a dozen are commonly used for wine making around the world. The chief varieties are: Riesling, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Gewurztraminer, Sauvignon Blanc, and Muscat. The primary categories of wine are table wines, fortified wines, and sparkling wines. The diversity and quality of wine results not only from the kinds of grapes grown but from distinctive qualities of soil, topography, and climate. Changes in weather patterns from one year to the next also have an influence on the quality of a vintage. In addition, each vintner or community of wine makers may have techniques that no one else knows or uses. Whatever the reason, we continue to live out our past civilization by drinking wine made from a plant that has its origins in the ancient Near East. Your next bottle may not be a 7,000 year old vintage from Hajji Firuz, but the grape remains ever popular—cloned over and over again from those ancient beginnings. "No poem was ever written by a drinker of water," the great Roman poet, Horace wrote so take some time to enjoy wine and remember always have a pen and paper to hand just in case.
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