A Very Short History Of Wine
By Ian • Feb 27th, 2008 • Category: Wine History
Wine making goes back 8000 years and is thought to have originated in Persia. It is almost certain that wine was discovered by accident due to the natural fermentation of the grapes.
Wine was known in all the ancient civilisations around the Mediterranean region. Ancient Egyptians are credited with developing pruning methods and stored wine in sunken jars. The Romans spread grape growing and wine production throughout western Europe. They also began classifying grape varieties and characteristics as well as improving yields through pruning and irrigation.
After the decline in the roman empire, France began to dominate wine production with many vineyards being established by monasteries. In medieval times wine was considered a civilised drink and was important to the catholic church being used in the celebration of mass. As Europeans began to explore the New World they took wine with them and eventually developed vineyards which were the forerunners of the modern New World wine industry.
Until the mid 1800s wine had been produced in the age old fashion of crushing the grapes and allowing natural fermentation to occur. As the age of science came about and the process was understood wine making became more technical. Different types of yeasts were introduced and hygiene was improved. The process became more efficient and spoilage decreased.
Unfortunately at the same time a root louse (phylloxera vastatrix) native only to the Mississippi River Valley was accidentally taken to England on some native American grape vine cuttings. Spreading throughout Europe phylloxera decimated the non resistant European vines. Eventually it was realised that the only way to save the European vines was to graft them onto resistant native American root stock. This long laborious process saved the wine industry, but not without considerable upheaval.
Many grape varieties and vineyards were lost but the survivors were the basis of the modern wine industry.
Filed Under: Wine History
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