The History of Wine Making

1. The History of Wine Making The history of wine dates back to thousands of years and is closely associated with the history of agriculture. Roman Empire is known to had a powerful impact on the development of winemaking. Wine was an integral part of the Roman diet, and so wine making was a precise business. Wine is an alcoholic beverage that is made from grapes. The oldest possible evidence of wine making from grapes along with rice and honey has been found in China, about 9,000 years ago. After 2,000 years, the making of wine from grapes became an integral part of European tradition. At present, there are many Asian countries that have become a prominent name in wine making, for example, India. Some of the best wine brands in India are recognized even at a global platform. Archaeological evidence Archaeological evidence of wine making is very difficult to find. Still, scholars have accepted two main methods of wine making – identifying domesticated stocks and discovering grape processing. Chinese wines Majority of scholars accept that the story of wine originated in China. Residues of pottery sherds have been recognized in some parts of China which tells about some fermented beverage made from the mixture of rice, honey, and fruit. This story dates back to 7000-6600 BCE. The presence of fruit was identified by the residual tartaric acid in the bottom of the jar which is familiar to present day wine. If grapes were used in wine recipes in China, the chances are higher than they were from a wild grape species native to China. However, there are around 4—50 different wild species in China. The European grape was introduced into China in the second century BCE, along with other stuff through the Silk Road. Western Asia Wines When it comes to the earliest firm evidence for wine making, it goes to western Asia. A deposit of sediment preserved in the bottom of an amphora was found at a site, known as Hajji Firuz, Iran. The deposit is from the Neolithic period and has been confirmed to be a mix of tannin and tartrate crystals. Five more jars have been found from the site deposits containing the similar mixture. Another site in western Asia that has shown the early evidence of grapes is – Lake Zingiber, Iran where grape pollen was found in a soil core.

2. Thus, the wine has a long and rich history. No wonder why it is said: The simple act of opening a bottle of wine has brought more happiness to the human race than all the collective governments in the history of the earth. – Jim Harrison