Some of the wineries, winemakers, and
topics we have covered over the years for Wine Tribuataries often find
their way as links on other wine sites. We decided to include some as
a way to pay tribute to the wines and people who who have shaped the wine
industry.
Wines' Roots Are Seven Millennia Deep
by Tim Hayes & John Koetzner
With all of the celebration of the new Millennium going on all around
us, much of the toasting and partying has been accompanied by a glass
of champagne or wine. We tend to link our wine appreciation to the past
by recognizing great vintages and outstanding years that bring our sensory
evaluations to near ecstasy. What we want to know is who still has some
of that Neolithic Period (8500-4000BC) Chateau Hajji Firuz cellared?
One of the earliest indications of wine production was found by an archeologist
named Mary Voigt while excavating a dig at the site of Hajji Firuz Tepe
in the northern Zagros Mountains of Iran. Voigt unearthed five clay pottery
jars embedded in the earthen kitchen floor of a 5400-5000BC mud-brick
building. One of the jars was filled with a volume of 9 liters (2.5 gallons)
of a "fermented beverage."
Subsequent analysis of a yellow residue found in some of the other jars
turned out to be tartaric acid, one of the by-products of grape wine.
This find, along with analysis of other remains, has aided historians
with an insight towards understanding Neolithic winemaking.
The presence of wine was very prevalent in the Egyptian culture. Hieroglyphic
scenes found inside the walls of the tombs of the pharaohs depict grapevines
on trellising systems and the consuming of wine at parties and special
occasions.
Large clay jars that had stoppers and a round pottery lid that were sealed
with moist clay bearing the seal of the pharaohs were often buried in
their tombs for consumption in the afterlife. In addition to the king's
name, seals on the jars have been interpreted as a primitive kind of wine
label to identify the location and producer of the wine.
Wild grapevines never grew in ancient Egypt and the development of their
"viniculture" had to have taken a great deal of time. With all
of the genetic DNA research going on today it will just be a matter of
time until it is determined when and where the first grapevines were brought
up the Nile and planted throughout the Nile Delta.
The Bible is another place where we can find all sorts of references to
wine. At the wedding in Canaan, Jesus performed one of his miracles by
changing water to wine. At the Last Supper he broke bread, and shared
a common cup of wine. There are many more depictions of wine throughout
the Old and New Testaments.
While not the first to produce wine, in more recent times the Greeks and
the Romans were the first cultures to make notes on viticultural practices.
It was during the era of the Roman Empire when grape growing and winemaking
flourished and began to receive its highest accolades. Roman texts on
the subject of wine were both poetic and profound, leading people to worship
the beverage and a god named Bacchus.
The Bacchus cult grew larger through the Roman Empire as the commerce
from the wine trade grew. The early peoples from countries conquered by
the Romans who assimilated to their culture also provided a wealth of
knowledge used to further develop the quality of wines produced. The Romans
planted grapevines all through France, Spain, and Britain to try and establish
a wine trade between colonies. Thanks to their research, the wood barrel
was built and found to be the best container to ship wines in, as well
as store and age wine.
When you really get down to it no other people in history have done as
much as the Romans to advance the culture of wine. After the fall of the
Roman Empire and the start of the Dark Ages not much was seen or heard
from the wine trade. Most of the production of wine was kept alive by
the religious orders of the time.
It was not until the late Middle Ages that wine once again emerged as
a common everyday beverage that was to be enjoyed by all the people and
not just the priests and royalty. It was during this time that the French
wine industry took center stage and flourished. A monk by the name of
Dom Perignon chanced upon a wine going through a secondary fermentation
and became the "Father" of the Champagne industry, as we know
it.
The wine we drink today reaches back through time from our New Year's
Millennium celebration, to the glories of pomp and circumstance in the
Middle Ages. It was a light following the Dark Ages and a coveted elixir
for the indulgences of the Roman Empire. It was there at the Last Supper,
and consumed by Pharaohs in the afterlife. And finally, we have traced
it back to a little mud hut in the mountains of Iran
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