Front page - "The Star"

Ancient times

For millennia before Christ, ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, China, Mexico, and South Africa produced beer-like beverages made from grains, fruits, and other plants. However, grapes thrived on the European continent, and so the wine culture began to emerge from the Iberian Peninsula to the Caucasus Mountains. We provide a brief overview of its history.

The First Champagne

Cézanne was the first grape variety identified. Its fossil leaf was found in the south of present-day Champagne, 5 million years BC. However, this ancient species disappeared long before the appearance of the vitis vinifera, the genus to which most of the present cultivars belong. Winemaking began around the seventh millennium BC, according to archaeological evidence.The kvevri (an earthen jar designed for the fermentation and maturation of wine) from this era were discovered in the Tbilisi region, which can be considered the origin of wine. Georgians continue to choose natural production methods. This is also the method used to create the now trending oranges

The first alcoholic drinks existed between 3500 and 2500 years ago.

Fifth century BC Egyptian tombs were adorned with paintings depicting the production of wine. The old method described is no different from the current one. Homer mentions the Aglianico, Grechetto and Trebbiano vines in his "Odyssey" in the 12th century BC The wine culture of ancient Greece was flourishing. Numerous written records have remained: doctors advised him to improve health, poets came up with new methods of praising him, and philosophers emphasized moderation.

Time and Wine

The ancient alcohol

The wine of the time had a rich and typically sweet flavor, was sometimes made with grapes and sugars, and could include additions such as resin (which is still produced today), honey, spices and herbs. This improved the flavor of the wine and extended its shelf life. When such a concentration was used in ancient Greece, it was diluted with water.

The Taste of Ancient Wine

How did it taste?

Pliny the Elder produced a book called Naturalis Historia in the third century BC, which included a full account of the grape varieties, wine-producing areas of ancient Rome (Campania, Gaul and Spain), and the techniques of winemaking and aging. Essentially, it was an oenology textbook.

Roman wine

The book of alcohol

The first sommeliers lived between 1500 and 1100 years ago. Early Christian culture adopted wine as a custom. Wine became a court drink in Reims, the future city of Champagne and the coronation place of all French monarchs: King Clovis I insisted on being baptized wine.