The History of Wine

There is an ancient Persian fable that recognises a woman as the discoverer of wine. According to the fable, she was a princess who had lost favour with the King. The shame was so overwhelming that she ate some table grapes that had spoiled in their jar in an attempt to end her life.

Her suicide did not go as planned - instead of slipping into eternal slumber she got giddy, intoxicated and then passed out. When she awoke she found all the troubles of her life seemed to have passed. She continued to eat the spoilt grapes and her mood changed so much that she regained the favor of the King.

The first sign of the wine we all know and love can be traced back to sixty-million-year-old fossils, which means our pre-human ancestors may well have come to realise older grapes will have been more desirable. We can also observe this with our animal friends today, who tend to prefer riper fruit.

The earliest remnants of wine were discovered in the site of Hajji Firuz Tepe, in the northern Zagros Mountains of Iran. The wine dated back to the Neolithic period (8500-4000 B.C.). Carbon dating confirmed the wine was from sometime between 5400-5000 B.C.

Although wine dating any earlier than this has yet been found, it is thought the art of wine making started shortly after 6000 B.C. it is believed this is the date for one of mankind’s most momentous creations, because the people of these regions had managed to create permanent settlements via the domestication of animals and plants.