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An Early History of Wine: from its origins to the Classical
Period
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"Noah, a man of the soil, was the first to plant a
vineyard." Genesis 9.20-21
Many have noticed the striking coincidence that Mount Ararat,
where the Ark came to rest, is located where the cultivation
of grapevines is believed to have originated - Transcaucasia,
south of the Black Sea. However, even if one accepts the Biblical
origins of viticulture, it is not necessary to plant a vineyard
in order to produce wine. It is likely that early communities
discovered the apparently miraculous transformation of grapes
into wine when they first collected the fruit of wild vines:
the berries will naturally, and quickly, ferment due to the
presence of air-borne yeast on the grape skins. One wonders
how these communities explained how grape juice acquired the
intoxicating properties which seem to have caught poor Noah
unawares - "When he drank some of its wine, he became
drunk and lay uncovered in his tent." |
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Cultivation of domesticated grapevines had spread
from Transcaucasia to Egypt and Greece by around 3500 - 2000
BC, and the Etruscans cultivated vines which had been present
in Italy for thousands of years. After the 700s BC, the Greek
colonists introduced more varieties around the Mediterranean
coasts and into the south of Italy which they called 'Vine
Land'. |
| Although some may cruelly mock modern Greek wines for their
lack of sophistication, in the Classical period Greek wines
were highly praised. The Aegean Islands were the main exporters
of wines, and Chios , followed by Lesbos, was considered to
have the best wine. Wine was at the centre of the Greek symposium,
and it was here that the curious practice of Kottabos developed.
This was an early example of that popular phenomenon, the
drinking game, in which participants would dextrously flick
the dregs of their wine cups at a carefully balanced target.
In fact, there were even teachers who would instruct the fashionable
set on the finer points of wine throwing! |
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However, it was the Romans who gave viticulture possibly
its greatest boost. As the Roman Empire spread around the
Mediterranean and across Europe it carried new varieties
and new techniques.
An indication of the expansion in viticulture during the
Roman can be seen in the number of varieties described by
the agricultural writers. Cato, writing in the third century
BC, mentions only half a dozen, whereas Columella's twelve
volume treatise two centuries later lists more than fifty
varieties of grape.
It is Columella who provides us with the most technical
information about Roman viticulture, while his contemporary
the Elder Pliny , who had an eye for a good story, is happy
to furnish more anecdotal evidence and urban legends.
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| Pliny describes with relish the fortunes that certain individuals
had made by investing in vineyards, as well as the carnival
atmosphere that accompanied a particularly large vintage. |
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In contrast, Columella is more concerned with successful
vineyard management. At the heart of his writing is an impassioned
attempt to balance quality and quantity in a wine industry
which was suffering from over-production and falling standards.
As noted by Hugh Johnson, Rome was a big city with a big thirst
and as growers pursued big yields the quality fell alarmingly.
Columella's solution was to plant varieties noted for the
excellence of their fruit, and then to increased yields carefully
through diligent cultivation. |
| Although we may question the success of Columella's policy,
two thousand years ago he was trying to answer a question
which remains hotly debated today - is quality compatible
with quantity in wine production? |
| To learn more about the origins and development of viticulture,
see the links below
Pictuers from this article are taken from the book, The
Story of Wine by Hugh Johnson.
Contributed by Tim Santon
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