A Brief History Of Wine
Wine being more popularly known as the ladies drink, is a fermented version of juice that comes from grapes. Vitis vinifera is the species of grape that is commonly used for producing all the wine around the world. But did you know when actually it was produced as a delectable drink? Fossils suggest that the first kind of vines were found abundantly in what is now known to be France’s sub-tropical forests, even before the presence of men. But the first grapes that were grown were in modern-day Georgia around 8,000 years ago – that is between 7000 and 4000 BC.
At around the same time, there is also evidence of the fermentation and cultivation of grapes in ancient Middle East. Egyptian records show that wine bottles were buried with the Pharaohs believing that they will need it in their afterlife. In Greece, only the rich class preferred to drink wine. But the credit of increasing the popularity of wine goes to the Romans for they started wine bars abundantly and also started exporting it to other parts of Europe. But later on the quality of wine in other countries became much better than Rome itself.
Thus, Rome’s popularity in wine making declined, though it still was produced in the eastern Mediterranean region. Later on, it spread to Central Asia via the Silk Route and thus China started producing wine in the 8th century. By the 18th century, wine became a highly profitable commodity for trade and Bordeaux in France was the leader in producing the finest of wines. In this period, regional wines were also produced which gave them distinct recognizable traits.
