Prehistory of Wine

Before Birth of Human race ~ Roman Age

Written by Sunny Park

WSC5.05 Introduction to Wine Business

Intro..Definition of prehistory - Before history which had written as

records

Prehistory of wine - Record of grape and wine has been left

as not only literature but also illustrations since Egyptian

Age.

Common in Sense of Ancient Wine – Wine during B.C (Before

Christ).

Therefore, wine prehistory can include history of Georgian to

Roman wine.

Once Upon a time long ago..Grape had been

existed since 6 million years ago

First human race was born 2 million years ago

First contact was taken 4 million years later after birth of grape

Grapes felled down automatically when they were ripenSome locations where were sunken made grape ponds.

First drink – The man inspired by addictive flavours

Wine might have lead the man to Agrarian Society

Insignificant relationship between man and wine at first time, but getting more and more

important.

Derivation of Viticulture & VinicultureViti + culture= grape + cultiva-

tion= grapegrowing= viticultureThe method which

can plant grape and take care them for making wine

Vini + culture= wine + cultivation= winemakingThe method which

use grape from vine-yard to make wine

Georgian Wine

Fertile foothill on South of Mountain

Caucasus

Georgian Map from Wiki map

Georgia Kingdom - First country of winemaking and viticulture, and one of the oldest wine regions. Around 6000 B.C.

Location - Between two great rivers, Euphrates and Tigris. South of the Mountain Caucasus. Ease to transport to other places and Persian gulf near Egypt.

Climate - Long subtropical summer which is meant arid, soften air, mild fog and hot afternoon

Grapevines - Grown everywhere on the hillsWinemaking – Near grapevines

Noah’s WineNoah’s Hypothesis-

Winemaking and Grapegrowing on his vineyard before Flood

Ninth chapter of genesis tells how wine has been stored in the Ark’s cargo

Egyptian WineFirst writers with painting

about viticulture and oenology

Warehouse of legacies “Tombs” – According to paintings, wine was treated as important technology.

Grape was harvested when it were fully ripen and honey-sweet

Wine was run from the press into the fermenting jars, another called Amphora

Tutankhamun’s Tomb36 jars – Varieties, year,

vineyard, owner, and head vintner on the lable

Example belowDate HAt sp 5 Year 5 Classification + irp nDm n Sweet wine of

Institution pr itn n qArt the Estate of Aton of qArt

Responsible official

Hry kAmw ra-ms Vineyard Supervisor Ramose

Tut 12 (12, Černý 1965: 22)

Greek & Roman Wine Transportation - From

Mesophotamia to Greek and Roman

Greek countries – Importor

The first golden age of wine – Greek consumed a lot of wine not only quantitative but also qualitative

Wine was not just beverage, it was always accompanied with poet, harmony and discussion between philosophers

Symposium & Krater At the moment, people

diluted wine into “Krater” which was big pot, about 1,000L quantity (Wonbok, 2006) with water before drank.

Symposium which is derieved from Greek συμπόσιον symposion, from συμπίνειν sympinein, which means “to drink together”.

Dilution fact - Many philosophers discussed and communicated with wine all night long, which means that it would be impossible unless wine was diluted.

Roman EmpireDistribution – Roman wine

merchantsHigher demand of wine –

Merchant spread across Roman Empire from Italy to Spain and North Africa

In order to regular production – Calculation cheaper labour Slave

Roman – Main consumerPort Pompeii - Important

commercial city until eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD, and left a lot of detailed evidence

Flow of WineWine flow

from Mesophotamia to Modern Europe countries

From 4 to 6 – Roman Empire spread

General Type of Ancient WineType Detail

Mustum A low quality grape juice, mixed with vinegar and drank fresh after pressing.

Mulsum A common class wine, generally sweetened with honey and served to plebes and the lower classes at public events.

Lora (vinumoperarium)

A bitter wine made from the grape skin husks, seeds and any other product left over from the pressing process. Fermented by soaking in water, it was generally served to slaves, though some lower classes, and even soldiers may have had access to wines that were hardly any better. Varro, however claimed that it was the drink of old women. Today these excess grape products are used in distilling the liquor grappa.

PoscaA sour vinegar like wine (acetum) mixed with water to reduce the bitterness and generally available to soldiers and lower classes.

VinumpraeliganeumManufactured from inferior and half-ripe fruit gathered before the regular harvest period. Perhaps also used in the production of ciders and similar drinks

VinumdulceA sweet wholesome wine, made from dried grapes that were pressed in the heat of the day.

VinumdiachytumSimilar to vinumdulce but grapes were allowed to dry in the sun for longer periods of time. The wine was described as more 'luscious' than the vinumdulce

PassumRaisin wine. Obviously made from nearly completely dried grapes. It's most prized variety was imported from crete

Vinummarrubii, scillites, absinthiates, myrtites

Example of wines used for medicinal purposes. Marrubii for coughs, scillites for digestion and as a tonic, absinthiates roughly corresponding to modern vermouth and myrtites as a general medicine aiding many ailments

Development of AmphoraFirstly, jar neck had

become narrower and narrower for appropriate closure with olive oil or resin.

Secondly, the vase has an elongated shape, with a pointed base, which could be deposited wine sediments easily at the bottom

Conclusion Prehistory of Wine – Veiled despite evidences, such as painting

in cave and tomb, and written by writer since Egyptian Age.

Ancient wine technology - Even modern wineries and vineyards

are derived from ancient age. To be sum up, prehistory about

wine has been described, and expression a sentence of wine

history would be intimately associated to human culture from

Euphrates and Tigris Culture through Egyptian to Roman.

References Hugh Johnson, (2006). Hugh Johnson's TheStory of Wine. London. Mitchell Beazley

Hugh Johnson, Jancis Robinson, (2007). World Atlas of Wine(6thed). London. Mitchell

Beazley

Jancis Robinson, (2006). The Oxford Companion to Wine(3rded). London. Oxford University

Press

Mcgovern, P.E. (2003). Ancient wine: the Search for the Origins of Viniculture. Princeton

University Press: New Jersey

Wonbok Rhie, (2007). World of Wine, Wine of World. Seoul, Korea. Gimmyoungsa

Georgian Wine, (2013). Retrieved from http

://www.wine-searcher.com/regions-georgian+republic

Eva-Lena Wahlberg, (2012). The Wine Jars speak; Text Study. Uppsala, Sweden. Uppsala

University.

Maria Rosaria Belgiorno, (2009). Cinyra, Cyprus and the notes of music, of Wine and

Perfumes. Retrieved from www.erimiwine.net

Types of Ancient Wine, (n.d). Retrieved from

http://www.unrv.com/economy/wine-chart.php

Beginning of Viticulture, (n.d). Retrieved from

http://www.vinetowinecircle.com/en/history/beginnings-of-viticulture/

James Owen, (January 10, 2011). Earliest Known Winery found in Armenian Cave.

National Geographic News. Retrieved from http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news

Roman Empire. Retrieved from

http://ministry127.com/free-resources/powerpoint/roman-empire

See Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Tutankhamun%27s_Alabaster_Jar.jpg

See Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symposium