Bartending

The History of Wine
By Joey Pebble

There is some contention as to when and where wine was first made from fermented grapes. Archaeological evidence does show that wine was being made in the region of modern day Iran as early as 6000 BC. However in China they have found vessels dating back as far as 7000 BC with traces of chemicals that are commonly found in wines. The problem is that researchers cannot verify whether these compounds come from grape wine, or from some other fermented fruit. As you can see there is a lot of contention over which country started drinking first.

The first evidence of wine being produced in Europe dates back to 4500 BC, and comes from various archaeological sites in Greece. These sites also contain the oldest evidence of grapes being crushed. Older wine evidence is sourced largely from chemical remains found in vessels, rather than from actual production evidence.

In Egypt wine casks were found in the tomb of the Pharaoh Tutankhamun. Archaeologists found six, of a possible collection of 36 wine amphoras, or ceramic vases designed as wine casks. These casks were marked with the word Kha'y, the name of a royal vintner in service to the king.

In medieval Europe, wine was supported by the Catholic Church, which used the beverage in the celebration of Mass. According to Catholic belief during mass, wine which is blessed in a certain way can actually become the blood of Christ, which allows worshippers to take part of the Holy Spirit into their bodies.

Wine was also seen as a civilized beverage in medieval Europe, as opposed to beer, which was considered to be Barbaric. The Church used this distinction to spread their agenda, and beer was actually outlawed in some places in Germany. There is also a long tradition of monks making wine in monasteries throughout Europe, and especially in France.

Today wine is grown all around the world, and different wines take their flavors from the regions where they are produced. The distinction of wine being a civilized and more sophisticated beverage, especially when compared with beer, still survives, and there are a variety of vintners that grow high end specialty wines for just this purpose.

This article was written by Joey Pebble, on behalf of his line of stylish natural stone beverage coasters. These decorative and impressive accessories are also functional, with a naturally absorbent property that allows them to soak up the moisture from a wet glass, holding it in the stone until the liquid can evaporate away.

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