| In spite of the first appearance of wine
some 6,000 years ago (4,000 B.C.), the current day archaeological
focus, reporting and discussion of it are new phenomena. We
can contribute the prevalence of wine in our culture to the
love affair that the 20th Century generations have had with
the grape.
Various Cultures
Wine making grapes of the species Vinifera (responsible for
80% of world wine, using such traditional grapes like Merlot,
Cabernet Sauvignon, Riesling, and Pinot Noir) likely showed
up first in the Caucasses Mountains, in the modern day Republic
of Georgia, Russia. These ancient cultures began to cultivate
the vine (actively farm it) and produce wine: Sumerians, Mesopotamian's,
Egyptians, Hebrews, and Hittites. Interestingly, the Latin
word enos, along with the Grecian word oenos, and a host of
other culture’s languages, all shared a very similar
name for "wine." Coincidence? Likely not.
Religious Use
Very early on, religious inferences about the vine and wine
came into use. For example, a grape vine only produces fruit
once per year, and afterwards dies (literally goes dormant
but appears dead). This year-after-year "reincarnation"
held obvious significance, regardless of the culture. Furthermore,
as most grapes were red-skinned, the wine produced was red
as blood, adding to the life-blood importance and symbolism.
Finally, the effects of alcohol were a completely new sensation,
making one feel they could talk directly with their maker.
(Actually not too different than what Fraternity boys experience
today.) And unlike beer, which then and now could be made
whenever the notion struck, wine grapes were available once
a year. Special attention was placed on such a spectacular
substance which only showed up once in a year.
Production & Transport
Today, we have corked wines, baked wines, and a whole host
of interferences simply attributed to the distribution of
the product, with temperature, sunlight and serious vibration
the culprits. Try to imagine how wine was stored and transported
millennia ago. Clay amphorae (jar or jug) were used in multiple
cultures, many times with a sealed top made of clay, rendering
the vessel airtight. You simply lopped off the top of the
clay amphorae when you were ready to drink. The Samurians
took palm trees, hollowed out the trunks, and filled them
with wine for transporting down the Tigris or Euphrates rivers,
en route to Ur or some other bustling metropolis for sale.
Not very different than oak barrels really, which showed up
on the scene around 1,000 BC in modern day France brought
by the Gaul's.
And what of appellation designations or marking the "quality"
of the wine? In 2-3,000 B.C. the Egyptians had actually adopted
the first Appellation system in the world. Their amphorae
held markings for vintage, the physical vineyard or region
designation (appellation), the winemaker name, and a quality
designation of Good, Very Good, or Very Very Good. Amazing!
The Romans
In spite of the shocking behavior of Emperor Caligula, rampant
consumption and subsequent extinction of many rare plants
& herbs, and the horrific Coliseum battles of lions, Christians,
and Gladiators, the Romans are credited with really putting
wine on the map, literally. They assimilated the Tuscan's
into their culture since the Tuscan's were civilized, and
made great wine. The same can be said for the Greeks. In fact,
until the end of the empire, Grecian wine was held as the
best that could be had at the time.
The Romans planted grapes in every conquered land, even modern
day Scotland and England. This helped ensure a steady supply
back home. It kept the newly conquered people busy, and provided
for taxable income.
The Romans had so much wine coming from so many corners of
the Old World that, as mentioned above, transportation was
having an effect on the quality of the product. Oxidation
and bacteria that settled-in provided for off-smells and aromas,
as well as inconsistent body and mouth-feel, and most importantly,
some very strange, if not outright unpleasant tastes. The
Romans dealt with these issues by adding herbs, spices, and
other materials to the wine in order to mask the off-flavors.
For example, to combat the off-smells of Brettanomyces (known
simply as Brett), which is still found today, they added grated
goat cheese to the wine. To smooth the mouth-drying tannins,
a 2% saltwater (ocean water) mixture was added. Finally, to
combat oxidation, the storage containers were lined with tree
resins and resin was poured on top of the wine as well. The
Grecian wine Retsina still is produced in this method and
has a following (although small) today. The "barbarians"
were the ones who did not cut their wine with any of the aforementioned
additives.
The Romans were also smart about shipping their wines, knowing
size and weight were considerations. Thus, imported wine was
boiled down slowly (as to not eradicate all the alcohol) to
half it's original volume. The syrupy, unctuous stuff was
actually considered to be delicious.
We'll wrap up the primer here around the birth year of Christ.
Look for a future installment detailing the most recent 2,000
years.
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