Wine boy at a symposium. Symposium originally referred to a drinking party (the Greek verb sympotein means "to drink together" but has since come to refer to any Academic conference

The history of wine spans thousands of years and is closely intertwined with the history of agriculture, cuisine, civilization and man himself. Wine is an Alcoholic beverage made from the fermentation of Grape juice Agriculture refers to the production of goods through the growing of plants and fungi and the raising of domesticated Animals The study of agriculture Cuisine (from French cuisine, "cooking culinary art kitchen" ultimately from Latin coquere, "to cook" is a specific set A Civilization is a society in which large numbers of people share a variety of common elements Prehistory See also Prehistory Paleolithic See also Paleolithic, Recent African Origin, Early Homo sapiens Archaeological evidence suggests that the earliest wine production came from sites in Georgia and Iran, dating from 6000 to 5000 BC. Georgia ( საქართველო, Sakartvelo) is a Transcontinental country in the Caucasus region situated at the dividing line between For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iran topics. ^[1][2] The archaeological evidence becomes clearer, and points to domestication of grapevine, in Early Bronze Age sites of the Near East, Sumer and Egypt from around the third millennium BC. The term Bronze Age refers to a period in human cultural development when the most advanced Metalworking (at least in systematic and widespread use included techniques for B Syria - Belka Woman from Damascus Arab from Baghdadjpg|thumb|Inhabitants of the Near East late nineteenth century Sumer ( Sumerian: sux-Latn [[Ki (earth ki]]-[[EN (cuneiform en]]-'''ĝir15''', Akkadian: Šumeru; possibly Biblical Shinar This article is about the country of Egypt For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Egypt topics. ^[3]

Evidence of the earliest European wine production has been uncovered at archaeological sites in Macedonia, dated to 6,500 years ago. ^[4][5][6] These same sites also contain remnants of the world’s earliest evidence of crushed grapes. ^[7] In Egypt, wine became a part of recorded history, playing an important role in ancient ceremonial life. Ancient Egypt was an Ancient Civilization in eastern North Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now A ceremony is an activity infused with Ritual significance performed on a special occasion Traces of wine dating from the second and first millennium BC have also been found in China^[8].

Wine was common in classical Greece and Rome^[9] and many of the major wine producing regions of Western Europe today were established with Phoenician and later Roman plantations. ^[10] Wine making technology improved considerably during the time of the Roman Empire; many grape varieties and cultivation techniques were known and barrels were developed for storing and shipping wine. A barrel or cask is a hollow cylindrical container traditionally made of Wood Staves and bound with Iron Hoops The ^[10]

In medieval Europe, following the decline of Rome and therefore of widespread wine production, the Christian Church was a staunch supporter of the wine necessary for celebration of the Catholic Mass. Church (disambiguation Christian Church and the word church are used to denote both a Christian association of people and a Place of worship In places such as Germany, beer was banned and considered pagan and barbaric, while wine consumption was viewed as civilized and a sign of conversion. Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. Paganism (from Latin paganus, meaning "country dweller rustic" is a word used to refer to various religions and religious beliefs from across the world "Barbarian" is a pejorative term for an uncivilized person either in a general reference to a member of a nation or Ethnos perceived ^[11] Whereas wine was also forbidden in medieval Islamic cultures, Geber and other Muslim chemists pioneered the distillation of wine for medicinal purposes^[12] and its use in Christian libation was widely tolerated. For the 12th century astronomer see Jabir ibn Aflah. For the anonymous 14th century Spanish alchemist see Pseudo-Geber. Distillation is a method of separating Mixtures based on differences in their volatilities in a boiling liquid mixture A libation (spondee in Greek) is a Ritual pouring of a drink as an offering to a god. Wine production gradually increased and its consumption became popularized from the 15th century onwards, surviving the devastating Phylloxera louse of the 1870s and eventually establishing growing regions throughout the world. This article is about the grape phylloxera For the Genus, see Phylloxera (genus.

Early history

Wine residue has been identified by Patrick McGovern's team at the University Museum, Pennsylvania, in ancient pottery jars. The University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archeology and Anthropology is an Archaeology and Anthropology museum that is part of the University of Pennsylvania Pottery is the Ceramic ware made by potters It also refers to a group of materials that includes Earthenware, Stoneware Records include ceramic jars from the Neolithic sites at Shulaveri, of present-day Georgia (about 6000 BC) ^[13], Hajji Firuz Tepe in the Zagros Mountains of present-day Iran (5400–5000 BC)^[14],^[15] and from Late Uruk (3500–3100 BC) occupation at the site of Uruk, in Mesopotamia [1]. The Neolithic (from Greek νεολιθικός — neolithikos from νέος neos, "new" + λίθος lithos Georgia ( საქართველო, Sakartvelo) is a Transcontinental country in the Caucasus region situated at the dividing line between The Zagros Mountains (جبال زاجروس (رشته كوههاى زاگرس ( Sorani Kurdish: Zagros - زاگرۆس make up Iran 's and Iraq 's For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iran topics. Uruk ( URU UNUG, Sumerian: unug Akkadian: uruk) from the Akkadian rendering of the Sumerian Toponym 'unug' is modern Mesopotamia (from the Greek meaning "land between the rivers" is an area geographically located between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers largely corresponding The identifications are based on the identification of tartaric acid and tartrate salts using a form of infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). Tartaric acid is a white crystalline Organic acid. It occurs naturally in many plants particularly Grapes Bananas and Tamarinds and is Infrared spectroscopy (IR spectroscopy is the subset of Spectroscopy that deals with the Infrared region of the Electromagnetic spectrum. These identifications are regarded with caution by some biochemists because of the risk of false positives, particularly where complex mixtures of organic materials, and degradation products, may be present. The identifications have not yet been replicated in other laboratories.

In his book Ancient Wine: The Search for the Origins of Viniculture (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2003), McGovern argues that the domestication of the Eurasian wine grape and winemaking could have originated on the territory of modern Georgia and spread south from there. Georgia ( საქართველო, Sakartvelo) is a Transcontinental country in the Caucasus region situated at the dividing line between ^[16]

In Iran (Persia), mei (the Persian wine) has been a central theme of poetry for more than a thousand years, although alcohol is strictly forbidden in Islam. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iran topics. For other meanings including people named 'Islam' see Islam (disambiguation.

Little is actually known of the prehistory of wine. It is plausible that early foragers and farmers made alcoholic beverages from wild fruits, including wild grapes (Vitis silvestris). Vitis vinifera ( Common Grape Vine) is a species of Vitis, native to the Mediterranean region, central Europe, and This would have become easier following the development of pottery vessels in the later Neolithic of the Near East, about 9000 years ago. Pottery is the Ceramic ware made by potters It also refers to a group of materials that includes Earthenware, Stoneware The Neolithic (from Greek νεολιθικός — neolithikos from νέος neos, "new" + λίθος lithos B Syria - Belka Woman from Damascus Arab from Baghdadjpg|thumb|Inhabitants of the Near East late nineteenth century However, wild grapes are small and sour, and relatively rare at archaeological sites. An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either Prehistoric or historic or contemporary and It is unlikely they could have been the basis of a wine industry.

Domesticated grapes were abundant in the Near East from the beginning of the Early Bronze Age, starting in 3200 BC. The term Bronze Age refers to a period in human cultural development when the most advanced Metalworking (at least in systematic and widespread use included techniques for There is also increasingly abundant evidence for wine making in Sumer and Egypt in the third millennium BC. Sumer ( Sumerian: sux-Latn [[Ki (earth ki]]-[[EN (cuneiform en]]-'''ĝir15''', Akkadian: Šumeru; possibly Biblical Shinar This article is about the country of Egypt For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Egypt topics. The ancient Chinese made wine from native wild "mountain grapes" like Vitis thunbergii ^[17] for a time, until they imported domesticated grape seeds from Central Asia in the second century. Grapes were, of course, also an important food. There is scant evidence for earlier domestication of grape, in the form of grape pips from Chalcolithic Tell Shuna in Jordan, but this evidence remains unpublished. The Chalcolithic (Greek khalkos + lithos ' Copper stone' period or Copper Age period known as the '''Eneolithic''' ('''Æneolithic''' is a Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan (الأردنّ al-Urdunn) is an Arab country in Southwest Asia spanning the southern

Exactly where wine was first made is still unclear. It could have been anywhere in the vast region, stretching from North Africa to Central/South Asia, where wild grapes grow. However, the first large-scale production of wine must have been in the region where grapes were first domesticated, Southern Caucasus and the Near East. The South Caucasus is a mountainous geopolitical area of south-central Eurasia, also referred to as Transcaucasia, or The Transcaucasus. Wild grapes grow in Georgia, northern Levant, coastal and southeastern Turkey, northern Iran or Armenia. Georgia ( საქართველო, Sakartvelo) is a Transcontinental country in the Caucasus region situated at the dividing line between See also Names of the Levant The Levant (lə'vænt is a geographical term that denotes a large area in Western Asia, roughly bounded on the north by the Turkey (Türkiye known officially as the Republic of Turkey ( is a Eurasian Country that stretches For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iran topics. Armenia (Հայաստան transliterated: Hayastan,) officially the Republic of Armenia (Հայաստանի Հանրապետություն Hayastani None of these areas can, as yet, be definitively singled out, despite persistent suggestions that Georgia is the birthplace of wine[2]. Georgia ( საქართველო, Sakartvelo) is a Transcontinental country in the Caucasus region situated at the dividing line between

Ancient Greece

Main article: Ancient Greece and wine

Much modern wine culture derives from the practices of the ancient Greeks. The influence of Ancient Greece on Wine is significant not only to the Greek wine industry but to the development of almost all European While the exact arrival of wine in Greek territory is unknown, it was certainly known to both the Minoan and Mycenaean cultures. Mycenaean Greece is a cultural period of ancient Greece taking its name from the archaeological site of Mycenae in northeastern Argolis, in the Peloponnese ^[18] Many of the grapes grown in modern Greece are grown there exclusively and are similar or identical to varieties grown in ancient times. Indeed, the popular modern Greek wine, retsina, is believed to be a carryover from when wine jugs were lined with tree resin, which imparted a distinct flavor to the wine. Retsina ( Ρετσίνα in Greek) is a Greek Resinated white (or Rosé) Wine that has been made for at least 2000 years

Evidence from archaeological sites in Greece, in the form of 6,500 year-old grape remnants, represents the earliest known appearance of wine production in Europe. Greece (Ελλάδα transliterated: Elláda, historically, Ellás,) officially the Hellenic Republic (Ελληνική Δημοκρατία ^[19] Several ancient sources, such as the Roman writer Pliny the Elder, describe the ancient Greek method of using partly dehydrated gypsum before fermentation, and some type of lime after fermentation, to reduce acidity. Gaius or Caius Plinius Secundus, ( AD 23 – August 25, AD 79 better known as Pliny the Elder, was an ancient Author The Greek writer Theophrastus provides the oldest known description of this aspect of Greek wine making. Theophrastus ( Greek:; 371 – c 287 BC a Greek native of Eressos in Lesbos, was the successor of Aristotle in the Peripatetic ^[20][21]

Dionysus, the Greek god of revelry and wine and frequently referred to in the works of Homer and Aesop, was sometimes given the epithet Acratophorus, by which he was designated as the giver of unmixed wine. In Classical mythology, Dionysus or Dionysos (in Greek, Διόνυσος or Διώνυσος; associated with Roman Homer ( Ancient Greek:, Homēros) is a legendary ancient Greek epic Poet, traditionally said to be the author of the epic poems the Aesop (also spelled Æsop, from the Greek Αἴσωπος — Aisōpos) (620-560 BC) known only for the genre of Fables ^[22][23]. In Homeric mythology wine is usually served in "mixing bowls" – it was not traditionally consumed in an undiluted state – and was referred to as "Juice of the Gods. For the Landform crater see Crater. A krater (in Greek: κρατήρ kratēr, from the Verb κεράννυμι " Dinonysus was also known as Bacchus^[24] and the frenzy he induces, bakcheia.

Greek wine was widely known and exported throughout the Mediterranean basin, as amphorae with Greek styling and art have been found throughout the area, and was most likely the origin of the first appearance of wine in ancient Egypt^[25]. An amphora (plural amphorae or amphoras) is a type of Ceramic Vase with two handles and a long neck narrower than the body The Greeks introduced the Vitis vinifera vine^[26] and made wine in their numerous colonies in modern-day Italy,^[27] Sicily,^[28] southern France,^[29] and Spain. Vitis vinifera ( Common Grape Vine) is a species of Vitis, native to the Mediterranean region, central Europe, and A vine is any plant of Genus Vitis (the Grape plants or by extension any similar climbing or trailing plant Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest Sicily ( Italian and Sicilian: Sicilia) is an autonomous region of Italy. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. Spain () or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. ^[26]

Ancient Egypt

A wine vessel from the 18th century BC

In Egypt, wine played an important role in ancient ceremonial life. Ancient Egypt was an Ancient Civilization in eastern North Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now A thriving royal winemaking industry was established in the Nile Delta following the introduction of grape cultivation from the Levant to Egypt c. The Nile Delta ( Arabic: دلتا النيل) is the delta formed in Northern Egypt ( Lower Egypt) where the Nile River spreads See also Names of the Levant The Levant (lə'vænt is a geographical term that denotes a large area in Western Asia, roughly bounded on the north by the 3000 BC. The industry was most likely the result of trade between Egypt and Canaan during the Early Bronze Age, commencing from at least the Third Dynasty (2650–2575 BC), the beginning of the Old Kingdom period (2650–2152 BC). Canaanites redirects here For the 1940s social and political movement in Israel, see Canaanites (movement. The term Bronze Age refers to a period in human cultural development when the most advanced Metalworking (at least in systematic and widespread use included techniques for The 26th century BC is a Century which lasted from the year 2600 BC to 2501 BC The 25th century BC is a Century which lasted from the year 2500 BC to 2401 BC The Old Kingdom is the name commonly given to that period in the 3rd millennium BCE when Egypt attained its first continuous peak of civilization in complexity and achievement The 26th century BC is a Century which lasted from the year 2600 BC to 2501 BC The 21st century BC is a Century which lasted from the year 2100 BC to 2001 BC Winemaking scenes on tomb walls, and the offering lists that accompanied them, included wine that was definitely produced at the deltaic vineyards. For the New York prison see The Tombs. A Tomb is a repository for the remains of the dead. A vineyard is a Plantation of Grape -bearing Vines grown mainly for Winemaking, but also Raisins Table grapes and non-alcoholic By the end of the Old Kingdom, five wines, all probably produced in the Delta, constitute a canonical set of provisions, or fixed "menu," for the afterlife.

Wine in ancient Egypt was predominantly red. This article is about the country of Egypt For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Egypt topics. A recent discovery, however, has revealed the first ever evidence of white wine in ancient Egypt. This article is about the country of Egypt For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Egypt topics. Residue from five clay amphorae from Pharaoh Tutankhamun's tomb yielded traces of white wine. An amphora (plural amphorae or amphoras) is a type of Ceramic Vase with two handles and a long neck narrower than the body Pharaoh is the title given in modern parlance to the ancient Egyptian kings of all periods ^[30] Finds in nearby containers led the same study to establish that Shedeh, the most precious drink in ancient Egypt, was made from red grapes, not pomegranates as previously thought. Shedeh was the most precious drink of Ancient Egypt. Although it was long thought to have been made from Pomegranates, recent evidence suggests it came from Grapes The pomegranate ( Punica granatum) is a Fruit -bearing Deciduous Shrub or small Tree growing to between five and eight metres tall ^[31]

Outside Egypt, much of the ancient Middle East preferred beer as a daily drink rather than wine, a taste likely inherited from the Sumerians. Beer is the world's oldest and most widely consumed Alcoholic beverage and the third most popular drink overall after water and tea However, wine was well-known, especially near the Mediterranean coast, and figures prominently in the ritual life of the Jewish people going back to the earliest known records of the faith; the Tanakh mentions it prominently in many locations as both a boon and a curse, and wine drunkenness serves as a major theme in a number of Bible stories. PLEASE TAKE NOTE************ See also Old testament, Septuagint, Targum, Peshitta The Tanakh (תַּנַ"ךְ (taˈnax or; also Tenakh or Tenak is

Much superstition surrounded wine-drinking in early Egyptian times, largely due to its resemblance to blood. In Plutarch's Moralia he mentions that, prior to the reign of Psammetichus, the ancient Kings did not drink wine, "nor use it in libation as something dear to the gods, thinking it to be the blood of those who had once battled against the gods and from whom, when they had fallen and had become commingled with the earth, they believed vines to have sprung. Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus ( Greek: Μέστριος Πλούταρχος c The Moralia (gr Greek &mdash loosely translatable " This was considered to be the reason why drunkenness "drives men out of their senses and crazes them, inasmuch as they are then filled with the blood of their forbears. "^[32]

Roman Empire

Main article: Ancient Rome and wine

A mosaic depicting the harvest in Pompeii, recovered from a bar that served the city prior to its destruction. Ancient Rome played a pivotal role in the history of Wine. The earliest influences of Viticulture on the Italian peninsula Pompeii is a ruined and partially buried Roman town-city near modern Naples and Caserta in the Italian region of Campania, in

The Roman Empire had an immense impact on the development of viticulture and oenology. Viticulture (from the Latin word for Vine) is the Science, production and study of Grapes which deals with the series of Oenology ( BrE) or enology ( AmE) is the science and study of all aspects of Wine and Winemaking from the grape harvest to bottle Wine was an integral part of the Roman diet and wine making became a precise business.

As the Roman Empire expanded, wine production in the provinces grew to the point where the provinces were competing with Roman wines. Virtually all of the major wine producing regions of Western Europe today were established by the Romans.

Wine making technology improved considerably during the time of the Roman Empire. Many grape varieties and cultivation techniques were developed and barrels and bottles began to be used for storing and shipping wine and bottles. The Romans also created an early form of appellation system, as certain regions gained reputations for their fine wines.

Wine, perhaps mixed with herbs and minerals, was assumed to serve medicinal purposes. During Roman times it was not uncommon to dissolve pearls in wine for better health. Cleopatra created her own legend by promising Marc Anthony she would "drink the value of a province" in one cup of wine, after which she drank an expensive pearl with a cup of wine. ^[21] When the Roman Empire fell around 500 AD, Europe went into a period known as the Dark Ages. This was a period of invasions and social turmoil. The only stable social structure was the Catholic Church. Through the Church, grape growing and wine making technology was preserved during this period. ^[33]

Ancient China

A bronze wine storage vessel from the Shang Dynasty (1600–1046 BCE)

Main articles: Chinese wine and Wine in China

Following the Han Dynasty (202 BCE–220 CE) emissary Zhang Qian's exploration of the Western Regions in the 2nd century BCE and contact with Hellenistic kingdoms such as Fergana, Bactria, and the Indo-Greek Kingdom, high quality grapes were introduced into China and Chinese grape wine (called putao jiu in Chinese) was first produced. The Shang Dynasty ( Chinese: 商[[wiktionary 朝|朝]] or Yin Dynasty ( 殷[[wiktionary 代|代]] was according to traditional sources the Wine in China (葡萄酒 pinyin pútáo jiǔ refers to Grape Wines that are produced in China. The Han Dynasty ( 206 BC–220 AD followed the Qin Dynasty and preceded the Three Kingdoms in China. Zhang Qian ( 張[[wikt 騫|騫]] Wade-Giles Chang Ch'ien was an imperial envoy to the outside world in the 2nd century BC during the time of the Han Dynasty The Western Regions or Xiyu ( was a historical name specified in the Chinese chronicles between the 3rd century BC to 8th century that referred to the regions west of Jade This article focuses on the cultural aspects of the Hellenistic age for the historical aspects see Hellenistic period. The Dayuan or Ta-Yuan ( lit “Great Yuan” were a people of Ferghana in Central Asia, described in the Chinese historical works of The Gr(aeco-Bactrian Kingdom was the easternmost part of the Hellenistic world covering Bactria and Sogdiana in Central Asia from 250 The Indo-Greek Kingdom (or sometimes Graeco-Indian Kingdom) covered various parts of the northwest and northern Indian subcontinent during the last two centuries China ( Wade-Giles ( Mandarin) Chung¹kuo² is a cultural region, an ancient Civilization, and depending on perspective a National Wine in China (葡萄酒 pinyin pútáo jiǔ refers to Grape Wines that are produced in China. [3]^[34] However, rice wine remained the most common wine in China, since grape wine was still considered exotic and reserved largely for the emperor's table during the Tang Dynasty (618–907), and was not popularly consumed by the literati gentry class until the Song Dynasty (960–1279). Rice wine is an Alcoholic beverage made from Rice. Unlike Wine, which is made by fermentation of naturally sweet Grapes and other The Tang Dynasty ( Middle Chinese: dhɑng (June 18 618&ndashJune 4 907 was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by In imperial China, Gentry were the class of landowners who were retired mandarins or their descendants The Song Dynasty ( Wade-Giles: Sung Ch'ao was a ruling dynasty in China between 960&ndash1279 CE it succeeded the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms ^[34] The fact that rice wine was more common than grape wine was noted even by the Venetian traveler Marco Polo when he ventured to China in the 1280s. Venice ( Italian: Venezia, Venetian: Venesia or Venexia) is a city in Northern Italy, the capital of the Marco Polo ( September 15 1254 – January 9 1324 at earliest but no later than June 1325 was a Venetian trader and explorer ^[34] As noted by Shen Kuo (1031–1095) in his Dream Pool Essays, an old phrase in China amongst the gentry class was having the company of the "nine guests" (jiuke), which was a figure of speech for drinking wine, playing the Chinese zither, playing Chinese chess, Zen Buddhist meditation, ink (calligraphy and painting), tea drinking, alchemy, chanting poetry, and conversation. Shen Kuo or Shen Kua ( (1031&ndash1095 style name Cunzhong and pseudonym Mengqi Weng, was a Polymathic Chinese The Dream Pool Essays ( Pinyin: Meng Xi Bi Tan; Wade-Giles: Meng Ch'i Pi T'an Chinese: 夢溪筆談／梦溪笔谈 The four occupations or " four categories of the people " (Chinese 四民 pinyin simin) was a hierarchic social class structure developed in ancient The (simplified/traditional 古琴; Pinyin: gǔqín Zen is a school of Mahāyāna Buddhism, referred to in Chinese as Chan. Buddhist meditation encompasses a variety of Meditation techniques that develop Mindfulness, concentration, tranquility and insight The art of Calligraphy is widely practiced and revered in the East Asian Civilizations that use or used Chinese characters. Chinese painting is one of the oldest continuous artistic traditions in the world Chinese tea consists of Tea leaves which have been processed using methods inherited from China. Alchemy a part of the Occult Tradition is both a philosophy and a practice with an ultimately unknown aim involving the improvement of the alchemist as well as the making of Chinese Poetry is the most highly regarded literary genre in China. ^[35]

Islamic Middle East

Ahmad Y Hassan wrote:

"The distillation of wine and the properties of alcohol were known to Islamic chemists from the eighth century. Ahmad Y Hassan أحمد يوسف الحسن(born 1925 is a chevalier of the Légion d'honneur and a historian of Arabic and Islamic science and technology Distillation is a method of separating Mixtures based on differences in their volatilities in a boiling liquid mixture In Chemistry, an alcohol is any Organic compound in which a Hydroxyl group ( - O[[hydrogen H]]) is bound to a Carbon For other meanings including people named 'Islam' see Islam (disambiguation. A chemist is a Scientist trained in the Science of Chemistry. The prohibition of wine in Islam did not mean that wine was not produced or consumed or that Arab alchemists did not subject it to their distillation processes. For other meanings including people named 'Islam' see Islam (disambiguation. Jabir ibn Hayyan described a cooling technique which can be applied to the distillation of alcohol. For the 12th century astronomer see Jabir ibn Aflah. For the anonymous 14th century Spanish alchemist see Pseudo-Geber. "^[36]

Wine was forbidden in the Islamic civilization, but after Geber and other Muslim chemists pioneered the distillation of wine it was used for other purposes, including cosmetic and medical uses. For the 12th century astronomer see Jabir ibn Aflah. For the anonymous 14th century Spanish alchemist see Pseudo-Geber. Distillation is a method of separating Mixtures based on differences in their volatilities in a boiling liquid mixture ^[36] The 10th century Persian philosopher and scientist Al Biruni described a number of recipes where herbs, minerals and even gemstones are mixed with wine for medicinal purposes. Wine was so revered and its effect so feared that elaborate theories were developed which gemstone-cups would best counteract its negative side effects. ^[21]

Medieval Europe

See also: History of Bordeaux wine

In the Middle Ages, wine was the common drink of all social classes in the south, where grapes were cultivated. The history of Bordeaux wine spans almost 2000 years to Roman times when the first vineyards were planted In the north, where little or no grapes were grown, mead,beer and ale were the common drink of both commoners and nobility, whereas vodka and related spirits predominated in much of the East. Mead (ˈmiːd is a fermented Alcoholic beverage made of Honey, Water, and Yeast. Beer is the world's oldest and most widely consumed Alcoholic beverage and the third most popular drink overall after water and tea Ale is a type of Beer brewed from Malted Barley using a top-fermenting Brewers' yeast. Vodka is one of the world's most popular Distilled beverages It is a clear liquid which consists of mostly Water and Ethanol purified by Distillation Wine was imported to the northern regions, but was expensive, and thus seldom consumed by the lower classes. Wine was necessary for the celebration of the Catholic Mass, and so assuring a supply was crucial. The Benedictine monks became one of the largest producers of wine in France and Germany, followed closely by the Cistercians. Benedictine refers to the Spirituality and Consecrated life in accordance with the Rule of St Benedict, written by Benedict of Nursia in Other orders, such as the Carthusians, the Templars, and the Carmelites, are also notable both historically and in modern times as wine producers. The Benedictines owned vineyards in Champagne (Dom Perignon was a Benedictine monk), Burgundy, and Bordeaux in France and in the Rheingau and Franconia in Germany. In 1435 Count John IV. of Katzenelnbogen, a very rich member of the holy roman high nobility near Frankfurt, was the first to plant Riesling, the most important grape of Germany. Katzenelnbogen is the name of a castle and small city in the district of Rhein-Lahn-Kreis in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Riesling is a white Grape variety which originates in the Rhine region of Germany. Nearby the winemaking monks made it into an industry, producing enough wine to ship it all over Europe for secular use. In Portugal, a country with one of the oldest wine traditions, the first appellation system in the world was created.

A housewife of the merchant class or a servant in a noble household would have served wine at every meal, and had a selection of reds and whites alike. Home recipes for meads from this period are still in existence, along with recipes for spicing and masking flavors in wines, including the simple act of adding a small amount of honey to the wine. Mead (ˈmiːd is a fermented Alcoholic beverage made of Honey, Water, and Yeast. Honey is a sweet and Viscous fluid produced by Honey bees (and some other species and derived from the nectar of Flowers According to the As wines were kept in barrels, they were not extensively aged, and therefore were drunk quite young. To offset the effects of heavy consumption of alcohol, wine was frequently watered down at a ratio of four or five parts water to one of wine.

One medieval application of wine was the use of snake-stones (banded Agate resembling the figural rings on a snake) dissolved in wine against snake bites, which shows an early understanding of the effects of alcohol on the central nervous system in such situations. This article is about the semi-precious stone For other uses see Agate (disambiguation. ^[21]

Developments in Europe

Main article: Great French Wine Blight

In the late 1800s the Phylloxera louse brought devastation to vines and wine production in Europe. The Great French Wine Blight was a severe Blight of the mid-19th century that destroyed many of the Vineyards in France and laid to waste the Wine This article is about the grape phylloxera For the Genus, see Phylloxera (genus. It brought catastrophe for all those whose lives depended on wine. The repercussions were widespread, including the loss of many indigenous varieties. On the positive side, it led to the transformation of Europe's vineyards. Only the fittest survived. Bad vineyards were uprooted and better uses were found for the land. Some of France's best butter and cheese, for example, is now made from cows that graze on Charentais soil which was previously covered with vines. "Curvées" were also standardised. This was particularly important in creating certain wines as we know know them today — Champagne and Bordeaux finally achieved the grape mix which defines them today. In the Balkans where phylloxera did not hit, the local varieties survived but along with Ottoman occupation the transformation of vineyards has been slow. It is only now that local varieties are getting to be known beyond the "mass" wines like Retsina.

Wine in the New World

Grapes and wheat were first brought to what is now Latin America by the first Spanish conquistadores to provide the necessities of the Catholic Holy Eucharist. This article is about the Spanish explorer soldiers of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuriesfor other uses see Conquistador (disambiguation A Conquistador The Eucharist, also called Holy Communion or Lord's Supper and other names is a Christian Sacrament by which in a common interpretation those Planted at Spanish missions, one variety came to be known as the Mission grapes and is still planted today in small amounts. See also Evangelism, Christianization A Christian mission has been widely defined since the Lausanne Congress of 1974 as that which Mission grapes are a variety of Vitis vinifera introduced from Spain to the western coasts of North and South America in the 1500s Succeeding waves of immigrants imported French, Italian and German grapes, although wine from grapes native to the Americas is also produced (though often deemed an acquired taste, since the flavors can be very different).

Wine in the Americas is most closely associated with Argentina, California and Chile, all of which produce a wide variety of wines from inexpensive jug wines to high-quality varieties and proprietary blends. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Argentina topics. California wine is Wine made in the US state of California. Nearly three-quarters the size of France, California accounts for nearly 90 Chilean wine is Wine made in the South American country of Chile. While most of the wine production in the Americas is based on Old World varieties, the wine growing regions of the Americas often have "adopted" grapes that are particularly closely identified with them, such as California's Zinfandel (from Croatia), Argentina's Malbec, and Chile's Carmenère (both from France). Zinfandel is a variety of red Grape planted in over 10 percent of California wine vineyards Malbec is a variety of Grape used in making Red wine. The grapes tend to have an inky dark colour and robust Tannins Long known as one of the The Carmenère grape is a Wine Grape variety originally planted in the Médoc region of Bordeaux, France, where it was used to

Until the latter half of the 20th century, American wine was generally looked upon as inferior to European product; it was not until the surprising American showing at the Paris Wine tasting of 1976 that New World wine began to gain respect in the lands of wine's origins. The twentieth century of the Common Era began on The Paris Wine Tasting of 1976 or the Judgment of Paris was a Wine competition organized in Paris on 24 May 1976 by Steven Spurrier, a British

Outside the Americas

For wine purposes, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and other countries without a wine tradition are also considered New World. The Australian wine industry is the fourth-largest exporter in the world exporting over 400 million litres a year to a large international export market that includes "old world" New Zealand is an Island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses (the North Island and the South Island The Republic of South Africa (also known by other official names) is a country located at the southern tip of the continent of Africa Until quite late in the 20th century, the product of these countries was not well known outside their small export markets (Australia exported largely to the United Kingdom, New Zealand kept most of its wine internally, South Africa was closed off to much of the world market because of apartheid). However, with the increase in mechanization and scientific winemaking, these countries became known for high quality wine.

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