HISTORIES OF WINE DISCOVERY

Scientists have discovered 8,000-year-old ceramic fragments that show the earliest evidence of grape wine production. Earthenware jars with residual wine components were found in two locations south of Tbilisi, Georgia’s capital. Images of grape bunches and dancing men were featured as decorations on some jars.

The scientists submitted 30 ceramic fragments and 26 soil samples from the surrounding area and studied them for traces of winemaking to figure out what the containers were used for. While conducting the research, they found tartaric acid, a chemical found in high concentrations in grapes, on the insides of the pots. The substance was found in significantly lower concentrations in the soil near the pottery, indicating that it was not naturally occurring and was, in fact, a result of wine production.

Previously, the earliest evidence of winemaking came from ceramics discovered in northwestern Iran 7,000 years ago. Additionally, remains of what could be the world’s oldest wine have been found at the bottom of pottery jars in a cave in Sicily, indicating that the fermented drink was created and consumed in Italy more than 6,000 years ago.

The earliest remnants of wine were discovered in the site of Hajji Firuz Tepe, in the northern Zagros Mountains of Iran.

According to some experts, humans may have been making wine as long as 10,000 years ago. The oldest known evidence of winemaking, which dates back about 6,000 years, was discovered in 2011 near the Armenian village of Areni. Scientists have stated that they cannot rule out the possibility that the significant quantity of traces of malvidin they identified in the residue originated from pomegranates, a common fruit in Armenia and the country’s national symbol.

[1]

A Timeline of Ancient Wine Production:

Wine has been produced for thousands of years, with evidence of ancient wine production dating back to:

6000 BC in Georgia
5000 BC in Iran
4100 BC in Armenia
4000 BC in Sicily.
7000 BC in China, where they found the oldest evidence of a fermented grape and rice mixed drink.

Also read: