The History of Wine: A Complete Timeline

The history of wine spans more than 8,000 years, from the earliest known winemaking in the South Caucasus to today’s global industry.

This timeline traces that journey era by era — who made wine, how it spread, and the turning points that shaped it — with links to dig into any chapter. It’s the spine of everything we cover at This Day in Wine History.

Ancient origins (c. 6000 BCE – 1000 BCE)

The earliest chemical evidence of grape winemaking comes from residue in Neolithic pottery jars unearthed at the early villages of Gadachrili Gora and Shulaveris Gora in the Republic of Georgia, radiocarbon-dated to roughly 6000–5800 BCE — the world’s oldest known wine.¹² The previous record-holder, Hajji Firuz Tepe in the Zagros Mountains of Iran, dates to about 5400–5000 BCE.³⁴ From these beginnings, wine culture spread across Mesopotamia, Egypt, and the Levant, embedding itself in ritual, trade, and daily life.

→ Explore Ancient Wine History, Hajji Firuz Tepe, and Ancient Women and Wine.

The classical world (c. 1000 BCE – 500 CE)

The Greeks carried the vine across the Mediterranean with their colonies, and Rome industrialized viticulture — spreading it to Gaul, Hispania, and the Rhine as the legions advanced. Wherever Rome built roads and garrisons, vineyards followed; many of Europe’s great wine regions trace their roots to this expansion.

→ See Wine History: 1 CE to 500 CE.

The medieval era (c. 500 – 1500 CE)

As Roman authority receded, monasteries preserved and advanced viticulture — Benedictines and Cistercians patiently mapping the climats of Burgundy plot by plot. On 18 May 1152, Eleanor of Aquitaine married Henry Plantagenet (crowned King Henry II of England in 1154), placing Bordeaux under the English crown for nearly three centuries and igniting the trade in the pale red wine the English came to call “claret.”⁵⁶ (See also: the British Empire and the global wine trade.) (See also: wine and the emergence of Christianity.)

→ See 501–1000, 1001–1500, and Wine in Medieval Christianity, Islam & Judaism.

The early modern age (c. 1500 – 1800)

Wine crossed the Atlantic with European colonization, and fortified wines — Port, Sherry, Madeira — rose with maritime trade. In Champagne, the Benedictine monk Dom Pérignon served as cellar master at Hautvillers Abbey from 1668 until his death in 1715 — but, contrary to legend, he did not invent sparkling wine. He spent much of his career trying to prevent the bubbles; the method for deliberately making sparkling wine had already been documented by English scientist Christopher Merret in 1662, and Blanquette de Limoux predates him by over a century. His real contributions were to quality and to pressing clear white wine from red grapes.⁷⁸ (See also: slavery and the history of wine.) (More on this in Gosset, Champagne’s oldest house.)

→ See 1501–1700, 1701–1800, and Colonialism.

The modern transformation (1800 – 1950)

At the 1855 Exposition Universelle in Paris, Emperor Napoleon III requested a ranking of Bordeaux’s best wines — the 1855 Classification that still stands almost unchanged today.⁹¹⁰ Soon after, catastrophe: phylloxera, first noted in French vineyards in 1863, devastated Europe’s vines, destroying an estimated 40% of France’s vineyards by 1890 before grafting onto resistant American rootstock saved the industry.¹¹¹² In the United States, Prohibition (1920–1933) reshaped the New World industry.¹³ (See also: wine and taxation under the Ancien Régime.)

→ See Turning Points in Wine History, Legacy of Phylloxera, and The Wine Ranking System of Bordeaux & Burgundy.

The global era (1950 – today)

New World wines came of age — crowned by the Judgment of Paris on 24 May 1976, when, in a blind tasting organized by Steven Spurrier and Patricia Gallagher, California wines (a 1973 Chateau Montelena Chardonnay and a 1973 Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars Cabernet) beat France’s finest, stunning the wine world.¹⁴¹⁵ Today wine is made on six continents.

→ Explore Wine Regions of the World and Old World vs New World.

The eras at a glance

This day in wine history

• 18 May 1152 — Eleanor of Aquitaine marries Henry Plantagenet, tying Bordeaux to the English crown and launching the claret trade.
• 17 January 1920 — The 18th Amendment takes effect: Prohibition begins in the United States.
• 5 December 1933 — The 21st Amendment repeals Prohibition.
• 24 May 1976 — The Judgment of Paris: California wines beat France’s finest in a blind tasting.

Explore wine history your way

• By date → This Day in Wine History
• By turning point → Turning Points in Wine History
• By region → Wine Regions of the World
• By grape → Wine Grape Varieties
• By person → Famous People & Birthdays in Wine

This timeline is a map, not the territory — every era links to deeper articles and the exact days these events happened. Pick a thread and follow it.

References

1. McGovern, P. et al., “Early Neolithic wine of Georgia in the South Caucasus,” PNAS, 2017.
2. National Geographic, “Oldest Evidence of Winemaking Discovered at 8,000-Year-Old Village,” 2017.
3. Penn Museum, “Move Over, Hajji Firuz Tepe in Iran” (press release).
4. Penn Museum, Expedition Magazine, “The Beginnings of Winemaking in the Ancient Near East and Egypt.”
5. History of Bordeaux wine — marriage of Eleanor of Aquitaine and origin of claret (corroborated).
6. The Drinks Business, “On this day 1152: Bordeaux becomes English,” 2016.
7. Champagne Gallery, “Dom Pérignon – The Man and the Myth.”
8. History Hit, “Dom Pérignon: How a French Monk Became the King of Champagne.”
9. Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855; Exposition Universelle (1855).
10. Wine Spectator, “The 1855 Bordeaux Classification.”
11. WSET, “What is phylloxera and why was it so significant,” 2023.
12. Great French Wine Blight (corroborated); Wine History Tours, “Phylloxera in France.”
13. U.S. National Archives — 18th Amendment (effective 17 Jan 1920); 21st Amendment (ratified 5 Dec 1933).
14. Judgment of Paris (wine) — date, organizers, winners (corroborated).
15. Smithsonian Magazine, “That Revolutionary May Day in 1976.”

Want to read more? Try these books

The Story of Wine Hugh Johnson

Ancient Wine Patrick E. McGovern

The Oxford Companion to Wine Jancis Robinson (ed.)

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