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Wine

Wine and Fortified Wines

Fermented grape juice, produced from Vitis vinifera and its many cultivated varieties, central to the cuisine and ceremonial life of the Mediterranean world from antiquity onward and to French cuisine's own regional identity in particular. Archaeological and biomolecular evidence for early winemaking comes from several sites across the South Caucasus and the Zagros Mountains, and specialists genuinely dispute which site represents the true earliest production rather than simply an early one among several independent origins.

Facts
Disputed
Origin Period, From (Year)
6000 BCE to 4000 BCE 1
Competing archaeological claims from sites in present-day Georgia, Armenia and Iran each propose an earliest date for winemaking; the field has not settled on one, so a range spanning the credible claims is given rather than a single year.
Origin Region
South Caucasus (Georgia); the Zagros Mountains of Iran are a rival early site specialists still weigh 2
Connections

Associated With

Mulled Wine, Drinks
Sangria, Drinks

Expresses Tradition

Distillation, Food Traditions

Brandy is wine distilled after fermentation; the edge records that lineage, not a claim that wine itself is distilled.

Source On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the KitchenHarold McGee
Fermentation, Food Traditions
Source On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the KitchenHarold McGee
Tapas Culture, Food Traditions

Britannica describes tapas as traditionally served alongside a drink to complement the food; wine and sherry bars are the classic pairing in Spanish tapeo culture.

Source Tapa (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
Winemaking, Food Traditions
Source Archaeologists Find Earliest Evidence of Winemaking (ScienceDaily)
Sources
1. The Oxford Companion to Food
Alan Davidson, Oxford University Press, 2014
2. Early Neolithic Wine of Georgia in the South Caucasus (PNAS)
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2017View the Source
Archaeologists Find Earliest Evidence of Winemaking (ScienceDaily)
ScienceDailyparagraph 1
Quote, paragraph 1
The discovery dates the origin of the practice to the Neolithic period around 6000 BC, pushing it back 600-1,000 years from the previously accepted date.
On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen
Harold McGee, Scribner, 2004
  • Expresses Tradition: Fermentation
  • Expresses Tradition: Distillation, ch. on wine, beer and spirits
Tapa (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
Encyclopaedia BritannicaExpresses Tradition: Tapas CultureView the Source
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