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On this Day:
In 2017, evidence of the world’s earliest wine-making was uncovered from Khramis Didi Gora, Georgia, in clay pots dating from 6,000BC. Only problem was that the recipe card on how to make wine found with the pots was in Chinese characters…
Winemaking or vinification is the production of wine, starting with the selection of the fruit, its fermentation into alcohol, and the bottling of the finished liquid. The history of wine-making stretches over millennia. The science of wine and winemaking is known as oenology. A winemaker may also be called a vintner. The growing of grapes is viticulture and there are many varieties of grapes.
Winemaking can be divided into two general categories: still wine production (without carbonation) and sparkling wine production (with carbonation – natural or injected). Red wine, white wine, and rosé are the other main categories. Although most wine is made from grapes, it may also be made from other plants. (See fruit wine.) Other similar light alcoholic drinks (as opposed to beer or spirits) include mead, made by fermenting honey and water, and kumis, made of fermented mare’s milk.
Wine has been produced for thousands of years, with evidence of ancient wine production in Georgia from c. 6000 BC (the earliest known traces of wine), Iran from c. 5000 BC, Armenia from c. 4100 BC (large-scale production), and Sicily from c. 4000 BC. The earliest evidence of a grape and rice mixed based fermented drink sometimes compared to wine was found in ancient China (c. 7000 BC).
The altered consciousness produced by wine has been considered religious since its origin. The ancient Greeks worshiped Dionysus or Bacchus and the Ancient Romans carried on his cult. Consumption of ritual wine, probably a certain type of sweet wine originally, was part of Jewish practice since Biblical times and, as part of the eucharist commemorating Jesus’s Last Supper, became even more essential to the Christian Church. Although Islam nominally forbade the production or consumption of wine, during its Golden Age, alchemists such as Geber pioneered wine’s distillation for medicinal and industrial purposes such as the production of perfume.
Wine production and consumption increased, burgeoning from the 15th century onwards as part of European expansion. Despite the devastating 1887 phylloxera louse infestation, modern science and technology adapted and industrial wine production and wine consumption now occur throughout the world (per Wikipedia).
First, a Story:
It’s Saturday – the only decision you need to make is what type of wine to have.
Second, a Song:
Vox is an American news and opinion website owned by Vox Media. The website was founded in April 2014 by Ezra Klein, Matt Yglesias, and Melissa Bell, and is noted for its concept of explanatory journalism. Vox’s media presence also includes a YouTube channel, several podcasts, and a show presented on Netflix. Vox has been described as left-of-center and progressive (per Wikipedia).
Here is Vox’s video on “Expensive wine is for suckers.” I hope you enjoy this!
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVKuCbjFfIY)
Thought for the Day:
“We are all mortal until the first kiss and the second glass of wine.” – Eduardo Galeano
Have a great day!
Dave & Colleen
© 2021 David J. Bilinsky and Colleen E. Bilinsky
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