Wine: culture in a cup

From the Caucasus and Near East to the Mediterranean and beyond, wine has intertwined with religion, law, trade, and cuisine for at least eight millennia. It is both agricultural produce and cultural symbol, expressing place through grape, soil, and craft.

Beginnings and spread

• Archaeological residues suggest early vinification in the South Caucasus and northern Iran, later spreading through Anatolia and the Levant to the Mediterranean.
• Domestication of Vitis vinifera and amphora‑based transport enabled trade and the development of regional styles.

Classical worlds

• In Greece and Rome, wine touched ritual and daily life, shaped land use, and traveled with armies and merchants.
• Roman viticulture and road networks accelerated diffusion of varieties and techniques across Europe.

Monastic stewardship and terroir

• Medieval monastic orders preserved viticultural knowledge, mapped vineyard quality, and recorded practices.
• The concept of terroir—place‑driven character—emerged from careful observation of soils, aspects, and microclimates.

Science, phylloxera, and modernization

• The 19th‑century phylloxera crisis devastated vineyards; grafting onto American rootstocks saved European wine.
• Advances in microbiology and enology improved fermentation control, aging, and bottling stability.

The global era

• Technology, climate research, and international exchange diversified grape varieties and styles worldwide.
• Regions old and new—from Burgundy to Chile, Georgia to New Zealand—now coexist in a connected market.

Roles in society

• Ritual and celebration: from sacred rites to family tables, wine marks occasions and seasons.
• Agriculture and landscape: vineyards shape rural economies and preserve cultural landscapes.
• Identity and gastronomy: wine serves as a language for cuisine, hospitality, and regional identity.

Enduring thread

Wine’s history ties plants to people, geology to memory. The craft evolves—stainless steel, amphora revivals, low‑intervention approaches—but the aim endures: to let place and fruit speak with clarity.