The Wine Story

A set of traditional Georgian wine jugs and clay cups in marani (cellar for storing wine in special pitchers)

By BIHC

‘Wine is one of the most civilized things in the world and one of the most natural things of the world that has been brought to the greatest perfection, and it offers a greater range for enjoyment and appreciation than, possibly, any other purely sensory thing.’
~ Ernest Hemingway

Wine has been a popular beverage of mankind for thousands of years. Our natural fondness of this drink stems from the wonderful taste, its nutritious properties and not least its psychotropic effects.

Out of all drinks apart from water, none other has had such an impact on society like wine. The trade of wine between cultures opened up channels for religious and philosophical ideas to spread across Asia, Europe and eventually the world.

From 7,000– 6600 BC ancient tribes from Jiahu in the Yellow River Valley of China began fermenting rice/honey/fruit wine which was stored in earthenware and the culture evolved to the first winery in 4000 BC in Armenia.

Closer home in 3100 BC, the Egyptians brew and drank what is a distant relative to the wine we know today. The Egyptians used white, pink, green, red, and dark blue grapes, as well as figs, palm, dates and pomegranates. So as you can imagine, the taste would have been completely different to what we would expect when being served wine today. Fast forward to the 21st century, the evolution is still ongoing with more varieties and blends to pick from.