Monday, May
25, is not only Memorial Day, it's National Wine Day, too.
Although the origins of the
holiday are unclear, it's a perfect opportunity to enjoy a day set aside to
celebrate wine!
Wine
has been consumed throughout the world for centuries. The earliest known
production of wine dates back to around 6000 BC. The
oldest known winery was discovered in a cave in the mountains of Armenia.
The
earliest wine production in Europe, dates back 6,500 years ago, and was
discovered at an archaeological site in northern Greece near Macedonia.
Wine
was very common in Ancient Greece and Rome, playing an important part in
religion and was known as the "Juice of the Gods.”
For
the
Greeks, Dionysus was the god of wine and revelry. Dionysus was
worshiped from c. 1500 – 1100 BC. His festivals were the reason for the
development
of Greek theatre.
Bacchus
was the god of wine for the Romans.
He reigned over the grape harvest, winemaking, and the resulting frenzied
festivals that occurred. Bacchus
was believed to be a divine being who could communicate with both the living
and the dead.
Apparently
the Romans also knew how to bottle wine. A
1,650 year old bottle of wine, the oldest one ever to be discovered, was
found in 1867 during a dig in Speyer, Germany. It was located inside a
Roman stone
sarcophagus. The bottle has been on display at Germany’s History Museum
of the Pfalz for over one hundred years.
During this early ‘wine period,’ winemaking technology improved tremendously in the
ancient world. The wine press
underwent great changes, and barrels were developed for storing and shipping
wines.
Even
in Egypt, wine played an important part in daily ceremonial life.
By
the Middle Ages, wine was the common drink for all social classes. It was used for the celebration of
Catholic Mass, with the Benedictine Monks producing most of the wine for this
purpose. Housewives made their own wines and served them at
every meal. Wine was watered down with 4 parts water to one part wine
for everyday use.
Throughout
history, Europe
has always been known as the premier wine region. In fact, American
wines were looked down upon throughout the
world until 39 years ago when two American wines won acclaim during the Paris Wine Tasting of 1976.
~ Joy
