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   We will probably never know how men first learned how to turn grapes into wine. Ancient Greek lore tells us that Dionysus, the Greek god of wine and vegetation, taught the early Greeks how to grow the grapes and make wine. The Greeks learned well and became the first recorded people in history to plant commercial vineyards and market their wine in other countries, around 3500 years ago. Wine was a popular and sacred drink among these ancient peoples. Wine was imbibed in many rituals and celebrations as part of the religion of the period. The Greeks were a seafaring people who spread their culture and influence throughout the Mediterranean basin. This influence included the making of wine, the Greeks planting vineyards in lands from the Black Sea in the east to Spain in the west. Wine connoisseurs of today would be very disappointed with the Greek wine of this period. The wine was stored in casks lined with a plant based resin substance which imparted a flavor not unlike turpentine to the wine. On top of this the Greeks flavored their wine with spices, herbs, flowers and perfumes. And the wine was always cut with water before serving. The Romans borrowed and adapted much of Greek culture to their own as they conquered the older culture. Viticulture was included in this legacy of Greece to Rome. As the Roman Empire grew, viniculture grew with it, vineyards being planted in areas which were to become the modern nations of France, Germany, Italy, and England. Many of the vineyards established under Roman rule are still wine producing areas today. Roman might failed in 476 AD, the empire falling to Germanic invasion. Europe suffered a major setback both politically and scientifically, with institutions and learning coming to a halt. Viticulture survived this catastrophe because of the importance of wine in the newly ascendant Christian religion. Monks helped preserve the methods of winemaking and the vineyards necessary to practice it. The Renaissance in Europe and the voyages of Columbus stimulated a revival in trade, science, and other areas of societal importance. As Europeans expanded their horizons to the New World, they took grapes and wine making with them. By the mid 1500’s viticulture had been introduced to Chile in South America and by the 1800’s Spanish missionaries had introduced the art to California. Leif Eriksson’s voyages around the year 1000 had carried him to the shores of North America. He had found abundant grape vines growing there, enough that he called the area Vineland. Although these grapes were abundant, their suitability for wine making was very limited. This species, vitis lambrusca, thrives from New England to Indiana in the west and to Georgia in the south. Palatable wine from the native grapes was nearly impossible to make. European wine grapes would not grow in the soils and climate of North America. French viticulturalists were dispatched to Delaware in 1616 to attempt to make a good wine from Vitis lambrusca, but their efforts failed.  Disaster befell the wine industry in Europe and around the world at the beginning of the 19th century. The eastern American root louse, phylloxera, was introduced to European vineyards by the importation of American grapes. The insect decimated the European grape varieties in Europe, Australia, and California. Almost the entire worlds stocks of vitis vinefera were destroyed. Some American varieties of grapes were found to be immune to this parasitic pest, and the European grapes were saved by grafting European varieties of grapes to these hardy American rootstocks. The European vineyards had recovered from this disaster by the middle of the century.  |