The Origins Of Wine And Winemaking

Wine has a long and venerable history, with references to its use cropping up in ancient texts from thousands of years ago - not least, of course, in the Bible. We know for a fact that it was firmly established in the Middle Eastern culture of around two thousand years ago, and for it to be so commonplace at that time it must have been around for quite some time before that.

Viticulture was certainly a large part of the economy of the Roman Empire, and the spread of Roman civilisation included the spread of wine growing and wine drinking as the colonising soldiers moved across the Old World. In ancient Rome, a common form of wine was known as mulsum, heavily sweetened with honey, and produced on large agrarian estates largely by the slave population. What remained in the wine press after crushing the grapes - seeds and skins mainly - was often fed to livestock, or alternatively brewed into a very low quality 'wine' and given to the slaves who'd grown the grapes.

A Potted History Of Champagne Wines

The Romans first developed the Champagne location in France. In the 1200's, lots of the highly prized Champagne wineries transferred into the hands of the Church when Crusaders that had entrusted their land to the church didn't return. The wine from this region were utilised for the sacament, the consecration of treaties, coronations as well as for the royal family.

In the seventeenth century, the Champenois became jealous of the standing of the wines created by their Burgundian neighbours to the south and sought to produce wines of equivalent acclaim. However, as opposed to imitating the wines of Burgundy, the Champenois wanted to produce a new style of wines. Reference is seen from the middle of the century onwards to Champagne wines of various colors; 'couleur de miel' (honey-coloured); 'oeil de perdrix' (partridge eye); 'cerise' (cherry pink); 'fauve' (tawny); or 'gris' (grey).