Alicia Steffann

However, the drink we now identify as wine appeared in the Transcaucasian region between 8000 and 4000 BCE.

Once it had begun, people's interest in wine could not be stopped.

Winemaking seems to have caught on in other cultures, reaching south to Mesopotamia, Egypt and the Levant, west to Anatolia, and east to Central Asia for starters.

Greece would eventually become very important in the development of viticulture and wine consumption in general.

There is evidence that wine was already being made there during the Bronze Age and that it was very much a part of Greek life by the time the Benoan culture arose around 3100 BCE.

It's even possible

that the Greeks are responsible for introducing wine to the Egyptians via trade, shipping them in widely used ceramic containers called amphoras.

The Greeks also seem to have introduced their V-Vinevera wine to colonies in modern-day Italy, Spain, and France.

Because it seemed to be a wondrous natural gift, wine was often used for special purposes.

As one example, evidence shows that in 3000 BCE, Egyptians were using wine ceremonially at burials and winemaking scenes can now be found on tomb walls of that era.

In ancient Israel, consumption of wine was also prominent both as a dietary and religious staple.

However, the ancient Greeks really allowed wine to become a daily indulgence.

Grapes grew easily in Greece, so by the 4th century BCE, they were a staple in everyday life.

As Lukacs put it, quote, wine was still a blessing from heaven, only now the blessing had been bestowed much more broadly.

With the growth of cities, commercialism also flourished, making wine a business.

Experts are quick to point out that the beverage being consumed by these ancient people was technically wine, but it would not be recognizable to enthusiasts today.

Just sticking the fermented liquid into a clay jar did not halt its natural processes.

Therefore, the wines of the era quickly turned to vinegar, making them drinkable for only a brief time.

Even before that, the product would have been very thick and even chunky.

An early wine press discovered in Crete dates somewhere between 1600 and 1400 BCE.