A short history of viticulture and winemaking
The beginnings of alcoholic beverage production in Slavonija and Baranja can be traced back to the Middle Copper Age, probably to the Baden culture (around 3630-2800 BC), as attested by a variety of ceramic cups, jugs and ladles that were used to serve and drink beverages such as mead, beer or alcoholic beverages made of fermented fruit. Wine was not yet made at the time.
Denis Despot
Archaeological evidence suggests that the domestication and growing of grapevine originated in prehistory in the Middle East, or more precisely the Caucasus. This area, and Georgia in particular, is still home to a great abundance of wild and cultivated grapevine varieties. Archaeological excavations in neolithic localities in southeast Georgia uncovered evidence that Vitis vinifera (grapevine) was grown around 6000-5800 BC. The use of grapevine and the consummation of wines is proven not only by wine acid residue in the walls of ceramic vessels, but also by the remains of grape skins. The oldest confirmed “winery” was discovered in the Areni-1 cave complex in Armenia, dating back to the Copper Age (around 4050-3800 BC). The discovery in this locality consists of a large basin-shaped clay platform, whose content drained into a large, semi-buried jug, surrounded by a number of storage jars. A large amount of desiccated grape seeds, skins and vines was also found. This early neolithic grapevine was probably uncultivated, meaning that wild grapes were used to make the wine. The grapevine was probably cultivated later in order to increase the yield.
Archaeological evidence confirms that the cultivation of grapevine started in the Early Bronze Age in Greece and Mesopotamia and in the Late Bronze Age in the Caucasus. Remains of seeds discovered in the Apennine Peninsula, dating back to the Late Bronze Age (1300-1100 BC), also provide proof of grapevine cultivation and wine production. Greek colonists brought the grapevine to Italy, but the Romans had learned a great deal about viticulture and winemaking from the Carthaginian Phoenicians, and vine cultivation had become common in Italy by the 2nd century BC.
Authors from the antiquity have written volumes about viticulture and winemaking. Columella gave the most detailed account of the practices in De Re Rustica (On Agriculture) in the 1st century. He is also the author of an earlier, shorter work titled De cultura vinearum et arborum (On the Cultivation of Vineyards and Orchards). De agricultura (On Agriculture) by Cato in the 2nd century BC and Res Rusticae (Country Matters) by Marcus Terentius Varro in the 1st century BC also include a variety of advice for successful viticulture and winemaking.
Denis Despot
