How Did We Discover Wine?

In a letter to the Abbe Morellet in 1779, Benjamin Franklin wrote that the strategic location of the elbow is proof that God wants us to drink wine. After all, had God placed the elbow lower on the arm, our wine glass would never make it all the way to our mouths. Had the elbow been placed higher, our glass would shoot straight past our lips.

“From the actual situation of the elbow,” Franklin wrote, “we are enabled to drink at our ease, the glass going directly to the mouth. Let us, then, with glass in hand adore this benevolent wisdom. Let us adore and drink!”

Who Invented Wine?

That isn't a question that can be answered, because scientists and historians believe that wine wasn’t really invented, it was more discovered. Basically, they believe that the discovery of wine was made by ancient peoples when they found their grapes had spoiled and the natural yeast created fermented grape juice. Many believe that this is when the wine making process was invented and this is where most stories about the origins of wine begin.

Just Imagine. . .

You're chipping away at Paleolithic stones and arguing with Fred and Barney about whose spearhead is the pointiest. As usual, you're keeping an eye out for any cave lions that might be on the prowl. As long as the birds keep chirping, you know it’s OK. Then you hear it.  It’s not the silence that signals a predator, but a new flurry of activity from your FWS (feathered warning system).

You see the birds are feeding on fermented fruit. They’re unable to stop eating even after they're too full to fly. So, you sample it too, tasting the juice of spoiled, wild grapes. The more you drink, the less you worry. This drink, which was terrible at first, feels like magic.

Archaeological Evidence

Although there's no record of how wine was first discovered, archeologists have a theory in which Stone Aged people followed the cue of animals eating fermented fruit. Finding it to be pretty good, the Paleolithic people (who lived from earliest mankind to about 10,000 B.C.E.) brewed their own version by stuffing animal-skin pouches with wild grapes, allowing the grapes to spoil and then drinking the liquid. Not only did the beverage provide the same socially lubricating benefits as it does today, it was probably used as medicine, too.

Archaeologists have discovered grape vines dating to 60 million years ago. For much of human history, winemaking was a skill that didn't need to be recorded. It was passed from generation to generation by family members. The first written account of wine appears in the Old Testament and tells of Noah surviving the flood, leaving the ark, and planting grape vines to make wine.

When archaeologists discovered 9,000-year-old rice and honey wine residue on pottery shards in central China, they had clear proof of ancient fermentation. It was a find like other parts of the world. In the Middle East, grape remnants have been found in 7,400-year-old jars, accompanied by bits of tree resin thought to be a wine preservative. In Egypt, medicine vessels in the 5,000-year-old tomb of Pharaoh Scorpion I were found to be spiked with wine.

What may be the world's oldest intact bottle of wine was discovered in 1867 while excavating a Roman stone sarcophagus under a vineyard near Speyer, Germany. The bottle, its contents preserved, dates from about 325 C.E. and is on display, still unopened, at Germany's History Museum of the Pfalz

Wine Myths and Fables

There are a few well known wine myths and fables that credit different parts of the world for the invention, or discovery, of wine. Here are a few of the more popular stories.

Dionysus

This is arguably one of the most well-known wine fables. In Greek mythology, Dionysus, son of Zeus and his mistress Semele, invented wine while living in the ancient Mount Nysa among nymphs. This is one of the reasons why Dionysus is often referred to as the god of Wine.

The Persian Woman

This story of the Persian woman and fermented grapes has many folklorists crediting a woman for inventing wine. It has at least two different versions. Here they are:

Version One

A Persian Princess had found herself out of favor with the King of Persia. When she heard this news, she attempted to commit suicide by consuming a jar of spoiled grapes. Instead of dying, she found herself feeling better and acting a lot happier. Eventually she passed out, but when she woke up, she found that the King liked her new attitude so much that he admitted her back into his good graces.

Version Two

A Persian woman found herself sick with a headache and drank from a jar she used to store grapes. The grapes in the jar had fermented. The woman got drunk and passed out. When she woke, her headache was gone.

Let's Just Say…

Since no two stories will ever agree on who invented wine, let's just say that the world invented it. Though there are ways to carbon date the oldest wine bottles and new archaeological discoveries regarding wine are being made, there is just no way of proving who invented wine first. So next time you are enjoying a glass of your favorite wine, raise it up and give a nod to the Persian Princess, Dionysus, Noah or whomever, in thanks that the wine we love so much was even discovered.