Wine Making | Beer Brewing

It remains to be unknown where wine originally came from. However, scholars point out that wine making started about as early as 5,000 years ago. It is widely regarded as one of the earliest agricultural commodities and remains highly popular at present times.

Wine making involves the fermentation of grape juice obtained from crushing the fruit. Yeast is used as an aid to turn the liquid into alcohol and the quality and types of wine produce depends on the varieties of grapes and yeasts used.

Experts suggest that wine making could have originated earlier than the Greek and Egyptian civilizations. Evidence shows that the fermentation of grapes occurred in the likes of Georgia, Iran, and Israel around 6,000 BC at the earliest. As agriculture, civilization, and cuisine progressed, so did the technology of wine production.

Egypt

One of the earliest evidences of wine making is found among ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics and artifacts. The Egyptians worshipped Osiris as the Lord of the Vine in Flower. His power to rise from the ashes is likened to inherent ability of grape plants to continue growing despite seeming like dead plants.

The Egyptians are believed to have cultivated grape plants along the Nile River. They are believed to have yielded both white and red wine of the sweet variety. The grapes were collected into plaited baskets before they are manually crushed by feet. The grape juices were stored in earthenware where they are fermented then siphoned off. Early drawings showed the Egyptians’ skills and cunning in wine making.

Greece

Ancient Greece also actively engaged in wine making, with Thrace as the most popular wine producer. Wine was considered a vital commodity at the time and is very highly priced at the time. Early Greek literary pieces, such as the Odysseus, often mentioned wine. Greek women enjoyed wine contrary to their Roman counterparts, who were not allowed wine over fear that it makes them more likely to commit adultery.

Vineyards were not separated from crops until between the eighth and sixth centuries B.C, when wine makers started clearing woodlands to make way for vineyards. Virgil once noted that the types of wine produced by the Greeks surpassed the number of sands on the seashore.

Rome

Romans are very fond of wine and are known to have taken after the Greeks in their wine making. Roman emperors and high officials drank wine for dinner. Romans are known to have their wines either pure or watered, the latter being popular among the lower classes.

The Roman Empire perfected the wine press and contributed much to the discovery, cultivation, and processing of several grape varieties. Their conquest of the Greeks is the reason why their wine making was Hellenic of nature.

Medieval Europe

The Romans and the Greeks had been instrumental spreading the art of wine making to many parts of Europe. The Medieval Catholic church used wine to hold Mass. France, as we know, is presently recognized as one of the world’s greatest wine producers.

Beer is practically a staple in social drinking in many countries around the world today. It has been described as a “social tool” because it promotes socialization bonds when used in moderation. Beer is said to be the third most popular beverage around the world, following water and tea. It is served in restaurants, bars, pubs, social events, parties, and festivals. It is served in celebrations as much as it has proven to be a good companion in times of problems and misery.

Beer brewing entails the fermentation and brewing of starches or sugar. Starches are the byproducts of cereals such as barley, rice, wheat, and corn. The dawn of the Industrial Revolution gave way to the mass production and distribution of beer. Today, beer brewing is among the most lucrative enterprises worldwide.

Beer is said to be the oldest brewed beverage in human history. Traces of the earliest beer brewing activities date back to as early as the sixth millennium B.C. Ancient Iran and Egypt were regarded as the earliest beer producers, followed by Babylon, ancient Rome, and ancient Greece. Experts suggest that the fermentation process could also have made possible the simultaneous discovery of beer or beer-like brews in many parts of the world.

Ancient Sumerian writings mentioned beer such as in a prayer to the goddess Ninkasi. “The Hymn to Ninkasi” is believed to have been some kind of recipe for making beer as few of the Sumerians were literate. Beer brewing is closely associated to the invention of bread, making it an important milestone in agricultural development. Some observers even go as far as claiming that the discovery of beer and bread are the pillars of human civilization.

Chemical tests showed that pottery jars from Mesopotamia (Iran today) show evidence of beer fermentation. A 4,000-year-old Sumerian tablet reportedly depicted people drinking a brewed beverage from a common bowl using straws.

Early Eurasian and North African civilizations, including Egypt, actively participated in beer brewing. There have also been beer citations during biblical times such as in the story of Noah and the ark and the time of King Saul and King David.

Ancient Rome also enjoyed beer way before wine replaced the beverage as the alcoholic drink of choice. They are said to have learned the art of beer brewing from the Greeks, who in turn, learned it from the Egyptians. The Romans called beer “cerevisia” which is a Celtic term. Eventually, the Romans started regarding beer as a drink of the Barbarians.

The Middle Ages saw all social classes enjoying the alcoholic beverage and engaging in beer brewing. Beer rose to popularity the most in Eastern Europe, where grapes, which are used for producing wine, are difficult to grow. Beer became a staple for every meal by the Late Middle Ages especially for the lower classes.

Eventually, manufacturers started using hops, the female flower cones of the hop plant, wherein the bitter taste of beer is attributed. Before the use of hops, herbs, fruit, and honey were used to mix with beer. Hops enabled the better preservation of beer and it helped balance the ingredients. Monks were said to have actively participated in making and selling beer.

Beer is regarded as the first alcoholic beverage ever produced, dating back to as early as the sixth millennium B.C. The discovery of beer is considered to be a major event in the development of agriculture through the centuries. Closely related to the discovery of bread, beer is made from the fermentation of sugar or starch in cereal products.

Chinese history referred to some kind of brewed beverage they called “kui” 5,000 years ago. A 4,000-year-old Mesopotamian clay tablet referred to women as “master brewers.” Women also played an important role in beer brewing in Babylon. Most of them had been priestesses who used the alcoholic drink for religious rites.

Hammurabi, the sixth king of Babylon, included beer control in his laws, more popularly known as the Code of Hammurabi. The Babylonians produced various types of beer – red, dark, pale, three-fold, and so on. Historians claimed that royalty used a golden straw to sip their drink. In Israel, beer is believed to have been available as early as the time of King Saul and Kind David as shown by several mugs found at Tel Isdar in the 1960s

The pharaohs of ancient Egypt drank beer regularly some 5,000 years ago. It was a staple for the noblemen as well as the peasants. Even the dead were given the alcoholic drink to take with them in their “journey to the next life.” The beverage was also used as a medicinal prescription. Beer was mentioned in the Book of the Dead and depicted in ancient hieroglyphics. Isis was the Egyptian people’s patroness of beer brewing. A keg of beer is supposedly the proper gift from anyone who asks for the hand of a pharaoh’s daughter.

It is believed that the Greeks learned brewing from the Egyptians. Great Greek writers such as Sophocles, Xenophon, and Herodotus often mentioned beer in their works. In turn, it was the Greeks who passed on the knowledge to the ancient Romans. Julius Caesar himself is known to have offered his officers a beer toast upon crossing the River Rubicon in 49 B.C. The Romans taught European barbarians how to brew yeasts, as scholars said.

History shows that Christian monasteries produced and sold beer. Monks are said to have engaged into the undertaking as a means to fund the needs of pilgrims and travelers. The likes of Saint Augustine of Hippo, Saint Luke the Evangelist, and Saint Nicholas of Myra (Santa Claus) were deemed as patrons of brewing. Germany’s Saint Columbian is also associated with beer.

Christian ruler, Emperor Charlemagne promoted beer as part of a moderate diet. Arthurian legends mentioned a brewed beverage called “bragget” as being served to the Knights of the Round Table. Women were also known as brew masters throughout medieval times, when the drink was regarded as a “food-drink.”

Beer and ale are closely associated in present times. Their difference is that ale is mainly produced from malt. Hops were added as a main ingredient in Flanders, giving it a bitter taste and making it better preserved compared to ale.

Wine Making, the ancient art or the ancient science; depends on who you ask. For over 5000 years wine making has played a part in shaping the history of the world. It is commonly agreed that the origins of wine making started in the Middle East, between the fertile regions of the Nile and the Persian Gulf. Accident or not, the discovery of wine has been a part of almost every culture since the beginning of time. The wine making process spread through the growth in population. Villages became cities, putting pressure on the demand for product. As nations and empires came and went the wine making process spread throughout the world.

In ancient Egypt wine making quickly developed into its own industry. Weaving itself into ceremonies, the wine making process was routinely recorded on the walls of tombs and caves. Cultivated and created through hard labour wine was enjoyed from the peasants to the pharaohs. Within the arid climate, wine skins were the most common means to keep the wine until consumption.

When the Roman Empire influenced the Middle East, wine instantly became fused to their culture. Wine became so common within the Roman Empire that it was pretty much considered part of their diet. The Romans have been credited with planting most of the vineyards found in Western Europe today. This precious business of wine making also saw many technological improvements at the hands of the Romans. In fact they are the ones who originally started using barrels and bottles to store and transport their wine. It was through the Catholic Church that the wine industry and wine culture survived the fall of the Roman Empire.

Today’s modern wine culture models that of the Greeks. You can still find vineyards in Greece today growing the same plants that were harvested many centuries ago. Theophrastas is the oldest known author to document the complete wine making process. Even the Greek gods were told to have enjoyed the wine that was produced.

Wine is the fermented juice of grapes. Most wine is specifically created from the Vitis Vinifera species of grape. The different varieties of the species come in different sizes, shapes, color, juice amounts, have different ripening times and different disease resistances. Common names of the varieties are Gewurztraminer, Riesling, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc, Muscat and Cabernet Sauvignon.