Wine in Ancient Greece

Modern wine culture began in Ancient Greece. In this cartoon you will see how the social side of wine developed: a shift from wine as a ritualistic drink or administered by the high society, to a drink made and consumed in every social class. This is what ancient Greeks did for us: brought wine in everyone‘s table.  This chapter begins with a Socrates‘ quote: Wine moistens and tempers the spirit and lulls the cares of the mind to rest. It revives our joys and is oil to the dying flame of life. In other words: wine to relax, to feel better, to make us happy and make life easier. This quote means that wine had uses for the common people, beyond the religious purposes that were the main use of wine in earlier (and contemporary) civilizations. You can go back and check the previous videos about history of wine to check this fact. The point is how this transition happened: while in earlier societies, the rulers and/or the priests controlled vineyards and winemaking, in the Greek society wine was a business and therefore controlled by a commercial-based society. How was it that this commercial society had such importance in Ancient Greece? Around 1200 BCE the people from northern Greece invaded the southern Mycenaean Civilization, a monarchy and aristocracy-ruled society and, in terms of social order, similar to the Sumerians or the Egyptians. After the wars between the northern Greeks and the southern Mycenaeans, the land was devastated and the common people ran from ruin and misery to the invader-occupied fortresses for protection. For 2 centuries, the invaders tried to consolidate their power by giving more privileges to these common people at the cost of the former kings and aristocracy who tried to dispute their rights. It was around these fortresses that the new Greek society emerged: democratic city-states with vigorous commerce and mercantile class. That is how vine-growing and wine consumption expanded to a whole new group of people who could own vineyards, produce and drink their own wine. Wine became a common crop and eventually a business. There are many references to the usual consumption of wine by the ancient Greeks: the word “symposium” defined their favorite occasion to drink wine: conversation after meals. Also, poems like The Odyssey in which Ulysses found his father taking care of his vineyard, described as having 50 different furrows for each type of vine, when he returned from his adventures. There were vine-growing guides and even medical prescriptions from Hippocrates who prescribed different wines depending on the disease. The religious purpose of wine remained: Dionysus was a god from the east that, in the...

Cleopatra loved Muscat

Enjoy the third cartoon video in the History of Wine series. It reviews some of the facts about wine in Ancient Egypt, especially about how the wine-making process was government controlled, and how their cellaring techniques involved a fairly modern labeling system. Wine records are quite important from this period and there is much archeological evidence of wine consumption. Again, the story is based on Jose Peñin’s book, the History of Wine. In Ancient Egypt, the Nile river valley was very suitable for growing grapes. After cerreals, the grapes were the second crop in terms of production. But only the pharaoh, the priests, the nobles and senior officials could own a vineyard. Even more, the winemaking was controlled by public officers: deciding how many crops should be left in the vines (as a fee for the gods) and the labelling which should indicate vintage, vineyard, owner, winemaker and quality assessment.  The quality scale went from “No Quality” to “8 times good”. The type of wine they drank remains unclear, but it’s known that Cleopatra liked an aromatic, sweet white wine, which by the period, it was probably made of muscat grapes. It seems clear, though, that wine was reserved for high society who indulged with big banquets (with a mummy watching them) and abandoned themselves in gluttony and drunkenness. The royal guard can also drink wine and their members received 4 glasses of wine per day in their salaries. Beer was the usual drink for the common people, despite of they were allowed to drink wine in the pharaoh festivals. Ancient Egyptians taste for wine was probably very different from the current preferences, using...

Sacred drink, evil drink

Enjoy the second cartoon video in the History of Wine series. It explains wine’s role as a sacred drink, but also explains the dark side of wine as an evil drink, based on the Judeo-Christian tradition. Again, the story comes from Jose Peñin’s book History of Wine. This cartoon begins by explaining how the most ancient god (mother Earth) became the goddess of vines and wine to the ancient Babylonians and how many ancient cultures shared a common idea of a “Garden of the Gods” where wine was the main drink. Drinking wine is associated with higher beings and the vines represent eternity with its never-ended cycle of death and rebirth each year. Vines were a symbol of the cycle of life.  Wine, as a higher drink with mystical properties, is represented in the first known text of history, the Poem of Gilgamesh (1800 BCE). This poem is a story about a Sumerian king that provoked the gods’ anger by treating the common people of his kingdom with cruelty. In the poem, the gods decided to kill the King and sent a savage giant called Enkidu to fight with him and to end the king’s life. To be prepared for combat, Enkidu is lionized for a while, making him drink up to 7 glasses of strong wine to achieve a higher status, to change him from simple savage to human. In the poem, wine was a way to a better and more elevated understanding of the world. But the things went bad for Enkidu, when in the vapors of wine, he and the King, not only never fought, but became close friends. So, the...

Origin of Wine

Enjoy the first cartoon video of the History of Wine series. It begins with the hypothesis of the first tasting, according to José Peñín’s book History of Wine and then it moves on to one of the most popular legends about the discovery of wine. It also reveals some facts about the first evidence of wine and then leads you through history to the discovery of how man and wine began their love affair. Hypotheses of the Origin of Wine Men probably first tasted grape juice looking for something sweeter and more pleasant than water. The taste for sweet things is the first we developed, so, it’s likely they enjoyed the taste of grapes from the very beginning. Probably it was a surprise when they left the juice in a jar for later consumption and it become an acidic and dry beverage, but with a curious side-effects on mind and body. So, the obvious answer seemed to improve the taste and to keep the valuable side-effects: they began to add sugar, fruits, spices, etc. to get a better taste.  Aparently, the initial wine culture was more related to the mystical side than to the gastronomic value as shown by many ancient divinities associated to the vines and wine. Myths of the Origin of Wine Probably the most famous legend about the origin of wine is the story of Jamshid. A woman from his harem decided to kill herself by drinking the fermented grape juice, in the believe that it was spoiled because it tasted so acidic and dry. She failed in her goal as the wine began to make its effect, provoking her sweet dreams of love and mutual...