Tag Archive for 'Winemaking'

Dong et al. elucidate grapevine evolution and domestication histories with 3,525 cultivated and wild accessions worldwide: in the Pleistocene, harsh climate drove the separation of wild grape ecotypes caused by continuous habitat fragmentation; then, domestication occurred concurrently about 11,000 years ago in Western Asia and the Caucasus to yield table and wine grapevines; the Western Asia domesticates dispersed into Europe with early farmers, introgressed with ancient wild western ecotypes, and subsequently diversified along human migration trails into muscat and unique western wine grape ancestries by the Late Neolithic. Image credit: Dong et al., doi: 10.1126/science.add8655.

New Study Sheds Light on Origins and Domestication of Grapevines

Mar 22, 2023 by News Staff

Humans have extensively shaped animals and plants through domestication. Although wine and table grapes have been important culturally for thousands of...

The ancient winemaking facility in Yavne, Israel. Image credit: Israel Antiquities Authority.

1,500-Year-Old Winemaking Facility Unearthed in Israel

Oct 13, 2021 by News Staff

An ancient wine production complex — the largest known in the world from the Byzantine period — has been discovered by a team of archaeologists...

The Byzantine-era winepress at Ramat Ha-Sharon, Israel. Image credit: Yuli Schwartz, Israel Antiquities Authority.

1,500-Year-Old Winepress, Other Artifacts Unearthed in Israel

Sep 13, 2021 by News Staff

Archaeologists from the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) have unearthed a Byzantine-era winepress, a gold coin, and a bronze chain for a glass lamp at...

Early Neolithic jar, circa 6000-5000 BC, from Khramis Didi-Gora in the Republic of Georgia. Note the probable grape cluster motives encircling the mouth of the vessel, and the small base, which would have been inadequate for a free-standing vessel. The latter feature suggests that the jar was once partly or wholly buried underground, like modern qvevris (Georgian, ‘large jars’). This specimen is nearly a meter (3.3 feet) tall and a meter (3.3 feet) broad, with a volume exceeding 80 gallons. Image credit: Mindia Jalabadze / National Museum of Georgia.

Ancient Georgian Pottery Reveals World’s Oldest Wine

Nov 14, 2017 by News Staff

8,000-year-old pottery fragments from two sites in the Republic of Georgia, South Caucasus, have revealed the earliest biomolecular archaeological and...

Chemical traces of wine were found on these storage jars from the Bellitti gallery, Monte Kronio, Sicily. Image credit: Davide Tanasi, University of South Florida.

Chemical Analysis of Pottery Reveals First Winemaking in Italy Nearly 4,500 Years Ago

Aug 24, 2017 by News Staff

Copper Age people living in Sicily, Italy, were making wine nearly 4,500 years ago, according to a team of archaeologists led by Dr. Davide Tanasi of the...

The Byzantine-era compound with oil and wine presses. Image credit: Griffin Aerial Photography Company / Israel Antiquities Authority.

Byzantine-Era Monastery Discovered in Israel

Sep 22, 2014 by News Staff

Archaeologists of the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) have discovered what they say is an ancient compound with ‘industrial-scale’ wine and oil...

These jars were unearthed in a palace in the Canaanite city of Tel Kabri. Image credit: Eric Cline / George Washington University.

3,700-Year-Old Canaanite Wine Cellar Reveals Sophisticated Winemaking

Aug 29, 2014 by News Staff

According to a team of archaeologists who have analyzed samples from about 40 large wine jars found in a 3,700-year-old Canaanite royal wine cellar at...

Archaeologists Unearth 3,700-Year-Old Wine Cellar in Israel

Nov 22, 2013 by News Staff

Archaeologists digging at the archaeological site of Tel Kabri, near Nahariya in northern Israel, have discovered what they believe is the oldest and largest...

2,400-year-old pressing platform from Lattara (Michel Py / l’Unité de Fouilles et de Recherches Archéologiques de Lattes)

Lattara Excavations Reveal Earliest Evidence of French Winemaking

Jun 4, 2013 by Enrico de Lazaro

Etruscan amphorae and a limestone pressing platform unearthed at the ancient coastal port site of Lattara in southern France provide the earliest known...