Wine and Thou

Wine, in its earliest form, was made in the Neolithic period of human history, 8500-4000 BC. This could have been because this was the first time in human history that the necessary preconditions for the production and consumption of wine came together. Then, wine was born…and henceforth, Bacchus reigned.

Wine was originally made from a plant that grew in the Near East, the Mediterranean, to be more precise. The regions of Egypt and around the Mediterranean were the most suitable for its development, and the fact that these were probably the first permanent settlements in the history of human civilization, also helped.

Neolithic cuisine emerged from the domesticated animals and plants that were a part of this civilization, these people have the credit for first producing bread, beer and a whole lot of dishes with grain and meat that may be considered entrée. They knew the processes of fermentation, heating, spicing, curing, soaking…basically, the methods of cooking that we use even today.

Pottery was born about 6000 years ago, presumably in this region, and this would have been a major fillip to the art of wine making…now they had vessels to store and ferment wine in.

One of the first places, which seems to show the presence of wine has been identified as Hajji Firuz, in the northern Zagros Mountains of Iran, dated back to 7000 BC. The vessel found was embedded in the earthen floor, with five others, and could hold up to 9 liters, in probably what was the kitchen area of a house, about 5400- 5000 BC. Other vessels were found too, and this enforced the idea that this place was a kitchen; hence these jars were a crude wine cellar.

The yellowish residue inside this jar was chemically examined and analyzed by modern techniques, and, for the first time, we came to know of what our ancestors had been up to.

Centuries later, the Nile delta played a rich host to the tradition of wine making, even though wine grapes did not grow in Egypt…that did not stop the Egyptians from making wine. In the early Bronze Age, trade between Egypt and Palestine could have brought the grape to the Nile delta, and the tradition continued. This was about three thousand years before Christ, the beginning of the old kingdom period, in western terms. The interesting thing is that during this period, wine was a part of the burial treasures, and at least five types had been identified, to be enjoyed by the deceased in his after life. Wine jars have been found in almost every royal tomb of this era. The ancient Egyptians even had a God of wine, Osiris.

Ancient pots found in Iran, at Godin (Tepe), have been tested and known to contain wine, even before the Bronze Age, in the vicinity of 3300 BC. But the interesting thing is that this region did not grow grapes, but largely cereal and hence they were Beer people. The fact that this area is on the silk route from China, points a very loaded finger to China also having a history of wine making, which, indeed, it did, calling it Iju . In fact, even India had, by then, developed the fine art of making wine.

Egypt started growing grapes around 3000 BC and then on, wine became a preferred drink to all. It had acquired great importance as a trade item, so much so that in 97 BC, the Romans ordered all the vines pulled out so as to protect their wine industry.

Concurrently, during the Vedic period of Indian history, (2500 to 200 BC), the civilization around the Indus Valley was documenting life sciences and life itself, in the Vedas. These people considered Soma, the God of liquid pleasures, and his derivative was Somras a(the juice of Soma). This deity was worshipped and given his due place among other Gods of that era.

Somawas blessed with great medicinal powers (don’t we know?) and the juice (originally that of the leafless vine and other indigenous wines), considered an elixir. Another Hindu sacred text, the Rig-Veda, contained hymns praising Soma - "This is Soma, who flows wine, who is strength giving..." it said. "The God Soma heals whatever is sick... makes the blind see and the lame walk."

Sushruta, one of ancient India’s most revered surgeons, recommended a dose of this somarasa as an effective anesthetic.

In Ayurveda, the science of life, the Charak Samhita that essentially deals with administered drugs, prescribed this elixir as an antidote to sleeplessness, sorrow, shock, fatigue, and bestowing upon those who drink it, happiness, hunger and good digestion. An easy digestion forms one of the most important points of Ayurveda, because a bad stomach gives birth to almost all ailments known to man (this notion has been proved right by modern medicine too). Ayurveda used almost 760 varieties of medicines and plant derivatives, to administer in baths, enemas, gargles and inhalations. Wine was much used, as one quote from the texts says….."... the patient should be given to eat what he wishes and wine to drink before the operation, so that he may not faint and may not feel the knife."

Ancient doctors called it `Amrita", the elixir of life, the drink that makes one immortal, since it eased the flow of natural fluids and kept the body healthy. The Tantras of the Shastras, likewise, consider wine as a God beverage, and an intrinsic part of tantric worship and rituals. The devotion grew with more branches of Hinduism coming into existence, Buddhism, Jainism and the like.

Madya (wine) was described as one of the 12 ingredient groups for food and drink, as an exhilarating solution for dispelling fatigue and depression. One of the most interesting things is the concoction of wine and goats milk (as well as meat), prescribed for emaciation due to TB). Wine, those days and thereafter, was a part of medicinal practices across the subcontinent, but that did not stop anyone from enjoying it as a celebration drink either.

In 327 BC when Alexander invaded India, he took some of this knowledge back to Macedonia, and henceforth, these Hindu masters of ancient medicine also influenced the Greeks.

The ancient Chinese likewise, have been using alcohol for beverages, for almost 5000 years. It used to be made from grains, grapes and mixed with not only plants but also parts of animals, said to have special virtues. Opium, which the west did not know for a very long time, was also mixed with wine. Some of the strongest (and most revolting in today’s’ times) prescriptions that used wine in ancient China are : "to induce an abortion – a mixture of lizard's liver, skin of the cicada locust, and wine, rubbed onto the woman's navel; or prepare the flesh of a pit viper by placing the snake in a gallon of wine then burying the sealed jar under a horse's stall for one year. The resultant liquid was a cure for apoplexy, fistula, stomach pain, colic, haemorhoids, worms, flatulence and bleeding in the bowel. Similarly, donkey's placenta mixed in wine cured alcoholism, and the liver of a black cat in wine cured malaria."

The wine made from Vitis vinifera, grapes that originally grew in Europe and west Asia, came to China only in the second century BC, presumably brought by Chang Chien from one of his trips to Persia, where he learnt the art of winemaking in the European style. Before that only indigenous grapes were in use, and red wine, which looked like blood, could only be used for sacrificial purposes during 1000 BC.

The Christian faith has always granted special status to wine, in fact even in the old Scriptures, there is reference to wine, when Noah descended from his ark, he planted a vine on top of Mount Ararat, where a monastery was later built.

In the oriental Mediterranean regions, Hebrews cultivated vines and celebrated festivals with fermented grape juices in pots of clay. The Hebrews taught the Phoenicians to cultivate the vine, and at the same time these taught to the Greeks. The Phoenicians, good navigators and merchants, expanded the vine and the wine for all the Mediterranean, from Tiro and Sidón, in Smaller Asia to Cadiz in Spain.

Wine, thus, made a cross-cultural cross continental journey before it took the form in which we enjoy it today. Religious sects as well as social orders also contributed to its development and by the medieval times, Europe was placing a premium on wine production, the older the better. Monks also participated and one of the best known was Dom Perignon, a Benedictin monk, born in France in 1639. He was a brilliant wine expert with an outstanding sense of small and taste. He is credited with one of the world’s finest champagnes, today manufactured by Moet et Chandon, a premium product.