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HISTORY OF WINE PART 3
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Reproduction of a circular seal marked on the stopper of a jar and bearing the name of Khasekhemwy, the dynasty of two Pharaohs. It shows a grape plant clinging to a trellis or to a tree.
THE EGYPTIANS
Even
if the first documents on the cultivation of grapes date back to 1700 BC,
it is only with Egyptian society that the production of wine starts. Herodotus testified that Egyptian people usually drank beer (which he called "barley wine"), and that they used this kind of drink because grapes did not grow on their land. But Herodotus ignored the fact that in Egypt they already produced wine which was offered, together with food, to priests, high officials and kings. Wild grapes never grew spontenously in the country, yet a prosperous wine industry flourished along the Nile delta (especially because of trades between Egypt and Palestina -the area today occupied by Israel, West Bank, Gaza and Giordan- during the Bronze Age) for at least the duration of three dynasties (about 2700 BC), at the beginning of the Ancient Kingdom.
We
have the first testimony of wine-making activity among Egyptians in two frescos
kept in Thebes and found, the first in Nakt tomb (XVIII
dynasty, 1420-1411), with reproductions of grape harvest, and the second in
Userhat tomb (Amenofi's Kingdom, 1450-1425), with a reproduction of
wine-pressing and registration of the jars.
The wines produced
were essentially red, since grapes depicted were of black varieties, typical of
temperate climates. Some hieroglyphics dating back to 2500 BC, already depicted the presence of five different kinds of wine which were part of the supply -today we would call it the "fixed menu"- that the deads would bring with them in the afterlife. There are also building paintings representing banquets and people in a drunken state. Egyptians used wine also during sacred sacrifices, when they lighted a fire and poured wine on the victim (usually an ox or, on special occasions, a pig), then killing it and invoking the god. These ceremonies were performed in the hope that all the evils, which were expected to hit the public or the whole of Egypt, would instead fall on the victim.
From
Egypt, wine-making practice spreaded among the Jews and the Greeks. The latter
also dedicated a god to wine: Dionysus, the god of joy, wine and food.
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Reproduction of a circular seal marked on the stopper of a jar and bearing the name of Khasekhemwy, the dynasty of two Pharaohs. It shows a grape plant clinging to a trellis or to a tree.
THE EGYPTIANS
Even
if the first documents on the cultivation of grapes date back to 1700 BC,
it is only with Egyptian society that the production of wine starts.
Herodotus testified that Egyptian people usually drank beer (which he called "barley wine"), and that they used this kind of drink because grapes did not grow on their land. But Herodotus ignored the fact that in Egypt they already produced wine which was offered, together with food, to priests, high officials and kings.
Wild grapes never grew spontenously in the country, yet a prosperous wine industry flourished along the Nile delta (especially because of trades between Egypt and Palestina -the area today occupied by Israel, West Bank, Gaza and Giordan- during the Bronze Age) for at least the duration of three dynasties (about 2700 BC), at the beginning of the Ancient Kingdom.
We
have the first testimony of wine-making activity among Egyptians in two frescos
kept in Thebes and found, the first in Nakt tomb (XVIII
dynasty, 1420-1411), with reproductions of grape harvest, and the second in
Userhat tomb (Amenofi's Kingdom, 1450-1425), with a reproduction of
wine-pressing and registration of the jars.
The wines produced
were essentially red, since grapes depicted were of black varieties, typical of
temperate climates.
Wines
were kept in narrow-neck amphorae, usually provided with two handles, sealed
with a circular terra-cotta stopper and with a conical cover which was pressed
along the rim. On top of this cover, they used to impress many cylindrical seals
with the name of the Pharaoh. In Ancient Egypt, wine-making practice was so
common that archaeologists found -in tombs and palaces dating back to more than
5000 years ago- anphorae provided with labels reporting with high precision the
characteristics and origins of the content. These guarantee seals
also provided information on the wine's name, the region of grape origin, the
year of production, the owner of the primitive farm and, even, an evaluation on
the product's quality. In some of these amphorae, archaeologists also found aged
wine,
an example of the first attemps to put wine ageing into practice.
Some hieroglyphics dating back to 2500 BC, already depicted the presence of five different kinds of wine which were part of the supply -today we would call it the "fixed menu"- that the deads would bring with them in the afterlife. There are also building paintings representing banquets and people in a drunken state.
Egyptians used wine also during sacred sacrifices, when they lighted a fire and poured wine on the victim (usually an ox or, on special occasions, a pig), then killing it and invoking the god. These ceremonies were performed in the hope that all the evils, which were expected to hit the public or the whole of Egypt, would instead fall on the victim.
From
Egypt, wine-making practice spreaded among the Jews and the Greeks. The latter
also dedicated a god to wine: Dionysus, the god of joy, wine and food.
