History of wine

The earliest archaeological evidence of wine consumption yet found has been at sites in Georgia (c. 8000 BC),China (c. 7000 BC),Iran (c. 5400 BC, c. 5000 BC), and Greece (c. 4500 BC). The oldest evidence of wine production has been found in Armenia (c. 4100 BC), where the oldest winery to date was uncovered.

The altered consciousness produced by wine has been considered religious since its origin. The Greeks worshiped Dionysus or Bacchus and the Romans carried on his cult. Consumption of ritual wine was part of Jewish practice since Biblical times and, as part of the eucharist commemorating Jesus's Last Supper, became even more essential to the Christian Church. Although Islam nominally forbade the production or consumption of wine, during its Golden Age, alchemists such as Geber pioneered wine's distillation for medicinal and industrial purposes such as the production of perfume.

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