Page 47 - Terčelj, Dušan. 2015. The Culture of Wine in Slovenia. Edited by Aleš Gačnik. University of Primorska Press, Koper.
P. 47
The Culture of Wine Drinking
it became a sacral drink. Greeks and Romans both had a god of wine, Dionysus and Bacchus.
Jesus Christ elevated wine into a sacred drink at the last supper.
From where does the vine originate? When does it first appear in literature? When did it
arrive on Slovene territory? What was the development of viticulture in these lands after
Slovenes settled here? What makes wine such a unique drink? What effects does wine have
on us and what does it mean to us? There are many more questions we could ask about
wine.
The origin and history of wine
Vitis vinifera or the European (not in a literal sense) vine is a part of the large botanical
group Vitis that appears right across the Earth’s temperate zone. Vitis vinifera originated
in a wild plant from the hilly areas of the Middle East, Anatolia, Iraq, Iran and areas south
of the Caspian Sea. The wild vine is a creeper with small bunches of tiny grapes. Man used
to pick those as early as in the Stone Age when still living a nomadic lifestyle and grazing
sheep.
The growing of the vine and its improvement started around 10,000 BC, when man in
the Middle East changed to an agricultural way of life. Civilisation developed where the
natural conditions and the type of soil enabled a farming surplus. That is also when the
more effective exchange of goods began. Trade led to general well-being, the division of
labour, the appearance of crafts, high art and research. All these, as we know, contributed
to progress.
The first villages in the wider Mediterranean basin began to appear along the rivers and
in the oases of southern and eastern Anatolia, where there was enough precipitation to
enable primitive irrigation. Simultaneously with the cultivation of grains, man also started
cultivating the vine and olive trees. The first written sources from Mesopotamia and Egypt
show that it was these two cultured plants that made life possible in the poor, dry areas of
Asia Minor, Palestine and the rest of the eastern Mediterranean.
From an early stage, man cultivated numerous subspecies of vine, adapting them to local
climatic and soil conditions. Wine not only enabled man to survive, but offered wealth,
particularly with the growth of trade. Wine soon became a source of sustenance after a
heavy day’s work and a medicine in non-hygienic conditions. Man also learned about the
sweetness and intoxicating quality of a wine-induced stupor. According to the Old Testa-
ment, God created wine for man’s pleasure.
In Mesopotamia, along the Euphrates and the Tigris, where irrigation was possible, the ap-
pearance of (our) civilisation began around 4000 BC. That is when the first writing on clay
and ceramic plates dates from. Urukagin’s texts from around 2350 BC mention that in Uru
there were royal wine cellars. Thus we can see from the very first Mesopotamian written
sources, cuneiforms, that wine was a social drink that united people. The Mesopotamian
rulers encouraged the cultivation of vines and built cellars among their granaries. Wine
was also imported from Anatolia. King Sargon brought various vine subspecies from his
advance on central Anatolia in order to adapt them to the inhospitable desert climate.
Around 2000 BC King Hammurabi published a code that very precisely prescribed social
relations. Thus, for example, all transactions involving immobile property, loans and trading
43
it became a sacral drink. Greeks and Romans both had a god of wine, Dionysus and Bacchus.
Jesus Christ elevated wine into a sacred drink at the last supper.
From where does the vine originate? When does it first appear in literature? When did it
arrive on Slovene territory? What was the development of viticulture in these lands after
Slovenes settled here? What makes wine such a unique drink? What effects does wine have
on us and what does it mean to us? There are many more questions we could ask about
wine.
The origin and history of wine
Vitis vinifera or the European (not in a literal sense) vine is a part of the large botanical
group Vitis that appears right across the Earth’s temperate zone. Vitis vinifera originated
in a wild plant from the hilly areas of the Middle East, Anatolia, Iraq, Iran and areas south
of the Caspian Sea. The wild vine is a creeper with small bunches of tiny grapes. Man used
to pick those as early as in the Stone Age when still living a nomadic lifestyle and grazing
sheep.
The growing of the vine and its improvement started around 10,000 BC, when man in
the Middle East changed to an agricultural way of life. Civilisation developed where the
natural conditions and the type of soil enabled a farming surplus. That is also when the
more effective exchange of goods began. Trade led to general well-being, the division of
labour, the appearance of crafts, high art and research. All these, as we know, contributed
to progress.
The first villages in the wider Mediterranean basin began to appear along the rivers and
in the oases of southern and eastern Anatolia, where there was enough precipitation to
enable primitive irrigation. Simultaneously with the cultivation of grains, man also started
cultivating the vine and olive trees. The first written sources from Mesopotamia and Egypt
show that it was these two cultured plants that made life possible in the poor, dry areas of
Asia Minor, Palestine and the rest of the eastern Mediterranean.
From an early stage, man cultivated numerous subspecies of vine, adapting them to local
climatic and soil conditions. Wine not only enabled man to survive, but offered wealth,
particularly with the growth of trade. Wine soon became a source of sustenance after a
heavy day’s work and a medicine in non-hygienic conditions. Man also learned about the
sweetness and intoxicating quality of a wine-induced stupor. According to the Old Testa-
ment, God created wine for man’s pleasure.
In Mesopotamia, along the Euphrates and the Tigris, where irrigation was possible, the ap-
pearance of (our) civilisation began around 4000 BC. That is when the first writing on clay
and ceramic plates dates from. Urukagin’s texts from around 2350 BC mention that in Uru
there were royal wine cellars. Thus we can see from the very first Mesopotamian written
sources, cuneiforms, that wine was a social drink that united people. The Mesopotamian
rulers encouraged the cultivation of vines and built cellars among their granaries. Wine
was also imported from Anatolia. King Sargon brought various vine subspecies from his
advance on central Anatolia in order to adapt them to the inhospitable desert climate.
Around 2000 BC King Hammurabi published a code that very precisely prescribed social
relations. Thus, for example, all transactions involving immobile property, loans and trading
43
