History of aging process of wine

The first mention of wine in recorded history dates back to 5000 BC. The popular drink of the time was mead – honey wine.

Pliny the elder, the ancient author, naturalist and natural philosopher, describes in his writings how the ancient Greeks used partly dehydrated gysum before the fermentation of wine.

The Greeks seen to have had no appreciation of particular vintages and although they recognized the value of aging wines, most wines were drunk young.

Only higher-quality wines could sustain aging and transport over longer distances. Any one of more than a year old was an old wine, but many of the grand crus were considered at their best when a number of years old, perhaps up to about 10 years.

Cellar or wine storage areas, can be traced to the ancient world, where it became known that the aging of some wine would bring about positive changes.

The ancient Romans developed many wine regions in Western Europe. The use of barrels for fermentation, aging process and transportation were also created during this period.

There seems to be two main advantages to aging wine. The first is the smoothing characteristics of aged, quality red wines. Second is the sense of exclusively involved in drinking old wines.

Very old wines are appealing to consumers more because of their historical appeal than because of gastronomic factors.
History of aging process of wine

Wine fermentation during ancient time

Winemaking is one of the most ancient of man’s technologies and is now one of the most commercially prosperous biotechnological processes.

Winemaking could have started by accident when natural yeast fermentation occurred in overripe grapes stored in a container. Historians believe that wine was being made in Caucasus and Mesopotamian as early as 6000 BC.

During Paleolithic time, in fermentation process, whole grape clusters are piled into vat and the accumulated weight of the grapes above crushed those below.

The free run juice then begins to ferment because of the natural yeast present, setting up an anaerobic, carbon dioxide-rich environment that triggers the whole grapes to alert their metabolism and to break down their sugar reserves into alcohol.

Wine was an everyday commodity to the ancient Egyptians, Greeks, Cretans, Romans, and the Mediterranean peoples several thousand years before Christ.

Improvements in the traditional method were handed down through generations.

The making of wine was practiced in the eastern Mediterranean long before the first Greek speakers arrived, circa 2100 BC.

The ancient author Pliny the Elder describes how the ancient Greeks used partly dehydrated gypsum before the fermentation of wine.

Pliny goes on to say that a type of lime was added to the wine after fermentation to reduce acidity.

Unlike modern winemakers, the Greeks could not halt the natural fermentation. Therefore, Greek wines had to be consumed within three or four years.

By the 500 BC the Greeks had perfected their wine production to the point where Greek wines were an important export item, prized throughout the Mediterranean.

Evidence suggest that the first wines produced from grapes were imported into Egypt from the eastern Mediterranean around 3150 BC, but within 200 years, Lower Egypt had a strong grape growing tradition and wine pressers appear in tomb paintings.

Yeasts are found naturally as white powder deposits on grape skins, so fermenting begins only hours after grapes are picked if any are crushed.

Some grapes were crushed by groups of workers treading on them with bare feet in large vats, while others were squeezed in a sack press.

The ancient Romans developed technology vastly to improve the creation and the preservation of wine. The use of barrels for fermentation, aging and transportation were also created during Roman’s time.
Wine fermentation during ancient time