History of wine
How people learned to make wine and what changed — events year by year.
- c. 6 000 BCEEarliest traces of grape wine in Georgia
Around 6000–5800 BC, tartaric acid was left in jars at Shulaveris Gora and Gadachrili Gora, about 50 km south of Tbilisi. It is the earliest known evidence of grape wine.
Source: McGovern P. et al. Early Neolithic wine of Georgia in the South Caucasus. PNAS 2017
- c. 5 400 BCEWine from Hajji Firuz Tepe in Iran
Around 5400–5000 BC, six 9-litre jars stood in a house in the north-western Zagros; two held tartaric acid and resin. Until 2017 this was thought to be the oldest wine.
Source: McGovern P. et al. Early Neolithic wine of Georgia in the South Caucasus. PNAS 2017
- c. 4 100 BCEThe winery in the Areni-1 cave
Around 4100–4000 BC, the Areni-1 cave in Armenia held the earliest known fairly complete winemaking set-up: a press, a fermentation vat and storage jars. The residue contained the pigment malvidin.
Source: ScienceDaily (UCLA): Earliest known winery found in Armenian cave (2011), Barnard H. et al. Chemical evidence for wine production around 4000 BCE. J Archaeol Sci 2011
- c. 800 BCEThe oldest qvevri in Georgia
The oldest archaeological finds of qvevri in Georgia date from the Iron Age, around the 8th–7th centuries BC.
Source: McGovern P. et al. Early Neolithic wine of Georgia in the South Caucasus. PNAS 2017
- c. 625 BCEDomesticated grapes in ancient France
Ancient DNA from 49 grape pips shows that domesticated grapevines were already grown in France around 625–500 BC. Pips from Marseille dated 600–400 BC carry the profile of domesticated varieties.
- 1703 г.The Methuen Treaty between England and Portugal
On 27 December 1703 England and Portugal agreed that English cloth would enter Portugal duty-free, while Portuguese wines would pay lower duty in England than French ones.
Source: Wikipedia (en): Methuen Treaty
- 1801 г.Chaptal’s book on the art of winemaking
In 1801 Jean-Antoine Chaptal published «L'Art de faire, gouverner et perfectionner les vins» in Paris. His name gave us chaptalisation: adding sugar to grape juice before fermentation.
Source: BnF: Chaptal, L'Art de faire, gouverner et perfectionner les vins (1801), Gough J.B. Chaptal and the Invention of Chaptalization. Technology and Culture 1998
- 1855 г.The 1855 Bordeaux classification
On 18 April 1855, for the Universal Exhibition, a list was published: 61 red Bordeaux châteaux in five tiers and 27 sweet wines. The brokers relied on years of market prices, not on tasting.
Source: Conseil des Grands Crus Classés en 1855: L'Histoire du Classement de 1855, Conseil des Grands Crus Classés en 1855
- 1866 г.Pasteur publishes his Studies on Wine
In 1866 Louis Pasteur published «Études sur le vin», a study commissioned by Napoleon III. He showed that wine is spoiled by microorganisms.
Source: BnF: Pasteur, Études sur le vin (1866), Science History Institute: Pasteur L. «Études Sur Le Vin» (1866)
- 1868 г.Phylloxera found on vine roots
In the early 1860s vines began dying in southern France; in 1868 a commission found the insect on their roots and named it Phylloxera vastatrix. About 40 % of France’s vines died; grafting onto resistant American rootstocks saved the vineyards.
Source: Tello J. et al. Major outbreaks in the nineteenth century shaped grape phylloxera contemporary genetic structure in Europe. Sci Rep 2019, Rispe C. et al. The genome sequence of the grape phylloxera. BMC Biol 2020
- 1894 г.Phylloxera reaches Jerez
In 1894 phylloxera was first found in the vineyards of Jerez. Here too the vines were saved by American rootstocks.
- 1905 г.French law against fraud
On 1 August 1905 France passed a law against fraud that gave rise to the first appellations of origin. A separate law on appellations of origin followed in 1919.
Source: INAO: 1905-1935, les prémices des appellations d'origine
- 1919 г.Prohibition enters the US Constitution
On 16 January 1919 the 18th Amendment to the US Constitution was ratified. One year later the manufacture, sale, transport, import and export of “intoxicating liquors” were banned.
Source: U.S. National Archives: The Constitution, Amendments 11–27
- 1924 г.The International Wine Office is founded
On 29 November 1924 the Office international du vin was set up, today the International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV). It was reorganised in 2001 and is based in Dijon.
Source: OIV: Press release, State of the World Wine Sector (12.05.2026)
- 1933 г.The end of Prohibition in the US
On 5 December 1933 the 21st Amendment to the US Constitution was ratified, repealing the 18th. Prohibition was over.
Source: U.S. National Archives: The Constitution, Amendments 11–27
- 1935 г.The birth of the AOC system in France
A decree-law of 30 July 1935 created the National Committee for Appellations of Origin, forerunner of INAO, and the AOC system. Its first president was Joseph Capus.
Source: INAO: 1935-1970, l'avènement de l'INAO et la création des AOC
- 1936 г.The first French AOCs
In 1936 the first AOCs were Arbois, Cassis, Cognac, Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Monbazillac and Tavel, followed by Champagne on 29 June. In 1947 the committee became INAO.
Source: INAO: 1935-1970, l'avènement de l'INAO et la création des AOC, Comité Champagne: The Champagne designation
- 2013 г.Qvevri winemaking joins the UNESCO list
In 2013 UNESCO added the ancient Georgian traditional qvevri winemaking method to its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage. The juice ferments in a buried jar with skins, stalks and pips for 5–6 months.
Source: UNESCO: Ancient Georgian traditional Qvevri wine-making method (2013)
- 2023 г.Nutrition and ingredients on EU wine labels
Since 8 December 2023, wine sold in the EU has to show a nutrition declaration and a list of ingredients, on the label or electronically, for example via a QR code.
Source: EUR-Lex: Regulation (EU) 2021/2117 — wine labelling (nutrition, ingredients)