A Brief Wine History
The drinking of wine goes back longer than written history. It emerges with civilisation itself from the East.
It was in fact the Romans who brought the first vines to France in about 500BC, and planted in Bordeaux in approximately 50AD. There has been much speculation about the quality of Roman wine which is well documented. It apparently had extraordinary powers of keeping, which suggested that even then it was good. The great vintages were discussed and drunk for longer than seems possible. There are records of a wine made in 121BC being drunk when it was 125 years old.
The most significant move in history was when the Romans took their wines to Gaul. By the time they had withdrawn in the fifth century from what is now France, they had laid the foundations for almost all the greatest vineyards of the modern world. Unlike the Greeks, the Romans were not limited to earthenware and amphora's to store their wines in, they had barrels and bottles not dissimilar to modern containers.
Shakespeare was also a great lover of wine and left some of the most descriptive tasting notes of the 17th century.
Late in the 17th century the cork was discovered. Soon after, it became clear that wine kept in a tightly corked bottle lasted much longer than wine kept in a barrel as it had been, which was likely to go off at any time after the barrel was broached. It was also discovered that wines kept in different sized bottles also aged in a different way, acquiring what is known as bouquet.
The wine trade was booming and Bordeaux wines were being exported all over the world. In fact ships were measured by the number of tonnes of wine they could carry.
In 1855 Napoleon III started the "Fine Wine Index" when he classified a number of wine producing chateaux as belonging to a certain "Growth", numbered 1-5 (1 being the best). He based his decisions on the quality and prices realized by each of the Chateau's wines, over the previous 100 years or so. This 1855 classification has remained the same with just one exception. In 1973 Chateau Mouton-Rothschild was promoted from a second growth to a first growth wine, following vigorous lobbying by the Rothschild family itself. Besides this, nothing has been changed.
In fact, the laws Napoleon put in place in 1855 are vigorously upheld today and are controlled by the Institut d'Origine, and enforced by EC directives.
It was in fact the Romans who brought the first vines to France in about 500BC, and planted in Bordeaux in approximately 50AD. There has been much speculation about the quality of Roman wine which is well documented. It apparently had extraordinary powers of keeping, which suggested that even then it was good. The great vintages were discussed and drunk for longer than seems possible. There are records of a wine made in 121BC being drunk when it was 125 years old.
The most significant move in history was when the Romans took their wines to Gaul. By the time they had withdrawn in the fifth century from what is now France, they had laid the foundations for almost all the greatest vineyards of the modern world. Unlike the Greeks, the Romans were not limited to earthenware and amphora's to store their wines in, they had barrels and bottles not dissimilar to modern containers.
Shakespeare was also a great lover of wine and left some of the most descriptive tasting notes of the 17th century.
Late in the 17th century the cork was discovered. Soon after, it became clear that wine kept in a tightly corked bottle lasted much longer than wine kept in a barrel as it had been, which was likely to go off at any time after the barrel was broached. It was also discovered that wines kept in different sized bottles also aged in a different way, acquiring what is known as bouquet.
The wine trade was booming and Bordeaux wines were being exported all over the world. In fact ships were measured by the number of tonnes of wine they could carry.
In 1855 Napoleon III started the "Fine Wine Index" when he classified a number of wine producing chateaux as belonging to a certain "Growth", numbered 1-5 (1 being the best). He based his decisions on the quality and prices realized by each of the Chateau's wines, over the previous 100 years or so. This 1855 classification has remained the same with just one exception. In 1973 Chateau Mouton-Rothschild was promoted from a second growth to a first growth wine, following vigorous lobbying by the Rothschild family itself. Besides this, nothing has been changed.
In fact, the laws Napoleon put in place in 1855 are vigorously upheld today and are controlled by the Institut d'Origine, and enforced by EC directives.
