Vinistory Français

Period — 6000 BC – 500 AD

Origins & Antiquity

Wine is older than writing. The earliest traces of deliberate winemaking — grape residues in clay jars — come from the South Caucasus around 6000 BC, and the vine travelled with civilisation itself: Egyptian cellar inventories, Phoenician amphorae, Greek colonies seeding the Mediterranean coasts. Rome industrialised it, planting the provinces — the Rhône, the Mosel, Bordeaux — and writing the first wine literature, from Pliny's grape catalogues to Ausonius' verses on his riverside vines.

Key events

  1. c. −6000Earliest evidence of winemaking, in qvevri jars of the South Caucasus
  2. c. −800Greeks and Phoenicians spread the vine across the Mediterranean
  3. c. 70Pliny the Elder catalogues the grape varieties of the Roman world
  4. c. 370Ausonius writes his Mosella; Rome's vineyards reach Bordeaux, Rhône and Rhine

The grapes of the era

Indicative presence index, 0–100

Saperavi
70
Rkatsiteli
60
Voskehat
60
Aminean
55
Mtsvane
55
Assyrtiko
50
Savatiano
45
Tsolikouri
45
Muscat Blanc
40
Aglianico
40
Xynisteri
40
Biturica
40
Fiano
35
Gaglioppo
35
Apianae
35
Agiorgitiko
30
Nerello Mascalese
25
Trebbiano (Ugni Blanc)
25
Nero d'Avola
20
Moschofilero
20
Xinomavro
15
Lambrusco
15
Garganega
15
Carricante
15
Corvina
10
Godello
10
Bobal
10
Plavac Mali
10
Pinot Noir
5
Sangiovese
5
Viognier
5
Mourvèdre
5
Glera
5
Palomino
5
Grüner Veltliner
5
Carignan
5
Savagnin
5
Mondeuse
5
Chasselas
5
Vermentino
5
Verdicchio
5
Gouais Blanc
5
Picpoul
5
Sagrantino
5
Frappato
5

The wines of the era

Falernian Dry white Qvevri Saperavi Red wine Qvevri Amber Wine Dry white Qvevri Rkatsiteli (Amber) Dry white Caecuban Red wine Voskehat Dry white Santorini Assyrtiko Dry white Mulsum Sweet white Passum Sweet white Retsina Dry white Commandaria Sweet white Pramnian Red wine Bekaa Valley Red Red wine Tsolikouri Dry white Nemea Red wine Côtes de Provence rosé Rosé Fiano di Avellino Dry white Cirò Red wine Aglianico del Vulture Red wine Côte-Rôtie Red wine Etna Rosso Red wine Taurasi Red wine Rapsani Red wine Nero d'Avola Red wine Cannonau di Sardegna Red wine Alentejo Red Red wine Mantinia Dry white Tsinandali Dry white Graves & Pessac-Léognan Red Red wine Amarone della Valpolicella Red wine Sherry Fortified Corbières Red wine Naoussa Red wine Patrimonio Red wine Lambrusco Sparkling Hermitage Red wine Valpolicella Red wine Gaillac Dry white Etna Bianco Dry white Saint-Émilion Red Red wine Cahors Red wine Ribera del Duero Red wine Valdeorras Godello Dry white Utiel-Requena Bobal Red wine Dingač Red wine Bandol Red wine Soave Dry white Dão Red Red wine Cornas Red wine Gigondas Red wine Tavel Rosé Côtes du Rhône Red wine Banyuls Fortified Dry White Bordeaux Dry white Clairet Rosé Red Burgundy Red wine Chianti Red wine Prosecco Sparkling Wachau Grüner Veltliner Dry white Moscato d'Asti Sparkling Primitivo di Manduria Red wine Rheingau Riesling Dry white Chablis Dry white Savoie Mondeuse Red wine Fendant Dry white Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Dry white Condrieu Dry white Montefalco Sagrantino Red wine Chinon Red wine Saint-Péray Dry white Picpoul de Pinet Dry white Vino Nobile di Montepulciano Red wine Vermentino di Gallura Dry white Douro Red Red wine Toro Red wine Jumilla Red wine Bairrada Red wine Cerasuolo di Vittoria Red wine Navarra Rosado Rosé Štajerska Furmint (Orange) Dry white