Wine – Celebrating with wine, past and present

Wine has been a part of human civilisation since nomadic tribes settled and began to cultivate crops.

The earliest carbon dated evidence of wine production comes from the area around modern-day Georgia and Northern Iran around 6000 to 7000 BC.

Given that ripe fruits contain sugar and water, and that wild yeasts naturally occur on their skins – the basics for producing alcohol (as a side effect of spoilage of over-ripe fruit) – wine has been omnipresent for as long as humans have walked the earth. So the birth of wine around 8000 to 9000 years ago is really one of humanities first examples of controlling a natural process to create something desirable and of value.

The importance of wine and celebration in early European/Mediterranean cultures is strongly represented in the development of artistic expression that grew alongside it. From circa 3000 BC

Egyptian paintings on the walls of their tombs included incredibly detailed images of grape growing and wine consumption. Between 2500 and 1000 BC the Sumerian, Hittite and Mesopotamian cultures all produced intricate painted objects depicting wine as part of their celebrations, or in functional pieces such as jewel encrusted golden vessels.

The development of the ancient Greek, and then Roman, civilisations saw the intertwining of wine into the most fundamental aspects of their societies. Wine become an offering to the gods to secure their favour (especially Dionysus (Bacchus) the Greek (Roman) god of wine), it was drunk across all levels of society to celebrate festivals, weddings, and the Symposium (drinking parties held after banquets).

The growth of Christianity from the early centuries AD continued to cement wine as central to religion, community and culture. In Biblical accounts, Jesus’ first miracle was at a wedding turning water into wine when the wine had run out. Wine was integral to the story of the last supper and became symbolic to Christians as a representation of the blood of Christ.

Because of this, grape cultivation and winemaking became a primary staple of European colonisation of the new world. Grapevines travelled on the Santa Maria with Columbus to the Americas, as they then did with other European explorers to all corners of the world.

When we drink wine to celebrate Christmas, or time with friends and family, we continue a tradition as old as any recorded history. A constant in an age where change is everywhere.

This summer, as the sun finally comes to warm and dry us out, I hope you will join the local Matakana Winegrowers every Friday evening at the Farmers Market for ‘Vineyards in the Village’, where there will be local wines, live music and Bernardo’s Italian pizza from 4.30pm to 8pm, on December 8 and 15, then every Friday from January 5 to March 8.

It’s a chance to kick back, enjoy our wines and relax after a long year – please come and join us!