History of wine

Question 1

What was the first civilisation to promote the drinking of wine?

Answer 1

The Sumer. Dating back to 5400BC in Shiraz, Iran, Royalty acknowledged wine as a prestigious drink

Question 2

When and where does wine trace back to in Egypt?

Answer 2

3000BC - Centred around Abydos, near Louxor

Question 3

What was the first civilisation to appoint a god to wine?

Answer 3

Ancient Egyptians - Osiris

Question 4

When did wine arrive in Greece?

Answer 4

2000BC - via trade routes from Egypt and the middle east

Question 5

Where is the earliest recorded wine growing region of Europe?

Answer 5

Crete

Question 6

What was the first city in France to be established by the Greeks?

Answer 6

Marseilles

Question 7

What was the first civilisation to create sweet wines?

Answer 7

Ancient greeks - drying out and over ripening grapes

Question 8

When did the Greeks arrive in Italy? What did they name the area?

Answer 8

Around 800BC, named modern-day Sicily as “Oenotria”

Question 9

Which Italian culture vastly improved winemaking after vines were introduced by the Greeks?

Answer 9

The Etruscans of Northern Italy

Question 10

In which year did the Romans conquer Greece at the Battle of Syracuse?

Answer 10

146BC

Question 11

Which Roman philosopher led the expansion of wine as an economic pillar of the empire?

Answer 11

Pliny the Elder

Question 12

How did the Romans change their method of maturing and shipping wines?

Answer 12

Initially using clay amphoras, they discovered wooden barrels used by the celts of Northern France

Question 13

What was the aftermath of the Mount Vesuvius eruption on the European wine trade?

Answer 13

After errupting in 79AD and destroying the Campania wine region, Emperor Domitius uprooted all vines outside of Italy in 92AD

Question 14

Which Roman emperor reversed Domitius’s protectionist policy?

Answer 14

Emperor Probus, 280AD

Question 15

In which year did the Roman empire fall? Which group established influence over European wine trade?

Answer 15

476AD. Catholic Church become the largest producers and purveyors of wine

Question 16

By how much did French wine consumption increase when the pope arrived in Avignon in 1323?

Answer 16

2.5x

Question 17

How did Champagne establish its reputation through the Catholic Church?

Answer 17

Wines of Champagne were served to royalty at coronations in Reims, starting 496AD

Question 18

When did the Spanish conquer Mexico? What became the workhorse grape of the region?

Answer 18

1524. La Mission Grape

Question 19

What was the Dutch East India Company?

Answer 19

Established in 1602, a trade route from Holland to India

Question 20

When did the Dutch establish a colony in South Africa?

Answer 20

1652

Question 21

How was Porto established?

Answer 21

England and Portugal established an agreement in the 16th Century, exchanging weapons for ownership of vineyards throughout Spains attempted take-over of Portugal. Porto is established by English wine industrialists

Question 22

Who were the first to fortify wines?

Answer 22

Monks of Portugal. This would later be discovered by the English, and is now known as Port.

Question 23

Who invented the glass bottle? When?

Answer 23

Sir Kenelm Digby, 1630s

Question 24

Who pioneered the wine industry in Australia? When?

Answer 24

James Busby, 1833

Question 25

Where did the first attempt to make wine in the US take place?

Answer 25

Jacksonville, Florida 1560s. Failed attempt - used American vitis

Question 26

What company was the first to import vitis vinifera in to the US?

Answer 26

Virginia Tobacco company imported French vitis vinifera, planting them in 1619 in Virginia on the East Coast.

Question 27

Who pioneered Bordeaux varietals in the US?

Answer 27

1830s, French born Jean-Louis Vignes

Question 28

How did the gold rush (1848-1855) impact the US wine industry?

Answer 28

Italians looking to participate in the gold rush bring Italian varietals (Zinfandel etc.) to the West Coast

Question 29

When did Powdery Mildew become present in Europe?

Answer 29

1845

Question 30

What’s the name and story behind South Africa’s most famous wine?

Answer 30

Klein Constancia, founded in 1685 - the last wine Napoleon drank when imprisoned on St Helen Island

Question 31

Describe Portugal’s wine trade agreements from 12th century to 16th century

Answer 31

Exchanged cheap wine for weaponry in 12th century during war against the moors. Later exchanged vineyards for support during the war against Spain in 15/16th century