First archeologists discovered the world's oldest soup and
now it seems they have uncovered the world's oldest winery. And we're talking
old: 4000 B.C., over 6,000 years ago
during what is referred to as the Chalcolithic Period, the Copper Age.
The discovery occurred at the very same cave in Armenia where recently
archeologists stumbled across the oldest known leather shoe, a moccasin to be
precise, thought to be a woman's size 7. (Sounds about right.) The winemaking
facility seems to have been a full operation and as reported in the New York
Times, scientists excavated, "a vat for fermenting, a press, storage jars, a
clay bowl and a drinking cup made from an animal horn." In addition the article
states, "Grape seeds, dried pressed grapes, stems, shriveled grapevines, and
residue were also found." The key to knowing it was wine and not another
libation was those cups were those "residues." The chemical evidence was analyzed and identified as
syringic acid from malvidin: malvidin is responsible for red wine's rosy
hue. According to Gregory Areshian, co-director of the excavation and assistant
director of the University
of California Los Angeles's
Costen Institute of Archeology, the evidence points to juice from a grape and definitely not from
pomegranate.
What's next in line for culinary archeologists to discover?
Your guess is as good as ours.
