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The recent find in Sicily has made scientists rethink their time frames when it comes to wine drinking in Italy. Earlier, scientists believed that winemaking developed in Italy around 1200 BC but this archaeological expedition seems to have pushed that date back by about 3000 years.
"Unlike earlier discoveries that were limited to vines and thus showed only that the grapes were being grown, our work has resulted in the identification of a wine residue," said Davide Tanasi, the archaeologist who led the research. "That obviously involves not just the practice of viticulture but the production of actual wine - and during a much earlier period," he adds.
So far, the world’s oldest winery was discovered in 2010 near a cemetery in one of the cave complexes in Armenia, named as Areni-1 where a wine press, fermentation jar (about 60 liter capacity) and a drinking cup made of animal horn dating to approximately 6100 years back, were found by an international team of archaeologists. This was reported by delWine on 12 January 2011.
Although some of the traces found in that residue suggested wine, it might also be due to pomegranates which are extremely common in Armenia. The Sicilian find is important, because pomegranates did not grow in Sicily then, so the residue is definitely from wine, claim the scientists.
Georgia on the other hand, has long claimed the honour of being the oldest in wine production in the world. Just last year a dig in the south-eastern region of Kvemo Kartli found wine residue and grape seeds that dated back 8000 years to Neolithic times. However, the Sicily discovery would appear to be the oldest actual wine residue to be found so far.
Local winemaker and historian Alessio Planeta who is a partner in the family run, Menfi-based Planeta Winery in the province of Agrigento in south west Sicily, says the discovery filled the Sicilians with joy. "Before this, we used to think that Sicily's wine culture arrived with the island's colonization by the ancient Greeks." The Report thus places Sicilians as definitely the first in Italy to produce and drink wine.
Italian Wineries not the Oldest Today
However, in the modern winemaking age, it’s not Italy that leads as the oldest wine producing country but Germany. According to an Article listing 12 oldest wineries in the world, Staffeleter Hof, a family run winery located in the small town of Kröv by the Moselle River in the Bernkastel-Wittlich district of Rhineland-Palatinate Germany, has that distinction with its history going back to 862 AD.
The next in line is the oldest winery in France, Château de Goulaine in Nantes, in Loire Valley, going back to 1000 AD. Though the ownership changed hands for a short period in history, today it is back with the Goulaine family and in that context it is the oldest winery being run by the family of the founder.
Germany can boast of another winery that is older than all the Italian wineries. Schloss Johannisberg, near Wiesbaden in Rheingau wine region of Germany, known for its high quality Riesling, has a history that is over 900 years old.
The credit for the oldest Italian winery goes to Barone Ricasoli who founded the winery of the same name in 1141 AD. It was made famous by Barone Bettino Ricasoli who went on to become the Prime Minister of unified Italy after Cavour. Today, the winery, also known as Brolio is being run by Barone Francesco Ricasoli and is famous for its Chianti Classico wines.
Marchesi Antinori was the second oldest winery set up in 1180 AD and is the second oldest wine company of the country, the fifth in the world. The Antinori family started producing wine in the Florentine countryside and then moved to Florence in 1202. In 1385 the winery joined the Guild of the Winemakers, and this is also the official date from which the company started to be seen as a business, according to this Article. Marchese Peiro Antinori has been the driving force behind the modern day Italian wine company for over 50 years, since 1966.
One more Italian winery in the list is Marchesi Frescobaldi. Established in 1308, the history of the company is closely linked to the evolution of art in the region. According to the Frescobaldi family, the company was the wine supplier of the Italian Renaissance painter Michelangelo.
Incidentally, all the three Italian wineries in the list of Oldest 12, export wines to India.
Subhash Arora |