Ancient pottery jars found at Godin Tepe, Iran, revealed through chemical tests that they contained wine dating the manufacture of wine back to before the Bronze Age, c.3500 - 2900 BC. Further significance of this discovery is that this area was not a grape growing one, the main crops were grain and the preferred drink of the time was beer, which suggests that wine was probably used as a commodity. Godin was located on the Silk Road from China to the Mediterranean, the probable origin of the wine.
Vines were widely cultivated in Egypt around 3000BC and further evidence that wine was used as a commodity in trade has been revealed through other pottery finds and subsequent chemical analysis.
Grape growing and winemaking spread throughout Europe in the Greek and Roman times. Wine became such a valued trade item that the Romans, in 97BC, ordered the known world to pull out all vines in an attempt to protect their wine industry.
Interestingly Mohammed, 620AD, was reported to have made wine which, as you may be aware, is in opposition to the Muslim faith which bans the consumption of alcohol. Wine further spread throughout the world through religious orders. One of the more famous was a monk named Dom Pèrignon, 1670 - 1715AD, who was a competent viticulturist/winemaker and is credited with the discovery of Champagne.
Since these early times the humble vine can be found growing in most countries in a wide variety of climates. The primary species is Vitis vinifera and of the thousands of cultivars only around 30 are regularly cultivated and of these only a dozen or so are considered to be premium.
