Wine

Wine is an alcoholic drink made from fermented grape juice. It is produced and consumed in many regions around the world, in a wide variety of styles which are influenced by different varieties of grapes, growing environments, viticulture methods, and production techniques.

Wine has been produced for thousands of years, the earliest evidence dating from c. 6000 BCE in present-day Georgia. Its popularity spread around the Mediterranean during Classical antiquity, and was sustained in Western Europe by winemaking monks and a secular trade for general drinking. New World wine was established by settler colonies from the 16th century onwards, and the wine trade increased dramatically up to the latter half of the 19th century, when European vineyards were largely destroyed by the invasive pest phylloxera. After the Second World War, the wine market improved dramatically as winemakers focused on quality and marketing to cater for a more discerning audience, and wine remains a popular drink in much of the world.

Wine has played an important role in religion since antiquity, and has featured prominently in the arts for centuries. It is drunk on its own and paired with food, often in social settings such as wine bars and restaurants. It is often tasted and assessed, with drinkers using a wide range of descriptors to communicate a wine's characteristics. Wine is also collected and stored, as an investment or to improve with age. Its alcohol content makes wine generally unhealthy to consume, although it may have cardioprotective benefits.

The earliest known traces of wine were found near Tbilisi, Georgia (c. 6000 BCE). The earliest known winery, from c. 4100 BCE, is the Areni-1 winery in Armenia. In Italy, the oldest traces of wine date back to the 4th millennium BC, these are the oldest traces of the Mediterranean basin. The subsequent spread of wine culture around the Mediterranean was probably due to the influence of the Phoenicians (from c. 1000 BCE) and Greeks (from c. 600 BCE). The Phoenicians exported the wines of Byblos, which were known for their quality into Roman times. Industrialized production of wine in ancient Greece spread across the Italian peninsula and to southern Gaul. The ancient Romans further increased the scale of wine production and trade networks, especially in Gaul around the time of the Gallic Wars.

In medieval Europe, monks grew grapes and made wine for the Eucharist. Monasteries expanded their land holdings over time and established vineyards in many of today's most successful wine regions. Bordeaux was a notable exception, being a purely commercial enterprise serving the Duchy of Aquitaine and by association Britain between the 12th and 15th centuries.

European wine grape traditions were incorporated into New World wine, with colonists planting vineyards in order to celebrate the Eucharist. Vineyards were established in Mexico by 1530, Peru by the 1550s and Chile shortly afterwards. The European settlement of South Africa and subsequent trade involving the Dutch East India Company led to the planting of vines in 1655. Jesuit Missionaries managed to grow vines in California in the 1670s, and plantings were later established in Los Angeles in the 1820s and Napa and Sonoma in the 1850s. Arthur Phillip introduced vines to Australia in 1788, and viticulture was widely practised by the 1850s. The Australian missionary Samuel Marsden introduced vines to New Zealand in 1819.

The Great French Wine Blight began in the latter half of the 19th century, caused by an infestation of the aphid phylloxera brought over from America, whose louse stage feeds on vine roots and eventually kills the plant. Almost every vine in Europe needed to be replaced, by necessity grafted onto American rootstock which is naturally resistant to the pest. This practise continues to this day, with the exception of a small number of phylloxera-free wine regions such as South Australia.

The subsequent decades saw further issues impact the wine trade, with the rise of prohibitionism, political upheaval and two world wars, and economic depression and protectionism. The co-operative movement gained traction with winemakers during the interwar period, and the Institut national de l'origine et de la qualité was established in 1947 to oversee the administration of France's appellation laws, the first to create comprehensive restrictions on grape varieties, maximum yields, alcoholic strength and vinification techniques. After the Second World War, the wine market improved; all major producing countries adopted appellation laws, which increased consumer confidence, and winemakers focused on quality and marketing as consumers became more discerning and wealthy. New World wines, previously dominated by a few large producers, began to fill a niche in the market, with small producers meeting the demand for high quality small-batch artisanal wines. A consumer culture has emerged, supporting wine-related publications, wine tourism, paraphernalia such as preservation devices and storage solutions, and educational courses.