The History of Wine and the Vine
The wild grapevine is dioeciously, with unisex flowers on separate plants that must be pollinated by insects. Only the female plant produces fruit. This wild vine still grows today throughout the Mediterranean basin, as well as parts of Western and Central Asia.
Sometime during the Neolithic period, the wild grapevine developed into the present day domestic grapevine. This vine is bisexual, enabling self pollination by the wind - thus the fruit is produced by every flower.
Vitas Vinifera was being cultivated in the Middle East as early as 4000 BC. The early Egyptians began to experiment with the vine, developing simple structures on which to train the vine, in order to lower the maintenance levels. They also found ways to retain soil moisture levels.
- The Ancients Greeks had a well developed wine trade, and planted grapevines all over their empire from the Black Sea to Spain
- The Romans grew wine grapes in the Rhine and Moselle regions of Germany and the Danube Regions of Austria and Romania, as well as the French Regions of Burgundy, Bordeaux, Loire and Champagne
- Spanish missionaries took viticulture to Chile and Argentina in the 10th Century and California in the 18th Century
- British settlers planted grapevines in Australia and New Zealand in the 19th century
- Dutch settlers took vines from the Rhine to South Africa in 1654
In 1870 and 1900, the eastern American Root Louse and Phylloxera threatened the wine industry around the world. To combat this disease, vines were grafted onto native Eastern American rootstock which proved to be resistant to the disease. This prompted the European government to implement laws allotting regional names and quality rankings to wines grown in specific regions.