2. A Brief History of Wine

Wine from prehistoric times

Let us learn a little more about wine. Wine has been known from prehistoric times. Scientists say there is evidence of wine at least as far back as 3000 BC. It was stored in goatskins. There is evidence of wine trade from the Celts of France to the original inhabitants of Britain, the Brits, before 1000 BC. They talk about it in Homer. They even talk about it in the Bible.

“Drink wine for thy stomach’s sake

And thine often infirmities.”

Wine used medicinally and in religious ceremonies

As evidenced from this quote, the ancient Jews were already aware of the health benefits of wine. While the ancients used wine medicinally, it was also prominent in early rituals. Wine is still used medicinally, especially in the wine drinking countries of southern Europe. And it is still prominent in religious rituals both in the Christian Churches based on Catholicism and in the Jewish faith.

Dionysian Rituals & bacchanals

While the Christians and Jews just drank a little wine with their religious ceremonies, this was not true of the Greeks and Romans. The Greeks had their rites of Dionysus partly based around intoxication from wine. The Romans had similar rites based around Bacchus, their god of wine. The names of both of these gods are still sometimes used today. It was a Dionysian event or a bacchanal, which would mean it was a wild party mixed with intoxication and sexuality.

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