Turning to Chapter 3, recent advances in the analytical techniques used by

archaeologists have provided further evidence concerning the origins of viticulture

and
wine making. In particular, the use of transmission and diffuse-reflectance FT-IR
spectrometry has enabled a red stain on jars from the Godin Tepe site in western
Iran,
dating from the Late Uruk period (c. 3500–2900 BC), to be identified as containing
a
carboxylic acid that is most probably tartaric acid, and thus indicative of a grape
product
(Michel, McGovern and Badler, 1993). The shape of the jars, with a narrow mouth and
elongated neck, suggests that they were filled with a liquid, and this is thus the
earliest
good evidence for wine making anywhere in the world. However, the gradual process
of
grape selection, by which fruits best suited for wine making were brought into
cultivation, and then the acquisition of the skills that would consistently turn
them into a
flavoursome beverage, are likely to have preceded this date by some considerable
time
(p. 63). The subsequent genetic evolution of different grape varieties, and their
regional
distribution in antiquity still remain subjects of considerable debate. Although
numerous
mentions of different grape varieties are cited by classical writers such as
Columella and
Pliny, it is extremely difficult and hazardous to try to equate these with modern
varieties,
and it is hoped that future DNA (deoxyribonuleic acid) based research will shed
light on
the genetic origins of different modern varieties of Vitis vinifera (Thomas, Cain
and
Scott, 1994). With reference to the Greek and Roman world, further archaeological
research and textual analysis is increasing our depth of knowledge about classical
viticulture and wine making. For an overview of ancient Greek agriculture, Isager
and
Skydsgaard’s (1992) recent book provides a good introduction, and examples of
detailed
research on Roman landscapes and wine estates can be found in the edited volumes by
Barker and Lloyd (1991) and Frenzel (1992). Rathbone’s (1991) comprehensive
analysis
of rural society in 3rd century AD Egypt also provides fascinating insights into
the
practices of viticulture and wine making and their significance to the Egyptian
rural
economy at this time.
For the early medieval period, my tentative critique of the role of Christianity in
the
maintenance of viticulture and wine making (pp. 144–8) has been extended in Unwin
(1992b), which draws attention to the very low overall consumption of wine in
religious
ceremonies at the end of the first millennium AD. An analysis of the evidence for
Saxon
and early Norman viticulture in England has also been published in Unwin (1990),
wherein it is argued that the evidence for wine making in England prior to the
Norman
conquest is much less strong than is often argued. Much research on medieval wine
continues to be undertaken in Europe (see for example Comba, 1990), but little of
this
has been translated into English (although see Schenk’s 1992 study of Franconia),
and
there remains a need for further broad syntheses of this expanding literature.