Drinks
Wine
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Fermented grape juice, produced from Vitis vinifera and its many cultivated varieties, central to the cuisine and ceremonial life of the Mediterranean world from antiquity onward and to French cuisine's own regional identity in particular. Archaeological and biomolecular evidence for early winemaking comes from several sites across the South Caucasus and the Zagros Mountains, and specialists genuinely dispute which site represents the true earliest production rather than simply an early one among several independent origins.
Facts
Disputed
Origin Period, From (Year)Competing archaeological claims from sites in present-day Georgia, Armenia and Iran each propose an earliest date for winemaking; the field has not settled on one, so a range spanning the credible claims is given rather than a single year. Origin RegionSouth Caucasus (Georgia); the Zagros Mountains of Iran are a rival early site specialists still weigh 2 Cross-Tradition Connections
Expresses Tradition
Brandy is wine distilled after fermentation; the edge records that lineage, not a claim that wine itself is distilled.
Britannica describes tapas as traditionally served alongside a drink to complement the food; wine and sherry bars are the classic pairing in Spanish tapeo culture.
Sources
1. The Oxford Companion to Food
Alan Davidson, Oxford University Press, 2014
2. Early Neolithic Wine of Georgia in the South Caucasus (PNAS)
Archaeologists Find Earliest Evidence of Winemaking (ScienceDaily)
ScienceDailyparagraph 1Quote, paragraph 1
The discovery dates the origin of the practice to the Neolithic period around 6000 BC, pushing it back 600-1,000 years from the previously accepted date.
On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen
Harold McGee, Scribner, 2004Expresses Tradition: Fermentation
On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen
Harold McGee, Scribner, 2004Expresses Tradition: Distillation, ch. on wine, beer and spirits
Tapa (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
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