Research and Discovery Yield Ancient Insight Into History of Wine

Domestication of grapevines and ancient Egyptian grape seeds highlight important 2024 insights into the history of wine

In a recent post, I opined that the Court of Master Sommeliers’ decision to stop making any mention of the phrases “Old World” and “New World” amounted to an affront to wine education. Luckily, we don’t have to rely on this floundering organization to provide us access to the fascinating subject that is wine history.

Two stories emerged this year about the history of wine that are fascinating examples of how science research and technology is and will continue to fill out our understanding of how wine, grape cultivation, and the consumption of wine inform the culture of the West. Being that time of year when we look back and survey the 12 months past, I wanted to bring these two stories to your attention. Both are worth exploring.