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Legend
states that wine was discovered by the Persian, King Jamshid.
He loved grapes and tried storing them in the palace cellar.
After several months, he tried to eat the stored grapes
and found they had "spoiled." In fact, he thought
the grapes had become poisonous. Hearing this, a woman
who was suffering from a broken heart purposely drank
the fermented grape juice. Even though her suicide attempt
failed, she felt better and so shared the drink with her
king who enjoyed it as well. From then on grapes were
allowed to ferment to wine and to be enjoyed by everyone.
Thus, the passion for wine was born.
The
art of making wine began in Mesopotamia and Egypt around
3000 B.C. The Egyptians were the first to perfect the
art of wine making. They grew the grapes in the fertile
Nile Delta, then stomped the grapes and fermented their
juice in huge wooden vats. Both the Mesopotamians and
Egyptians regarded wine as a gift from the Gods.
This
passion for wine and wine making made its way through
the Mediterranean via Greece, Sicily and Northern Italy
(Tuscany) and became an integral part of Greek and Roman
culture. Because so many cultures have regarded wine
as a gift from the Gods, wine has played a major role
in ancient religions and mythology. Wine was a important
part of early Hebrew culture and is still used today
in many Jewish ceremonies. For Christians, wine represents
the blood of Jesus Christ and, as such, is used in many
of their rituals as well. The history of wine is interwoven
in many ways with the history of humankind and it continues
to be an important part of society, both as a religious
symbol and as an enjoyable accompaniment to food.
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