"The peoples of the Mediterranean began to emerge from barbarism when they learnt to cultivate the olive and the vine."
~Thucydides, Greek Historian, 5th Century BC

In the Beginning:

No one has yet determined exactly where and when mankind’s fascination with a beverage called wine began. Ancient man’s first encounter with the fermented juice was most likely an accident, hence wine was quite likely “discovered” as opposed to “invented”. After this initial discovery it is possible that wine was then made intentionally, since ancient Middle Eastern cultures were known to have made fermented, alcoholic beverages from other things such as honey, grains, and other fruits. The same process could have been applied to wild grapes before vines became cultivated. The earliest wines made from wild grapes and would only have been consumable for a short time each year. The grapes would ripen late in summer or early fall. From then, it would only take a couple of days for the juice to ferment if it came into contact with wild yeast present in the air and/or on the grape skins themselves. The wine would then have only been good for a short time, as there were no means of preserving it for future consumption in those earliest of days. These early wines were probably less alcoholic as well, due to the fact that wild grapes have less sugar content than those from cultivated vines. Though it would probably be thought of as undrinkable today, ancient wine was flavored with herbs, honey, or other additives that would have made it palatable to the people of the time.

Seeds and residue of wild grapes have been found and dated as far back as 350,000 years ago (at Terra Amata, modern day Nice in France). Other early finds include Franchthi Cave in Greece, dated to ca. 12,000 years ago, Grotta del ‘Uzzo, Sicily, mid-eight millennium B.C., and in several places in the eastern Mediterranean and near east dated between the eleventh and seventh centuries B.C. These finds were among the remains of human settlement and it is assumed that the grapes were used for food if not also wine. Earthenware jars containing evidence such as seeds, empty skins, stains and residue, possibly from wine, have been found at sites dating from the Neolithic Age (8500-4000 B.C.). Though this does not necessarily indicate that what was in these jars was wine, per se, we do know that wine was fermented from literary and pictorial sources of later periods. The earliest remains found of what we are certain to have been wine (dated ca. 5400-5000 B.C.) were found at Hajji Firuz Tepe, in the Zagros Mountains of Iran. The earthenware vessels contained not only residues of grape juice but also resin from the terebinth tree known to be a preservative used in ancient wine (and still used in Greek retsina to this day). Another find, at Godin Tepe, also in the Zagros Mountains but further south, is also, positively, that of ancient wine. The remains of an amphora dated to 3500 B.C. are certainly that of ancient wine due to the fact that the residue consisted of deposits of tartrate crystals and tannin (common residues that are found on red wine corks today). Also found at the site was a large basin, possibly used to tread grapes, and a funnel which could have been used to strain the juice before or after fermentation.

Wine making became more widespread with the cultivation of the vine and the development of better methods of storage. The grapevine was being cultivated by 4000 B.C. in the area of the Fertile Crescent where we have the early finds of residues. (However it is not clear whether these early finds are that of wine made with wild or cultivated grapes.) It is difficult to determine whether or not cultivation of the vine and wine making began in one place and spread to other regions, or began simultaneously in several regions. However, once cultivation was undertaken to provide a regular supply of fruit to make wine, an economic interest in wine making began to develop as well. Vessels with narrower tops were designed for better sealing for storage and transport. Soon, wine became a widely distributed and profitable trade commodity amongst many early cultures.

The Beginnings of the Wine Trade:

According to Rod Phillips in A Short History of Wine, there were four factors that lead to the growth of wine production. First, knowledge and practices were part of the information and technology that was shared among cultures which came into contact with one another. Second, wine became a part of cultures in both secular and religious practices. Third, wine developed as a profitable agricultural product and trade commodity. The fourth reason is that there was an emergence of markets that represented the wine cultures.

One of the earliest known destinations for traders bearing wine was southern Mesopotamia. It would have been shipped by river and over land from the mountains to the north and east. These distances were quite great and probably somewhat difficult to travel. Wine was most likely an expensive luxury for most, making it profitable and worthwhile for the traders.

Egypt imported vine cutlings, since they were not native to Egyptian soil and amphorae from Canaan during the first dynasty period. Hundreds of jars were found in the tomb of one of the first kings (Scorpion I), dated to 3150 bce. Due to close ties between Egypt and Crete in the second millennium bce, wine was probably traded between them (along with other Near Eastern regions), as the Minoans produced a substantial quantity.

Between 1600 and 1150 bce, the wine trade spread even further. The Mycenaeans produced wine as well as importing it from other regions. There was also trade amongst the peoples of Syria, Palestine, Egypt, Cyprus, Sicily, and southern Italy. Wine had become a very important commodity, and more cultures began to learn and develop methods for its production, making it more common throughout the ancient world.

Sources:
The Oxford Companion to Archaeology, Edited by Brian M. Fagan
A Short History of Wine, by Rod Phillips

UPDATE: For the latest find in ancient alcoholic beverages, see China's Fermented Past: Pottery yields signs of oldest known wine by Bruce Bower at Science News Online.