Une brève histoire du vin et comment il est élaboré

At first, wine also needed one crucial skill: storage. There were no glass bottles. There was no refrigeration. So people used clay jars and sealed the opening to protect the liquid from air, so the wine did not spoil. In Georgia, large clay jars are still used today. Some were buried in the ground, which helped keep the temperature more stable — important for gentler fermentation and fewer problems. The container was not just a container. It was already a wine technology.

When cities grew, wine started to travel. It went beyond the local gardens and the hills. People shipped it in amphoras—big clay jars with handles, made for boats and storage rooms. Standard sizes made trade easier: count, set prices, tax, be fair. Wine became a product that people could transport, measure, and sell—again and again.

Wine also became a sign of status. In Greek and Roman life, it was present at banquets and meetings. Often, people mixed it with water, then they talked about taste, manners, and status. Wine showed hospitality and sometimes religion. In Roman Gaul (today’s France), vineyards grew with roads, trade, and cities, linking farms to markets.

In medieval Europe, wine survived wars, epidemics, and changing borders. The vines stayed where the climate allowed reliable harvests. Monasteries often kept records: the vines, the harvests, and the cellar habits. These notes helped keep the techniques, even in chaos. In France, many famous wine regions formed over centuries thanks to this patient work: watch the plots, write notes, and improve methods year after year. Wine also stayed practical: for meals, medicine, and religious communion. Know‑how survived because communities needed it.

Later, the vines traveled with empires, migrations, and colonies. Wine spread around the world. At the Cape, in Africa, people planted vines in 1655 under Dutch rule, and records note the first Cape wine pressed on February 2, 1659. New climates needed new habits, but the basic recipe stayed the same: grapes + yeast + containers + time.

In California, the wine started with the missions and with need. Some Spanish missionaries planted vines at the San Diego de Alcalá mission in 1769. The wine served for communion, but it also helped everyday life. The “Mission” grape variety spread thanks to cuttings, and the vineyards slowly left the missions to go to farms, towns, and businesses.

The first vines in Australia arrived with the First Fleet (the first fleet) in 1788. People planted them near Sydney, and the first results were uncertain. But these plantings started a long story: failures, learning, adapting, and finally pride in the place.