World's Oldest Wine Press Discovered

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed)
Jan 11th 2011 at 8:01PM

The human love of wine may stretch back over 6,000 years judging by what has been unearthed in Armenia. The Areni-1 cave complex in Armenia has yield evidence of a 6,100-year-old wine-making operation. The wine vat, pots and drinking bowl were discovered in the cave near the Iranian border. Older evidence of wine drinking has been found but this is the oldest evidence of the wine-making process. Findings from a team led by UCLA archaeologist Hans Barnard will appear in the upcoming Journal of Archaeological Science. This area was also where the world's oldest leather shoe, dating back to 5,500 years ago, was discovered last summer.

The archaeologists found grape seeds, remains of pressed grapes and dozens of dried vines in an area surrounded by graves suggesting that the beverage had ritual significance. AOL News reports that the earliest comparable remains were found in the tomb of the Egyptian king Scorpion I, dating to around 5,100 years ago. The Egyptians are famous for their love of beer but also used wine for festivals and other events.

Tags: archaeology, armenia, wine, worlds oldest wine