The old old world of wine. Where the story of wine began.

The cradle of wine

The theory is that when people settled down around 10,000 BC, agriculture and winemaking followed. In 2017 researchers found grape wine residue on pottery from two sites in Georgia dating back to about 6,000 BC. Early traces have also been found in Iran's Zagros Mountains, in Egypt and in a 4,000-year-old wine cellar in Israel. In Armenia, archaeologists uncovered the oldest known winery, more than 6,000 years old.

Host Susie Barrie MW and Fredrik Lindfors, Best Sommelier of the Nordics, take you through the region's history and the methods that survive today. Fredrik arrives dressed for the occasion, and pottery plays a big role in this story.

Georgia and Armenia

Georgia lies between the Black Sea and the Caucasus. More than 500 native grapes have been identified, though only around 45 are used commercially. The best known are the red-fleshed Saperavi and the white Rkatsiteli. Wine is traditionally made in qvevri, clay vessels buried up to the neck to keep a steady temperature. Skins, seeds and stems often go in with the juice, giving wines with more extract and tannin. The hosts taste a rare Otskhanuri Sapere made in qvevri by a young brother-and-sister team.

Armenia is linked in legend to Noah, who is said to have planted a vine at the foot of Mount Ararat. Its ancient winery, discovered in 2007, held fermentation vats, a press and clay jars, here called karasi. Remember two grapes: Voskehat, an aromatic white with fennel, green apple and melon, and Areni, a lighter red with cherry, raspberry and pomegranate. The hosts taste an Areni from Zorah, grown at about 1,400 meters.

Lebanon and the Near East

The Phoenicians traded wine across the Mediterranean, and sunken cargoes suggest they sealed their wine with olive oil, pine wood and resin, which may explain the Greek taste for resinated wine. In modern Lebanon, Château Musar is the great pioneer, known for reds from Cabernet Sauvignon, Cinsault and Carignan and a white from the native Obaideh and Merwah.

Native grapes are making a comeback across the region, including Öküzgözü in Turkey and Marawi and Bittuni in Israel. Susie brings a 100% Obaideh from a biodynamic rising star, and both hosts are struck by how contemporary it tastes.

Greece: Retsina, Assyrtiko and Xinomavro

Greece is the oldest wine country in Europe, and almost 90% of its vineyards are planted with native grapes. It is perhaps best known for Retsina, usually made from Savatiano and flavored with pine resin, which can be as appetizing as a good fino Sherry. On the island of Santorini, Assyrtiko makes intense, lemony, mineral whites. In Naoussa in northern Greece, Xinomavro makes pale but powerful reds with high acidity and firm tannins that age well, moving from strawberry and plum to tomato and dried fruit. The hosts taste a Xinomavro from Thymiopoulos with a lighter moussaka.

The experiment: clay, oak or steel?

What does a vessel actually do to a wine? In the experiment, Fredrik shows off his first attempt at pottery, and the hosts compare stainless steel, oak and clay to see which materials are porous and what that means for flavor, oxygen and texture. Find out how old oak and clay differ from new, charred barrels.

As always there are food pairings explained, from moussaka to an English beef stew pie served with the Georgian qvevri wine. The episode helps you prepare for WSET Level 3 and will change how you think about old wine countries.