The Captivating Legend Of Wine Production – It All Started In Ancient Egypt

December 29, 2015 / como / 0 Comments

According to the tale, the woman lost to the King and wished to end her life by eating spoiled table grapes stored in a jar. The suicide attempt did not go as she planned; instead she got drunk and eventually passed out. When she woke up, she felt as if all her troubles had vanished and this event encouraged her to continue taking the spoiled grapes. So going by this pleasant story, one can say that wine is not an invention of man but was, rather found by chance.

The history of wine is as old as civilization, the agriculture and the man himself. Archeologists suggest that wine was discovered accidentally during 6000 and 5000 BC. in the Fertile Crescent area, an area in between the Nile and the Persian Gulf. Archeological evidence has uncovered the earliest European wine production from crushed grapes in Macedonia 6500 years ago.

From the time of discovery of wine to today, wine has played animportant role in many rituals and customs of modern society . In the ancient Egyptian period, wine became an integral part of life, mainly funerary ceremonies. Only the richest Egyptians like the Pharaohs were able to enjoy wine. Wine was also common in ancient Greece and Rome and in many other European countries.

The Egyptian Times

Though scientists have identified a wine jar from Hajji Firuz Tepe in the Northern Zagros Mountains of Iran, the widespread knowledge of wine cultivation is believed to have come from Egypt. The wine making method was represented on tomb walls dating back to 2600 BC. Maria Rosa, a master in Egyptology states that wine in ancient Egypt was of great importance and only the upper class people and kings had access to wine. Rosa further points out that the ancient Egyptians labeled the wine jars with product, year, growning area and the vine grower’s name, but there is no mention about the color of the wines. A recent discovery has shown that the wines in ancient Egypt were usually red.

The Ancient Greeks

Arrival of wine making process in ancient Greece is not well documented; many believe that wine manufacturing tradition was introduced to Crete by the Phoenician traders. Strong evidence of wine growing have also been collected from Minoan Mycenaean cultures.

Wine was a very important trading article in Greece business. The Greeks were able to set up their colonies throughout the Mediterranean and this in turn eased the export of Greek wines in the region. The Greeks learned how to prevent wines from rotting by adding different herbs and spices. Wine in ancient Greece was stirred in a glass before drinking.

Apart from trading, the Greeks used wine in the field of medicine. One of the well known medicine practitioners, Hippocrates, also known as the Father of Medicine studied wine extensively for its use in medicine, specially to reduce fever, convalescence and as an antiseptic. It must be mentioned here that the Greeks were equally aware about the negative health effects produced by the excessive drinking of wine.

The Romans

The Romans discovered the viticulture (cultivation and study of grape growing) and oenology (the science of wine and winemaking). In the Roman Empire, wine formed a important part of their daily meals as water could not always be trusted to be safe and clean. During this period, wine making technology became more established with a significant impact on the Roman business. The Romans developed barrels to store and ship wine, while bottles were used for the first time in the history of the wine world. The Romans are also known to have dissolved pearls in wine for their better health.

With the expansion of Roman Empire, wine production expanded to all of its provinces. During the Dark Ages when Roman Empire fell and when Europe passed through social and political unrest, wine production was kept alive by the efforts of religious monks. Churches are known to have developed some of the finest vineyards in Europe.

Ancient China and Wine

Although wine was not much of a favorite of the ancient asian people, its production and consumption was popular in three different periods, mainly the Han Dynasty, Tang Dynasty and the Yuan Dynasty. In China rice wine was not as popular as the grape wine.

Wine in the Middle Ages and Modern Life

Wine became popular in the Middle Ages, it was considered as a social drink for all occasions. In the northern regions of the Europe where no grapes were grown, beer and ale were dominant and in the Eastern part Vodka made from potatoes was the preferred drink.

America, Chile, Argentina, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand that manufacture wide varieties of wines are considered as the New World Wine Producers. The products of these countries were not well known to the wine drinkers until late in the 20th Century.

The industrial revolution in the 20th century has provided wine growers with new technology and innovation that has made production much more efficient. Considerable R&D advances in viticulture and oenology have helped the modern manufacturers to produce more varieties of wines of much lower cost.

FAO Issues Avian Flu Warning

October 28, 2015 / como / 0 Comments

Avian flu continues to pose serious health threats to both human and animal health, especially as the flu season approaches. Thats the warning issued Monday by the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization.

Listen to De Capua report on avian flu
The FAO is calling on the international community to be vigilant for any signs of H5N1 and the new H7N9 avian flu. The former has been around for years, but H7N9 was first reported in China only last April. About 130 human infections were confirmed. Many of those patients had reported contact with poultry. Most had severe respiratory illness. Forty-four people died.

FAO senior animal health officer Ian Douglas saID timing of the warning is important.

Weve had over a decade of experience with H5N1 avian influenza virus and generally speaking weve seen this pattern of increase of incidence of the disease with the coming of cooler weather following summer. The experience with H7N9 version of avian influenza virus is much more limited. But whilst the number of human cases of that infection have declined, there is the possibility that it could reemerge and become a more prevalent infection.

While both strains can jump from poultry to humans, there is a difference between the two.

Douglas said, The difference perhaps is significant in so far as H7N9 has not been observed to cause much of clinical disease in poultry. And this constitutes a much great challenge because its not immediately obvious where the birds are infected and therefore, of course, the root of transmission to humans is somewhat more concealed.

The lack of clinical signs makes is difficult to detect.

Health officials are very concerned that avian flu viruses might mutate and allow infections between people, not just between people and poultry. But is there any evidence, so far, that human to human transmission has occurred?

There have been some suggestions, he said, of clusters where with very close contact that might have been the case. But of course the possibilities exist for a common exposure to an animal source. Avian influenza viruses can survive for some time outside of the bird or human host and contamination of the environment, at least for a reasonably short period of time, is possible.

Douglas said that avian influenza viruses have the potential to produce a pandemic of human infection.

In the case of H5N1, fairly rapidly. Over 60 countries in the world reported some cases occurring either in domestic or wild birds. That number is much reduced. Today, however, the infections remain endemic from Egypt across South and Southeast Asia and somewhat entrenched in those populations.

He said its not clear whether H7N9 would behave the same way, adding theres much to learn about the virus.

Established control methods involve culling — and vaccinations in the case of the H5N1 virus. But the response must also include tracking where the birds came from and their intended destinations and ensure that poultry markets adhere to sanitation guidelines.