Oh, our dear friend, it is a long and complicated story. If you put together all the ancient myths, manuscripts, chronicles, climb into all the ancient sarcophagi and unearth a bunch of ancient cities, you will get the impression that wine has existed forever. That it was on Earth even before the appearance of man right there.

Okay, maybe not so long ago, but in 8000-4000 BC. wine existed for sure. Just imagine how long ago!

Of course, no one knows exactly who invented wine. And, most likely, they invented it by accident, forgetting grape juice in a jug, which, of course, fermented itself and turned into wine.

There are, of course, many interesting legends that tell about the history of the appearance of wine.

The Greeks, for example, believe that the first vine was discovered by a simple shepherd Estafilos, herding sheep. One of his "wards" escaped, Estafilos went in search of her and found a fugitive, peacefully chewing a plant unknown to him until now. As we all understand, it was a vine. The shepherd collected the fruit from it and took it to his master. He made juice out of them, which only got better with time.

The Romans are more devout in this matter and believe that Saturn planted the first vine in the world. Well, these guys often contradict the Greeks.

However, like the Persians. Although, the latter are more isolated. But they also have their own legend of the origin of grapes and wine. Their king, Jamshid, once saw a huge snake trying to swallow a large bird. He ordered his archers to hit the snake with an arrow. The released bird immediately flew up to the king and in gratitude presented him with three grains. It is easy to guess that it was grapes. And King Jamshid was very fond of his juice. True, once they brought him a sour drink, which angered the ruler. Strangely, this juice was not poured out, but simply put away into the cellars, until one of the slaves, suffering from terrible headaches, opened it to get drunk and die (her pain was so unbearable). But instead of death, a sound sleep awaited her for several days, from which she woke up completely healthy. King Jamshid changed his anger to mercy for the sour juice. Moreover, it was proclaimed "miraculous" and has been drunk frequently ever since. But back to the Greeks. What do they tell us about the history of the origin of wine? By the way, it is not devoid of mythology. In everything they, as always, are “guilty” of the gods. Namely, Dionysius, who once descended from Olympus to see how they live on earth. Tired, he lay down to rest in the shade of a bush, and the good shepherds who were nearby gave Dionysius milk to drink and cheese. And the grateful God squeezed grape juice into a jug, put it under the same bush to ferment, and then treated people to a wonderful drink.

Wine is often mentioned in ancient poetry and mythology. The Bible also often speaks of wine. Interestingly, there were people who wondered: how many times is wine mentioned in the Bible? And believe it or not, they figured it out! 521 times! To this day, it has a special meaning in religious ceremonies as a symbol of blood and a sign of divine influence.

Of course, there are not only myths and legends about the emergence of winemaking and the emergence of wine, but that's a completely different story.

Fortunately, we do not have to wait now for Dionysius to come down to us from Mount Olympus and squeeze grape juice for wine with his own hands. Everything is much simpler: you can buy wine in the WineStreet online store.

The ability to drink is not given to everyone.
Drinking is an art.
He is not smart who drinks wine
Without thought and without feeling.
Wine carries both poison and honey.
Both slavery and freedom.
He does not know the price of guilt
Who drinks it like water...

Greek legend
The Greek attribution attributes the discovery of the vine to a shepherd named Estaphylos. He discovered the loss of one of the sheep and went in search of her. After wandering for a long time to no avail, he finally discovered a sheep - she was passionate about eating leaves from the vine of an unfamiliar plant. Gathering some of the fruits with which the vine was strewn, he took them to his master Oinos. He squeezed out the juice of their fruits, which over time acquired intoxicating power, a peculiar taste and aroma. This is how wine was born.
Persian legend about the origin of grapes and wine sounds like this:
One day, King Jamshid was enjoying the tranquility, resting under the shade of his tent and watching the archers being trained. Suddenly, a huge snake caught his attention. In her mouth, a large unknown bird was beating convulsively. The king ordered his archers to immediately kill the snake. With one well-aimed shot, the snake was hit in the head and died. The freed bird escaped from her mouth, flew up to the feet of King Jamshid, and from her beak dropped a few grains at his feet, which soon sprouted. Branched "trees", grown from grains, gave many fruits. The king was very fond of the juice of these fruits, but one day, when they brought him a slightly sour juice, the king became angry and ordered to take it out of sight. The servants did not pour out the juice, but carefully hid it. Several months have passed. The beautiful concubine, the favorite of the king, began to suffer from unbearable headaches and desired to poison herself. Finding a bottle of juice rejected by the king, the slave drank everything to the bottom. Naturally, she fell unconscious and, after long sleepless nights, slept for several days, and when she woke up, she felt healthy and full of strength. The news of the miraculous healing reached the ears of the king, and he proclaimed wine "royal medicine".


According to biblical legend, the vine was one of the first plants created by the almighty God. Squeezing the juice from grapes was invented by a man - Noah - just as eating meat was invented. The idea of ​​planting a vine and squeezing the juice from its fruits was inspired by the behavior of a goat, which he released into the wild in Cilicia, near Mount Korikum. This goat, having eaten the fruits of wild grapes, became drunk and began to fight with other animals. Noah was so impressed by what he saw that he decided to plant and grow a vine on his own. He watered the seedlings with the blood of a lion (to “message a fortress”), the blood of a mystical lamb (to destroy wild properties in the berries), and then he gathered an excellent harvest and made wine.
ancient greek legend
Once, while hunting, the pagan god Dionysus saw a very beautiful satyr skillfully playing the shepherd's flute. The satyr's name was Ampelos. Ampelos liked Dionysus very much and became his devoted friend and companion. But one day Ampelos fell off a cliff and crashed. Dionysus was very worried, so he began to beg his father Zeus to return his friend's life. Zeus took pity and turned the dead satyr into a vine, which began to bear fruit, the taste of which was similar to the taste of nectar. The fruits contained the juice of the earth, born from sunlight, moisture and fire. Since then, Dionysus began to travel the world and teach people to grow a vine, from the fruits of which it was possible to make a divine drink - wine. On behalf of the satyr Ampelos, the Greek name for grapes appeared - ampelos, which gave its name to the science of grape varieties - ampelography. The branch of medical science that studies viticulture is called ampelotherapy.

Thracian legend
(Thrace - an ancient country, was located on the border of present-day Greece and Bulgaria). The Thracian legend of the origin of wine says: In one of the Thracian villages there lived an old dull, useless homeless goat. In the autumn, amazing changes took place with him: the goat began to jump merrily and playfully cling to passers-by. In this state, the goat was seen for some time, after which the goat again became dull. The peasants were interested in such changes in the mood of the goat, so they began to follow the animal. It soon became clear that the goat's mood changed for the better after he, wandering through the deserted vineyard, ate the crushed bunches of grapes left over from the harvest. As a rule, these were the bunches in which the grape juice had already fermented and turned into a kind of wine. It was from him that the goat got drunk, and his mood improved. People tried the fermented juice and for the first time felt the effect of alcohol. The goat was recognized as the discoverer of wine and people learned how to make wine.

Grapes are one of the most ancient plants used by man. In the Middle East, it was cultivated as early as 9 thousand years ago, and its seeds, discovered during excavations, date back to the Bronze Age.

Karl Bryullov. Italian afternoon.

Amalie Kaercher.

Louis Melendez. Still life with grapes.

“Vine appeared on Earth a very, very long time ago. His mother was the Earth, his father was the Sun. At the time of the birth of grapes, its bunches were poured (ripened) not for a month or two, as now, but quickly - in the morning until dusk (evening), and those that had time to ripen by dawn borrowed its gentle blush from the morning dawn and became pink. The clusters that ripened during the day turned golden yellow - they adopted the gold of its rays from the brightly shining sun in the sky. Berries ripened late in the evening, the southern night gave its dark or velvety blue tones.

Joseph Schuster. Grapes and a Jug of Wine on a Ledge.

Viticulture and winemaking are widely reflected in the works of ancient art, they are often reminded, for example, of numerous monuments of Egyptian culture in Thebes, Benny Hassan and other areas. A favorite motif of ancient Egyptian artists were wine amphoras. The process of making wine is described in detail on the tomb of the Egyptian pharaoh Ptahhotep, who lived 2500 years before our era. In the country of the pharaohs, there was even a peculiar custom that introduced non-drinkers to wine. In front of the guests they held a wooden model depicting the deceased, with the inscription: "Look at me and hurry to enjoy the wine, because after death you will be the same as me."

Ferdinand Waldmuller. A Dog by a Basket of Grapes in a Landscape.1836

"The path of our life is the passage through the grapes," said the ancient Romans. The biblical story of the choice of the king of the trees tells how the trees offered the royal crown to the vine. Grapes are mentioned in almost every Greek myth, especially in legends dedicated to its powerful patron - the god Dionysus. Many beautiful legends were left by the ancient Greeks about the origin of grapes.

Guido Reni (1575-1642). Dionysus.

One of them tells of a time when bunches of grapes grew on the branches of huge elms, since there was no vine yet. And then the generous Dionysus decided to give his favorite, the young man Ampelus, a juicy bunch of grapes, but offered him to take the gift himself, which was on a thin and long branch of a very high elm. The unfortunate Ampel, not reaching the bunch, fell from a tree and crashed to death. Bitterly mourning the death of his pet, Dionysus turned his body into a wonderful flexible liana with bunches of grapes and called the plant "ampelos", and from his soul he created a new star - Vineyard. And now you can see this star in the sky or on a star map in the constellation Virgo. And the name of the poor young man, given by Dionysus to the wonderful plant, remained immortalized in the history of grape sciences, since the sciences of ampelology and ampelography borrowed their names from him.

Tommaso Salini. The Young Bacchus.

In another myth, Dionysus roams the earth merrily, teaching people the art of cultivating grapes and turning them into sparkling wine. Frolic somehow surrounded by maenads, drunken Dionysus was attacked by the Thracian king Lycurgus. Fleeing, he threw himself into the sea and found refuge with the goddess of the sea, Thetis. Almighty Zeus hastened to help his son: having blinded Lycurgus, he tied him to a vine. From the bitter tears of the unfortunate Lycurgus, the legend says, a contemptible cabbage grew, which since then has been irreconcilably at war with the favorite plant of Dionysus - grapes.

Caravaggio. Sick Bacchus.

The adventures of the cheerful god do not end there. In another episode, Dionysus, recovering from a stampede from Lycurgus, turns the sea robbers who captured him into dolphins, and their ship into a fragrant floating vineyard. The shepherd Icarius, who honored him as a god, was presented by Dionysus with a vine, and so for the first time grapes appeared in Attica.

Caesar van Everdingen. Nymphs Offering the Young Bacchus Wine, Fruit and Flowers.

Many adventures preceded the death of Dionysus, who fought valiantly with Zeus against the Titans. The goddess Athena took out a barely beating heart from Dionysus, who was defeated on the battlefield, and Zeus immediately breathed life into it. Since then, according to another Hellenic legend, the vine subject to Dionysus has acquired amazing vitality. Even shredded into small pieces, it easily takes root with each of its pieces. The blood of the long-suffering Dionysus poured into the fruits of the grape, and people adapted themselves to extract from the grape berry the noble divine drink - wine.

Caravaggio. Bacchus (Dionysus). 1595

Cesar Boetius van Everdingen. Bacchus with Nymphs and Cupid.

The classical form of vine leaves, along with ivy and aristolochia leaves, served as a subject for Gothic ornaments. Grapes were sung by poets - Rudaki, Ibn Sina (Avicenna), Omar Khayyam, Shota Rustaveli, Sergei Yesenin, Rasul Gamzatov and others.

Jan van Huysum.

I won't regret the roses
Withered with a light spring;
I love the grapes on the vines,
Ripened in the hands under the mountain,
The beauty of my green valley,
Golden joy of autumn
oblong and transparent
Like the fingers of a young maiden.

Pushkin, Alexander Sergeyevich

Juan de Espinosa.

Franz von Stuck. Boy Bacchus riding a panther. 1901

Bryullov Karl Pavlovich Girl picking grapes.

Bartolomeo Manfredi. Bacchus and a Drinker.

Here are the most famous legends about wine:

Thracian legend. (Thrace - an ancient country, was located on the border of present-day Greece and Bulgaria). The Thracian legend of the origin of wine says: In one of the Thracian villages there lived an old dull, useless homeless goat. In the autumn, amazing changes took place with him: the goat began to jump merrily and playfully cling to passers-by. In this state, the goat was seen for some time, after which the goat again became dull. The peasants were interested in such changes in the mood of the goat, so they began to follow the animal. It soon became clear that the goat's mood changed for the better after he, wandering through the deserted vineyard, ate the crushed bunches of grapes left over from the harvest. As a rule, these were the bunches in which the grape juice had already fermented and turned into a kind of wine. It was from him that the goat got drunk, and his mood improved. People tried the fermented juice and for the first time felt the effect of alcohol. The goat was recognized as the discoverer of wine, and people learned how to make wine.

Persian legend. Once the Persian king Jamshid, resting in the shade of his tent, watched the training of his archers. From the rest of the king was distracted by the noise of a fight between a snake and a large bird, which was passing nearby. The bird was already suffocating in the mouth of a huge snake and was close to its death. The king ordered his archers to kill the snake. The bird freed itself from the mouth of the dead snake, flew up to the feet of the king and, as a token of gratitude, dropped several seeds from its beak in front of him, which soon sprouted. Grape vines grew from the seeds, producing many fruits. King Jamshid was very fond of the juice of these fruits, but it happened that one day a slightly sour juice was brought to the king. Jamshid got angry and ordered to carry him away. The servants hid the juice and soon forgot about it. Several months have passed. The king's favorite, a beautiful slave, began to suffer unbearable headaches and wished to die. She found a hidden vessel with sour juice and drank everything to the bottom, thinking that it was poison and that she would be poisoned by it and die. But the slave did not die, but fell unconscious and slept for several days. When she woke up, she became cheerful and healthy. Everyone learned about the miraculous healing. Then the king recognized the sour grape juice and proclaimed it "royal medicine".

Ancient Greek legend. Once, while hunting, the pagan god Dionysus saw a very beautiful satyr skillfully playing the shepherd's flute. The satyr's name was Ampelos. Ampelos liked Dionysus very much and became his devoted friend and companion. But one day Ampelos fell off a cliff and crashed. Dionysus was very worried, so he began to beg his father Zeus to return his friend's life. Zeus took pity and turned the dead satyr into a vine, which began to bear fruit, the taste of which was similar to the taste of nectar. The fruits contained the juice of the earth, born from sunlight, moisture and fire. Since then, Dionysus began to travel the world and teach people to grow a vine, from the fruits of which one could make a divine drink - wine. On behalf of the satyr Ampelos, the Greek name for grapes appeared - ampelos, which gave its name to the science of grape varieties - ampelography. The branch of medical science that studies viticulture is called ampelotherapy.

Grapes: What is its history? Where did he come from? How long has it existed on earth? For many, many years it was believed that these magical berries were brought to us by the Phoenicians. But gradually, with the development of knowledge, new facts appeared: along with legends, nature opened up interesting pages from which people could read the history of grapes in the form of an imprint of a grape leaf. Moreover, the antiquity of this imprint for millions of years exceeds the antiquity not only of the Phoenicians, but of the entire human race.

Yes, among the fossil flora, among the prehistoric vegetation of the globe, paleontologists have discovered and examined in detail the imprints of grapes. It turns out that even in that era, called the Tertiary, when plane trees and oaks, poplars and palm trees grew on the earth, a family of so-called ampelides (from the Greek ampelos - grapes), that is, vine plants, appeared.

True, that wild, primitive grape was very different from the current one: However, not only paleontologists, not only geologists, but also linguists testify to the very long history of the vine, for these words - "grapes", "vine", "wine" - were in one of the oldest languages, Sanskrit, and in Greek, and in Latin, and in French, and in Chinese, and in ancient Egyptian, and in ancient Persian: Latinists believe that the Latin vinum is borrowed from some Mediterranean language. Greek experts assure that "oinos" (from foinos) came from some Caucasian source. But how many languages ​​were and are in the Caucasus! In general, the origins of the word “wine” have not yet been reached.

In ancient legends we can read that the vine was one of the first plants created by the omnipotence of God; that squeezing the juice from grapes was originally unknown, but Noah, prompted by human nature, invented it, just like eating meat. It turns out that the idea of ​​​​planting a vine and squeezing the juice from its fruits was inspired by Noah: a goat, which he released into the wild in Cilicia, near Mount Korikum. This goat, having eaten the fruits of wild grapes, became drunk and began to fight with other animals. Seeing such an effect of the fruits of the grapes, Noah planted them, watering them with the blood of a lion - to “message the fortress”, the blood of a mystical lamb - to destroy the wild properties in the berries, and then collected excellent fruits.

According to another widespread legend, Bacchus taught the culture of grapes to the inhabitants of India, then the Greeks... of his workers, to whom Icarus distributed a new drink, got drunk, and others, considering themselves poisoned, slaughtered their master.

In general, among all peoples who have left written or oral traditions behind them, the vine occupies a special, honorable place in these traditions.

wine legends
It is unlikely that there is a plant about which there would be so many legends as about a vine, and a drink that would be so firmly and universally included in myths and legends, like grape wine.

The culture of grapes and winemaking from its very beginnings, over the centuries, up to the present day, has been accompanied by legends and folk tales, often very entertaining and poetic. Here is a legend in which the emergence of a culture of grapes and winemaking is associated with the ancient god Bacchus.

Once Bacchus, while still very young, went to Naxos. The path is long, and the young man, tired, sat down on a stone to rest. At his feet, he noticed a surprisingly beautiful plant, barely out of the ground. He liked it so much that he decided to take it with him and plant it in his homeland.

Carefully uprooting the plant, Bacchus set out with it. But the sun was blazing hot, and he began to worry that the plant would wither before he reached Naxos. Seeing a bird's bone lying on the ground, the young man carefully put the plant into it and went on. In the hand of the young god, the plant began to grow so quickly that it soon turned out to be longer than the bone. Wanting to save his find from the sultry rays of the sun. Bacchus began to look for protection for her and, having found a lion's bone, he put a plant into it along with a bird's bone. Meanwhile, the amazing plant kept growing and growing. Then the god put it into a large bone of a donkey.
Soon Bacchus came to Naxos. By that time, the roots of the plant had become entangled and wrapped around the bones of a bird, a lion, and a donkey. The young man planted the plant along with the bones.

The bush quickly grew. To the joy of Bacchus, wonderful clusters appeared on it, from which God squeezed out the juice, prepared the first wine and began to delight people with a new drink. But then a miracle happened: when people drank a little, they sang like birds; they drank more and became strong as lions; when they drank much and for a long time, their heads drooped like those of donkeys.

That is why you need to drink enough wine to sing like birds or work with the strength of a lion. But never drink enough to hang your head.

There is also a Persian legend about how wine was first made.

There was once a man named Jamshid, who was very fond of grapes. He also liked to drink his juice. One day he made so much juice that he couldn't drink it all at once. He left the sweet juice until the next day.
But in the meantime, the drink from the juicy grapes fermented, and when Jamshid took it into his head to drink it, after a few sips he felt ill. Then, wanting to prevent further trouble, he wrote "poison" on each phial.

Shortly thereafter, one of his wives fell out of favor and decided to commit suicide. Seeing the "poison", she quickly drank a few sips. However, to her greatest surprise, instead of the expected near-death suffering, she felt such bliss that she came into indescribable delight. And always after drinking this drink, she became joyful and somehow attractive in her own way. In the end, she completely calmed down, returned the favor of her patron and again became his beloved wife.
The woman kept her secret until she completely drank the entire supply of the miraculous drink. But when Jamshid noticed that the phials were empty, she willy-nilly had to confess. She described the effect of the drink in such amazing colors that Jamshid decided to try it himself. I tried it and rejoiced - the world was reflected in a magical drink. This is how wine was discovered.

Interesting legends associated with grape wine can be found in Georgian folklore. Here is one of them.

Grapes grew in the forest, and only birds pecked at them. Once a poor man tore out a vine in the forest, brought it and planted it near the house. Ripened grapes, tasty, juicy. The poor man liked the berries, and in the second year he planted ten more vines, in the third - a hundred.

In the autumn, when a plentiful harvest ripened, the poor man squeezed the juice from the berries so that the good would not be wasted. What he drank - he drank, the rest he poured into jugs - do not pour it out. After two months, he opened the jug, tried it - the drink became even tastier. The poor man was surprised: how this gnarled vine gives such a tasty drink. He called his friends, started a feast.

The nightingale flew to the feast. He drained the cup and said:

Whoever drinks this drink will sing like me!
The cockerel has arrived. He drained the cup and said:
- Who else will drink, raspetushitsya, like me!
A fat boar appeared third and, having drained the cup, said:
- Who else drinks - falls out in the mud, like me!
Finally the fox arrived. She drained the cup and said:
- And who else drinks - the wine will steal into him like a fox, and he will do such deeds that he will blush for a long time.
This is how wine acts on people: they drink a little - they have fun and sing; a little more - cocks and fights; if they drink more, they can’t stand on their feet, they fall into the mud, and if you drink more, you can do such things that you will blush for a century.

The legend of a white-winged stork with a bunch of grapes in its beak, which has become the emblem of Moldovan winemaking, is widely known.

During the Turkish conquests, the Moldavian fortress of Gorodeshty was besieged by fierce Janissaries. Her defenders fought bravely against the enemy, but they ran out of water supplies and had already run out of strength. The besieged were threatened with death, and the enemies triumphed. And then suddenly a strong wind from many wings forced the enemies to bend down to the ground - hundreds of white-winged storks flew towards Gorodeshty. They carried bunches of grapes in their beaks and dropped them to the besieged. The warriors were saved from thirst and hunger. With revived forces, they defended the fortress, and the Turkish conquerors retreated.
Since then, the white-winged stork, according to folk legend, has become a symbol of happiness and prosperity.

Another Moldavian legend about the vine and wine echoes many other legends dating back to the time of Turkish rule.

The Janissaries of the Sultan Pasha captured Moldavia. They sold Moldovans as slaves in the markets in Istanbul, Izmir, Algeria. But even then there were brave people who valued freedom above life. They went to Kodry and became haiduks.
There were many brave warriors among the haiduks, but among all the hero Codreanu was considered the first. He led the fight against the Janissaries.
And so the Janissaries, having agreed with the boyars, decided to surround and destroy the haiduks. They surrounded the forests, all the paths, all the roads were forced with slingshots. They took aside the river - Kogylnik.
And then Liana, the bride of the brave Codreanu, went out onto the rock, turned her face to the east, and as soon as the sun rose from behind the Dniester, she asked him sadly:
- The sun, the sun! Is there really no place for my people under your rays on this earth?
The Sun was amazed at the beauty of Lyana, looked into her black eyes and saw deep grief.
- This is your land. Was yours and will be yours.
- What about mine, when the Janissaries imposed tribute on my people, my father and mother were sold to Persia as slaves? We are left with a handful of daredevils, and even then we are dying, we do not expect deliverance ...
“I will give you good advice,” said the Sun. “Plant you among these stones a vine and water it diligently. A wonderful berry will grow on it. Whoever tastes this berry will become a hundred times stronger, he will be able to cut an oak with a sword; whoever drinks wine made from these berries will become a hundred times bolder, and the legion of Janissaries will not be afraid of him.
Liana planted a vine and waited for the sunrise. The Sun rose in the morning, smiled, caressed with its rays the vine and the beautiful girl. Both of them felt so warm and joyful that the vine turned green on the same day, and Liana began to sing.
But soon the last source of water in the mountains dried up. There was nothing to water the vine, and Liana, seeing how she withered, wept and watered her with her tears. The next day the sun rose again and the vine blossomed. Then night came. And again the beautiful Liana watered the vine with tears. The sun has risen from behind the Dniester. It looked at the vine, said to Liana:
- Bune diminyatsa*, beautiful girl! Your wish has come true. Go call your guides. (Bune diminyatsa - good morning (Mold.))
While Lyana went for haiduks, clusters of golden berries, light and juicy, appeared on the vine. The hero Codreanu was the first to taste these berries. He waved his sword - and cut the oak into three girths. Only steel rang. Berries and wine from Liana's vines made the Haiduks invincible.
They became a hundred times stronger and a hundred times bolder. They went out to fight against the ferocious Janissaries and defeated them.
These legends do not exhaust, of course, the works of folk art related to grapes or wine. There are still quite a few fairy tales and legends, drinking ritual songs, proverbs and sayings, in the very basis of which or in any details and comparisons there is either a vine, or a “leaf of green grapes”, or wine “foamy purple, fiery, sparkling” .

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