US-Based Science Journal Names Georgia “Birthplace of Winemaking”
By Gvantsa Gabekhadze
Thursday, November 16
(TBILISI) -- The US-based Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), one of the world’s leading science journals, now claim that humans were fermenting grapes into wine in areas now part of modern Georgia as early as 6,000 BC.
Bio-molecular and archaeological research was conducted on pieces of clay vessels that were recently found at two Neolithic sites in southern Georgia.
Scientists found grape seeds and traces of acid that eventually turned out to be wine inside the jars.
The research dated the samples to 6,000-5,800 BC, stating they were 600 years older than the earliest-known wine remains from Iran’s Zagros Mountains.
“The world’s scientific community acknowledged that the oldest wine remains on our planet were discovered here, in Georgia,” said Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili on Tuesday, adding that he believed further archeological research will unveil more about pre-historic wine traditions in the region.
The authors of the finding noted that wine became the focus of religious cults, pharmacopoeias, cuisines, economies and societies in the ancient Near East.
Together with Georgian researchers, the authors of the paper included scientists from the United States, France, Italy, Canada, Denmark and Israel.
