Grapes

Grape cultivation, or viticulture, is nearly as old as civilization. Details of grape and wine production figured in the hieroglyphics of the 4th (2400 BCE), 17th, and 18th dynasties of Egypt. According to the Bible, Noah planted a vineyard. In Homer’s time, wine was a regular commodity among the Greeks. The Phoenicians carried the grape into France about 600 BCE. The Romans planted grapes in the Rhine valley not later than the 2nd century CE. Pliny the Elder described 91 varieties of grapes, distinguished 50 kinds of wines, and described vine-training methods.