This volume presents contemporary evidence scientific archaeological botanical textual & historical for major revisions in our understanding of winemaking in antiquity. Among the subjects covered are the domestication of the Vinifera grape the wine trade the iconography of ancient wine & the analytical & archaeological challenges posed by ancient wines. The essayists argue that wine existed as long ago as 3500 BC almost half a millennium earlier than experts believed. Discover named these findings among the most important in 1991. Featuring the work of 23 internationally known scholars & writers the book offers the first wide ranging treatment of wine in the early history of western Asia & the Mediterranean. Comprehensive & accessible while providing full documentation it is sure to serve as a catalyst for future research.