UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa., June 4 (UPI) -- Archaeological evidence of grape wine and winemaking point to the beginnings of a vinicultural industry in France dating to 500-400 B.C., scientists say.
University of Pennsylvania researcher Patrick McGovern said this confirmation of the earliest evidence of viniculture in France is a key step in understanding the ongoing development of the "wine culture" of the world that began in regions of modern-day Iran, Georgia and Armenia about 9,000 years ago.
"France's rise to world prominence in the wine culture has been well documented, especially since the 12th century, when the Cistercian monks determined by trial-and-error that Chardonnay and Pinot Noir were the best cultivars to grow in Burgundy," McGovern said in a university release Tuesday. "What we haven't had is clear chemical evidence, combined with botanical and archaeological data, showing how wine was introduced into France and initiated a native industry."
The researchers examined amphoras, vessels designed for carrying liquids, used by the Etruscans, a pre-Roman civilization in Italy.
It has been known the Etruscans shipped goods to southern France in these amphoras, but it had been unclear if they held wine or other goods.
Analysis of amphoras found in southern France from the period 500 to 400 B.C. showed they did once contain wine, the researchers said.
"Most of the wine we have today is from French cultivars, which ultimately derive from the Near-East cultivar via the Etruscans," McGovern said.
