ripen with enough sugar that the yeasts’
alcohol production can suppress the growth of
nearly all other microbes. And they offer
striking colors and a variety of flavors.
Thanks largely to these qualities, grapes
are the world’s largest fruit crop, with about
70% of the annual production used to make
wine. France, Italy, and Spain are the world’s
largest wine producers and exporters.
The History of Wine
The evolution of wine is long and fascinating,
and ongoing. Here are a few highlights.
Ancient Times: Aged Wines and
Connoisseurship As I write, the earliest
evidence we have for wine made from grapes,
residues at the bottom of a pot found in
western Iran, dates from around 6000 BCE.
From 3000 BCE on, wine was a prominent part
of trade in western Asia and Egypt. Wild