Oldest Wine Press Yet Discovered

[Aetius]

Wine Press used by Assyrian Elite Discovered...

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/world/wine-press-dating-back-2-700-years-discovered-in-northern-iraq/ar-AAQedgE?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=U531

John

[Nick Harbud]

Oh God!  I think I had a bottle from that press the other evening....

[Imperial Dave]

 

[Duncan Head]

Seems questionable whether it would be older than this one - both possibly 8th century.

[Imperial Dave]

unless it was just for grape juice.....

[Erpingham]

unless it was just for grape juice.....

You're the brewer dave.  Would they have had the technology to prevent the grape juice from fermenting (natural yeasts and all that)?

[Imperial Dave]

NO.....spontaneous fermentation would occur naturally albeit slowly 

[Erpingham]

NO.....spontaneous fermentation would occur naturally albeit slowly 

Somewhere there is a clay tablet telling the king that attempts to make healthy grape drinks were thwarted by poor hygiene at the press and all the pressers got ratted instead

[Imperial Dave]

I can only imagine the hieroglyph

[Jim Webster]

NO.....spontaneous fermentation would occur naturally albeit slowly 

home pressed apple juice spontaneously ferments into cider 

[DBS]

Normally, Moldova and Georgia have a fist fight over which has the oldest vinicultural tradition, but I don't know whether truly ancient presses have ever been identified in either country.  Some jars with wine residue from circa 6000 BC were found in Georgia a few years ago IIRC, and wine making troughs have been semi plausibly identified at Neolithic sites in Turkey, Jordan and Armenia at the very least.

As for the natural fermentation of cider, I remember the scam pulled by Mr Prentis during Third Year Biology.  Every boy had to bring in two apples.  These were cut up and crushed into a large jar and allowed to ferment.  In due course, every boy was given a tiny thimble's worth of the liquid to taste and test for alcohol content.  The remaining 98% of the jar's content disappeared into the back room of the science block...

[Imperial Dave]

NO.....spontaneous fermentation would occur naturally albeit slowly 

home pressed apple juice spontaneously ferments into cider 

does indeed as does pineapple interestingly

[Mark G]

My high school has a still running behind the art room, during the punk years.

And the day before graduation one of the masters proceeded to instruct us on how to buy dope

Explains a lot I guess

[Imperial Dave]