 |
| WINE LABLE FROM EARLY 1900's |
Winemaking has a long tradition in
Egypt dating back to the 3rd millennium BC. The modern wine industry is
relatively small scale but there have been significant strides towards reviving
the industry. In the late nineties the industry invited international expertise
in a bid to improve the quality of Egyptian wine, which used to be known for
its poor quality. In recent years Egyptian wines have received some
recognition, having won several international awards. In 2013 Egypt produced
4,500 tones’ of wine, ranking 54th globally, ahead of Belgium and the United
Kingdom.
History
Grape cultivation, winemaking, and
commerce in ancient Egypt circa 1500 BC.
Wine played an important role in
ancient Egyptian ceremonial life. A thriving royal winemaking industry was
established in the Nile Delta following the introduction of grape cultivation
from the Levant to Egypt c. 3000 BC.
The industry was most likely the result of trade between Egypt and Canaan
during the early Bronze Age, commencing from at least the 27th-century BC Third
Dynasty, the beginning of the Old Kingdom period. Winemaking scenes on tomb
walls, and the offering lists that accompanied them, included wine that was
definitely produced in the delta vineyards. By the end of the Old Kingdom, five
distinct wines, probably all produced in the Delta, constituted a canonical set
of provisions for the afterlife.
 |
| GATHERING GRAPES |
Wine in ancient Egypt was
predominantly red. Due to its resemblance to blood, much superstition
surrounded wine-drinking in Egyptian culture. Shedeh, the most precious drink
in ancient Egypt, is now known to have been a red wine and not fermented from
pomegranates as previously thought. Plutarch's Moralia relates that, prior to
Psammetichus I, the pharaohs did not drink wine nor offer it to the gods
"thinking it to be the blood of those who had once battled against the
gods and from whom, when they had fallen and had become commingled with the
earth, they believed vines to have sprung". This was considered to be the
reason why drunkenness "drives men out of their senses and crazes them,
inasmuch as they are then filled with the blood of their forebears".
Residue from five clay amphoras’
in Tutankhamen’s tomb, however, have been shown to be that of white wine, so it
was at least available to the Egyptians through trade if not produced domestically.
 |
| OLD AMPHORA |
Winemaking continued to be part of
Egyptian culture during Roman rule in Egypt. Christians constituted the
majority of Egypt’s population by the 3rd century, despite a reserved attitude
towards alcohol in the Church of Alexandria monasteries are known have stored
and produced large quantities of wine. In 2008 two wine presses dating back to
Roman rule in Egypt were unearthed near Saint Catherine's Monastery in Sinai,
along with ancient coins from Antioch, which could indicate that Egyptian wine
was exported to Christians in the region.
The production of wine declined
significantly after the Muslim conquest of Egypt in the 7th century. Attitudes
towards alcohol varied greatly under Islamic rule, Muslim rulers generally
showed some level of tolerance towards alcohol production controlled by
religious minorities. Jewish manuscripts from the Cairo Geniza recount the
involvement of Egyptian Jews in the production and sale of wine in medieval
Egypt.
 |
| WINE IN ANCIENT EGYPT |
The consumption of wine was
not necessarily limited to religious minorities however. Western travelers and
pilgrims passing through Cairo on their journeys reported that Muslim locals
imbibed on wine and a local barley beer, known as "booza" ( بوظة, not to
be confused with the Levantine ice cream of the same name), even during the
most draconian periods of Islamic rule. The most popular wine was known as
"nebit shamsi" (نبيذ شمسي), made from imported raisins and honey and left to
ferment in the sun (hence the name, which roughly translates into "sun
wine").
Greek-Egyptian tobacco merchant
and entrepreneur, Nestor Gianaclis, who founded the country’s first modern
vineyard south of Alexandria in 1882, revived viticulture in Egypt. The
country's wine industry expanded under the early 20th century, until the Egyptian
revolution of 1952, which saw the country's liberal monarchy unseated, in favor
of a presidential system. In 1963 Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser
nationalized and merged breweries and vineyards in the country, under the
previously Belgian-owned Pyramid Brewery, which later came to be known as Al
Ahram Beverages Company.
 |
| POURING WINE |
Mismanagement under
state-ownership and an increasingly religious population contributed to the
industry's gradual decline. The company was privatized in 1997, at the height
of its ruination, part of an economic reform program that sought to restructure
the country's economy. This was viewed as a turning point for the alcohol
industry as a whole in Egypt.
Its new owner, Egyptian
businessman Ahmed Zayat, restructured the company and introduced a line of
non-alcoholic beverages that would appeal to the conservative segment of the
population.
The company was sold to Heineken
International in 2002 for $280 million.
Information and pictures compiled from various internet sources.
