A vat to press the grapes, fermentation jars and even a cup and drinking bowl dating to about 6000 years ago were discovered in the cave complex by an international team of researchers.
While older evidence of wine drinking has been found, this is the earliest example of complete wine production, said Gregory Areshian of the University of California who was co-director of the excavation.
The winery had a vat to press the grapes and fermentation jars as well as the remains of vines. Photo / AP
The findings, announced this week by the National Geographic Society, are published in the online edition of the Journal of Archaeological Science.
"The evidence argues convincingly for a wine-making facility," said Patrick McGovern, scientific director of the Biomolecular Archaeology Laboratory at the University of Pennsylvania Museum, who was not part of the research team.
Such large-scale wine production implies the Eurasian grape had already been domesticated, said McGovern, author of Uncorking the Past: The Quest for Wine, Beer, and Other Alcoholic Beverages.
The Armenian area was also the site of the discovery of the oldest leather shoe, dated about 5500 years ago, which was reported last northern summer.
According to the archaeologists, inside the cave was a shallow basin about 1m across that was positioned to drain into a deep vat.
The basin could have served as a wine press where people stomped grapes with their feet.
The excavators also found grape seeds, remains of pressed grapes and dozens of dried vines.
The seeds were from the same type of grapes - Vitis vinifera vinifera - still used to make wine. ( nzherald.co.nz )
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