The history of wine making stretches back thousands of years, with the earliest recording made in Persia – now known as Iran – in 7000BC. But alas, fragile casing, closures, wars, looters, and the desire to drink the fruits of our labours has meant very few liquid artefacts have survived. That said, on display at the Weimusseum, within the Historisches Museum der Pflaz Speyer in Germany, is a bottle of Roman wine dating back to 300 AD. As part of a captivating narration of the rich 2,000 year history of viniculture in the area surrounding the river Rhine, this bottle has been ageing for over 1,700 years and has remained in liquid form.Whilst wine often improves with age it looks likely not to be the case here.
Historisches Museum der Pfalz Speyer
Historical Museum of the Palatinate
Domplatz, 67346 Speyer