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History of Disciplines: Oenology and History

Introduction: Oenology and its roots on ancient civilizations

Oenology is the term used to refer to the study of wine and the process of winemaking, from the seed of the wine to the conservation of the bottle. Old paintings, sculptures and other form of art show that wine existed almost 8000 years ago in Mesopotamia. Vines actually even existed before humankind. Winemaking already was a captivating discipline, you can see it by its frequent in ancient art. Wine fascinates also for its mystic connotation, take for example Dyonosos, the God of the vine and wine who also represent madness and excesses. This discipline indeed is as fascinating as dangerous, because of the effects alcool can have on one.

How History And other contexts shaped Winemaking

Oenology has indeed existed since very long, it’s a discipline that doesn’t require modernity since it all comes from nature and a natural process: vinification. The vinification includes destemming, pressing, maceration and fermentation. If wine already existed before, we can say that oenology really appeared when Roman producers started to choose and select wine and grapes , but also variety and lands. It’s also the romans centurions on their campagnes that participated to the expansion of wine, since drinking was a part of doing war.

With the fall of the Roman Empire on the 5th century and the rise of Christianity, monks slowly started to cultivate vines in order to make money and because wine represents the blood of Jesus in Christianism ( again we find the correlation between wine and religion ). To this day, French monasteries and abbayes still make wine. At the time, having lands, and especially vines, meant having political influence and economic power. Wine becomes more and more a sign of wealth and power, you can find some of the best wines on the table of the the Pope or the French king. At this point, winemaking already is a considerable source of income for France, and knowing oenology is a sign of refinement and distinction, we think that the job of oenologist actually already existed.

After French Revolution, lands of vines are divided and redistributed among new producers. Indeed Winemaking, and thus, oenology, continues to evolve with the historical, cultural, social or economic context.

Winemaking’s process and analysis really took a turn in the the mid19th-Century with the « pasteurization« (from Louis Pasteur). The pasteurization offered the opportunity to better understand the process of fermentation and the bacterias involved, which was a great chance for winemakers and/or oenologists to progress in their jobs and to improve their profiency.

Oenology and Winemaking Today

Today, oenologist is a full-fledged job since 1955, but the definition and credibility depends on the country. Many of the winemakers are also oenologists, and some even sell their services to clients. Oenology doesn’t concern exclusively the farming process, it Actually also requires a strong knowledge in Biology or Chemistry and among others, a good personal taste appreciation.