Legend states that wine was discovered by the Persian, King Jamshid. He loved grapes and tried storing them in the palace cellar. After several months, he tried to eat the stored grapes and found they had "spoiled." In fact, he thought the grapes had become poisonous. Hearing this, a woman who was suffering from a broken heart purposely drank the fermented grape juice. Even though her suicide attempt failed, she felt better and so shared the drink with her king who enjoyed it as well. From then on grapes were allowed to ferment to wine and to be enjoyed by everyone. Thus, the passion for wine was born.

The art of making wine began in Mesopotamia and Egypt around 3000 B.C. The Egyptians were the first to perfect the art of wine making. They grew the grapes in the fertile Nile Delta, then stomped the grapes and fermented their juice in huge wooden vats. Both the Mesopotamians and Egyptians regarded wine as a gift from the Gods.

This passion for wine and wine making made its way through the Mediterranean via Greece, Sicily and Northern Italy (Tuscany) and became an integral part of Greek and Roman culture. Because so many cultures have regarded wine as a gift from the Gods, wine has played a major role in ancient religions and mythology. Wine was a important part of early Hebrew culture and is still used today in many Jewish ceremonies. For Christians, wine represents the blood of Jesus Christ and, as such, is used in many of their rituals as well. The history of wine is interwoven in many ways with the history of humankind and it continues to be an important part of society, both as a religious symbol and as an enjoyable accompaniment to food.