In the oldest myths, wine appears as a divine drink that accompanies man from the moment of his creation. Thus, the Babylonian myth shows how the gods celebrated the god Enki's creation for man and celebrated a great feast where they drank wine at a banquet. This ancient mythical appearance of wine shows how wine is rooted in the human subconscious. The archaeological evidence of grape wine from modern Georgia between 5800-6000 BC and the oldest known winery in the world is the Arni Cave in Armenia, dating back to 4100 BC, proofs this rooting in our humankind.
On the eastern shores of the Mediterranean, the situation is not much different from Georgia and Armenia. The wine industry and its trade were among the oldest discovered sectors. One of the oldest presses was recently discovered in Tell al-Barrak al-Adossiyya, south of Sidon. This winery dates back to 2600 BC (Iron Age) and is considered the oldest in all Mediterranean countries and what was known as the ancient Phoenician regions. This supports the existing theory that the Phoenicians, even if they were not the first to produce wine, are the first to spread it in the Mediterranean countries. In the bottom of the Mediterranean, the wrecks of two Phoenician ships from 750 BC were found, and their cargo of wine and olive oil was still intact. It is believed that the Phoenicians used a layer of olive oil.
Wine also spread to ancient Egypt, where archaeologists found 36 bottles in King Tutankhamun's tomb, whose mummy is still in Luxor and was not transported as part of the last royal mummy parade. Therefore, it is not strange that wine is also one of the traditional local beverages in the Eastern Mediterranean. Exactly as in Arak, households produced their supplies of wine, which made no point in having wine factories. The situation changed later, when people began to move to the city in large numbers, and the agricultural activities shrunken.
After the civil war, the wine industry in Lebanon flourished greatly, as the number of wine producers in Lebanon increased from only five to 33 between 1999 and 2009. Today, Lebanon is one of the best wine producers globally, which is reflected in worldwide recognition and the many medals won. About the fame of Lebanese wine in the world market. The wine industry in Syria is inferior in comparison and is still in its infancy. Nevertheless, Bargylos wine, which we highly recommend, could be the beginning of good wine production in Syria later.
