Discovery / History of Wine
History of wine · Chapter 2
Wine Travels the Ancient Mediterranean
Wine crossed the ancient Mediterranean in containers and customs, connecting ports, communities and tables in ways that pottery can still help us explore.
A sea that connected communities
A map of the Mediterranean invites a different way of looking at wine. The water separates coasts, yet it also connects them. A vessel found far from where it was made can prompt questions about journeys, markets and the people who carried it.
The Metropolitan Museum describes Phoenician and Greek trading posts around the Mediterranean by the late eighth century BCE. This was a world of overlapping contacts. It is more useful to follow specific objects and evidence than to draw one confident arrow explaining every wine tradition.
A bowl tells us how wine was served
The Greek column-krater shown here, attributed to Lydos and dated to about 550 BCE, is a mixing bowl. At a symposium, wine could be mixed with water in a krater before serving. Its job differs from a transport jar’s job. The painted scenes also place wine within a world of storytelling and social custom.
A decorated object is a useful witness, but it gives a selective view. It cannot stand for every person or every drinking occasion in the ancient Mediterranean. Ask who used it, what setting it belonged to and what else we would need to know.
A shipwreck gives us another kind of clue
The Met’s Roman wine amphora, dated to about 100 BCE, comes from the Grand Congloué B shipwreck. The museum connects the cargo with manufacture near Cosa in Etruria and an intended market in Gaul. Here the vessel belongs to a story of carrying wine rather than mixing it at the table.
Putting those two objects beside each other helps us separate production, movement and use. An amphora and a krater need not represent the same period or the same community to make that distinction useful.
A short timeline
- Late eighth century BCE: Phoenician and Greek trading posts connect Mediterranean shores.
- About 550 BCE: Date assigned to the illustrated Greek column-krater.
- About 100 BCE: Date assigned to the Met’s Roman wine amphora.
Three things to notice
Start with the object label
Read its date, material, origin and collection number before supplying a story.
Separate its different journeys
Where an object was made, used, excavated and displayed may be four different places.
Keep the task in view
Transporting, storing, mixing and drinking call for different containers.
A small Cork Dork discovery
Let curiosity lead.
Open the two Met collection records below. Sketch the outlines of the mixing bowl and the transport amphora. Compare their openings, handles and bases, then write one question about how each was used. Keep visible observations separate from assumptions about the wine’s flavour.
A few questions worth uncorking
Did all ancient people drink wine the same way?
No. These Greek and Roman examples introduce particular objects and contexts; they do not establish a universal Mediterranean custom.
Can an amphora tell us the grape variety?
Its shape alone is insufficient. Claims about contents need supporting archaeological or scientific evidence.
Why use modern borders on the map?
They help today’s reader find familiar places. Ancient political boundaries and identities were different.
Connect history with your glass.
History of wine
Follow another chapter.
Behind this introduction
Editorial sources checked 15 October 2026. These are starting points for further discovery. Maps use public-domain Natural Earth data; approximate markers are for orientation. Diagrams are original editorial illustrations.