000009b76-AncientGrapeSeeds_Israel_Antiquities_Authority.jpg
(Image credit: Credit Unknown)

Researchers in Israel aim to re-create fine wine from the Byzantine Empire after finding 1,500-year-old grape seeds in a rubbish dump near to city ruins.

Image credit: Israel Antiquities Authority

It said the seeds were 1,500 years old and offer the ‘first direct evidence’ of winemaking in the area during the time of the Byzantine Empire.

Texts from the period extol the virtues of ‘the wine of the Negev’, which had a reputation for being the best in the region. Researchers aim to re-create the ancient wine, after finding the grape seeds at an excavation site near the once-key trading city of Hallutza.

‘The vines growing in the Negev today are European varieties, whereas the Negev vine was lost to the world,’ said professor Guy Bar-Oz, director of excavation at the University of Haifa, which has been working jointly with the Antiquities Authority on the project.

‘Our next job is to re-create the ancient wine, and perhaps we will be able to re-produce its taste and understand what made the Negev wine so fine.’

Researchers believe they have already found the remains of ancient vineyards and also of a wine cellar dating to the Byzantine era.

Related Content:

Written by Chris Mercer

Chris Mercer
Chris Mercer

Chris Mercer is a Bristol-based freelance editor and journalist who spent nearly four years as digital editor of Decanter.com, having previously been Decanter’s news editor across online and print.

He has written about, and reported on, the wine and food sectors for more than 10 years for both consumer and trade media.

Chris first became interested in the wine world while living in Languedoc-Roussillon after completing a journalism Masters in the UK. These days, his love of wine commonly tests his budgeting skills.

Beyond wine, Chris also has an MSc in food policy and has a particular interest in sustainability issues. He has also been a food judge at the UK’s Great Taste Awards.