Wine (Production)

Wine is one of the most important agricultural products in the Middle East and the Mediterranean. There are indications that wine was already being produced there around 3 000 BC.
Wine is made of grapes, the fruit of the vine. In Israel, there was also a lot of land suitable for wine production. Even in areas with little rainfall, such as the Negev Desert, there were still vineyards.

The first grapes were ripe as early as June, but the bulk of the harvest took place between July and September. The bunches of grapes were cut off the branch one by one with a knife or a sickle.

The winepress was usually close to the vineyard. It consisted of a shallow trough, usually hewn out of the rocky ground. A small winepress was used by one family, but there were also large communal winepresses, which were used by several families or the entire village.

The grapes were crushed by stamping on them with bare feet. This broke the skin of the grapes and let the juice seep out. On the edge of the press there was a small gutter that allowed the grape juice to flow into a bowl or a jug.
To prevent the crushers slipping during grape pressing, there was often a wooden contraption above the press with ropes hanging from it that they could hold onto.

After the crushing, the grape juice was stored in wine skins, made of animal hide. After several days, the juice would start to ferment, starting the process of turning the sugars into alcohol and the juice into wine. This process took around six weeks.