According to legend, Prophet Noah, who began living on Mount Ararat after the Great Flood, noticed one day that his grazing goat returned home extraordinarily happy. Observing this joyful behavior for several days, Prophet Noah decided to follow the goat, realized that this state was caused by a fruit it was eating, and subsequently became fond of grape juice himself. Seeing his joy, the Devil dried up all the grapevines with his flames. Seeing Prophet Noah fall ill from grief, the Devil claimed he could revive the plant only if it were watered with the blood of 7 sacrificial animals: a dog, a tiger, a lion, a rooster, a magpie, a bear, and a fox. According to this myth, individuals intoxicated by wine derive their quarrelsome nature from the dog, their predatory instinct from the tiger, their bravery from the lion, their noisiness from the rooster, their talkativeness from the magpie, their physical strength from the bear, and their cunning from the fox.

Anatolia, the very land where such legends originated, serves as the birthplace of viticulture and, consequently, wine production. Looking at archaeological finds—our most concrete evidence—numerous indicators reveal that the Hittites engaged in viticulture and winemaking around 2000 BC. Statues containing wine iconography and earthenware drinking vessels from this period represent the most significant findings.

Following the Hittites, traces of viticulture can also be observed in Persian and Phrygian civilizations. In particular, the region encompassing Eastern Anatolia, Armenia, and Georgia is accepted as the homeland of wine. It is worth adding a quick footnote here: the oldest known winery was discovered in the Areni-1 cave in Yeghegnadzor, Armenia, and is estimated to be 6,000 years old. As the Hittites began migrating to Crete and the Aegean Islands around 2200 BC, this culture shifted westward and subsequently continued its expansion through Thrace.

Although Turkey ranks among the top 10 grape producers worldwide, today it utilizes merely 3% of its harvest for wine production. One of the primary reasons for this is believed to be the decline in winemaking culture brought about by alcohol prohibitions during the Ottoman era. The decline of viticulture and winemaking following Anatolia's transition into Ottoman rule serves as key evidence of this shift. With the Westernization movements following the Tanzimat era, winemaking experienced a revival in the Ottoman Empire, reaching nearly 300 million liters of wine production and export by the early 1900s.

Around 3000 BC, the Egyptians produced wine in wide-mouthed jars coated with resin at the base to enhance its durability. After sealing the mouths of these jars with clay or lime, wine brands were stamped onto the caps. The foundations of barrel and bottle technology, which have endured to the present day, were laid in Europe during the 16th century. Although glass decanters are still used during the serving stage to aerate wine and clear it of sediments, modern technology utilizes centrifugal decanters to separate residues within the wine.