666. Wine and the Birth of Civilisation

Episode of The Rest Is History · May 3, 2026 · 1 h 16 min

Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook trace the history of wine through seven key moments, from Neolithic Georgia and Rome to Islam, English bottles, French terroir and the 1976 Judgement of Paris.

Summary

In this episode of The Rest Is History, Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook surveyed the history of wine, opening with Pliny the Elder's catalogue of wines in his first-century encyclopedia, which Sandbrook likened to Alan Partridge's world book of wine. Holland structured the discussion around seven key moments, beginning with the domestication of the vine in the region of the Caucasus, early archaeological evidence near Tbilisi dating to around 6000 BC, and the ancient winery at Areni in Armenia. He then described the Canaanites and Phoenicians as the first mass exporters of wine, crediting the Canaanites with inventing the amphora, and discussed Greek wine culture as depicted in the Odyssey's episode with Polyphemus.

Holland argued that the Roman Empire created the first properly international wine culture and that Roman merchants cultivated a market of wine-addicted Gauls, trading amphorae for slaves in a cycle that he said helped Julius Caesar conquer Gaul. The hosts discussed the survival of wine after Rome's fall through Rhine trade networks and Christian ritual, and then the place of wine in Islam: Quranic and hadith prohibitions, Hanafi legal workarounds, Christian-run taverns in Baghdad, the poet Abu Nuwas, and the contrasting positions of Ibn Taymiyyah and the Sufi poet Rumi.

After the break, the hosts covered the seventeenth-century English development of strong, dark coal-fired glass bottles, credited to Kenelm Digby, along with cork, the Methuen Treaty and the invention of the corkscrew. Holland described how Arnaud de Pontac marketed Haut-Brion in Restoration London, as recorded by Samuel Pepys, leading eventually to the Bordeaux classification of 1855, which he noted was based on what English buyers would pay. He discussed John Locke's observations on soil, the conservative and nationalist significance of terroir, and what he called the 1920s invention of Burgundian traditions.

The episode ended with the 1976 Judgement of Paris organised by Steven Spurrier, in which Californian wines beat French wines in a blind tasting judged by French experts, with Stag's Leap winning the reds. Holland suggested wine history was about partnership as well as competition, while Sandbrook maintained it was about competition, and Holland closed with a verse from Omar Khayyam.

Chapters

1:35
Pliny the Elder, the first wine snob
Sandbrook introduces Pliny the Elder's writings on wine and the hosts joke about Holland's wine-tasting abilities.
7:08
Origins of wine in the Caucasus
Holland outlines seven key moments and describes vine domestication and early evidence from Georgia and Armenia.
12:01
Canaanites, Phoenicians and the amphora
The Canaanites and Phoenicians become the first mass exporters of wine, enabled by the invention of the amphora.
15:58
Greek wine culture and the Odyssey
Holland discusses Odysseus's wine and Polyphemus as an example of Greek wine culture spreading westward.
17:12
Rome and the conquest of Gaul
Holland argues Rome created the first international wine culture and used wine-for-slaves trade to weaken Gaul.
22:32
Wine after Rome and in Christianity
Wine survives the fall of Rome through Rhine trade, Viking elites, monastic vineyards and aristocratic prestige.
26:42
Wine in Islam
The hosts examine Islamic prohibitions, legal workarounds, Baghdad taverns, Abu Nuwas, Ibn Taymiyyah and Rumi.
Linked moment · 38:32Skip to 38:32 using a listen link in the info box.
38:32
The English bottle, cork and corkscrew
English coal-fired glass, Kenelm Digby, the Methuen Treaty and the invention of the corkscrew are discussed.
47:23
Haut-Brion and the language of wine
Arnaud de Pontac's marketing of Haut-Brion leads to the grand cru system and the 1855 Bordeaux classification.
57:35
Terroir and invented tradition
Holland traces terroir from John Locke's observations to its nationalist meaning and Burgundy's marketing.
1:02:02
The Judgement of Paris
Steven Spurrier's 1976 blind tasting sees Californian wines beat French wines before elite French judges.
1:09:21
Legacy and closing verse
The hosts reflect on New World wine, French prestige, and competition versus partnership, ending with Omar Khayyam.

Key points

What was said, by whom, with the exact words. Timestamps jump to the moment.

Dominic Sandbrook
Sandbrook said Georgians consider their country the oldest wine-producing place on earth and that most people would agree.
“They argue that Georgia is the place on earth where wine has been produced for longer than anywhere else”
Listen from 10:44 · History of wine
Tom Holland
Holland said there is firm archaeological evidence of wine near Tbilisi dating to around 6000 BC.
“Because there is firm archaeological evidence. And this was found very near Tbilisi”
Listen from 10:54 · History of wine
Tom Holland
Holland credited the Canaanites' ability to export wine overseas to their invention of the amphora.
“the reason that the Canaanites can transport it overseas is because they have invented the amphora”
Listen from 13:38 · Amphora
Tom Holland
Holland argued that the Roman Empire was the first properly international wine culture.
“because the Roman Empire constitutes the first properly international wine culture”
Listen from 15:58 · History of wine
Tom Holland
Holland argued that the wine-for-slaves trade divided the Gauls and enabled Julius Caesar's conquest of Gaul.
“So basically wine is what enables Julius Caesar to conquer Gaul”
Listen from 19:36 · Gallic Wars
Dominic Sandbrook
Sandbrook suggested post-Roman barbarians preferred beer partly because it is easier to produce.
“Well, beer is easier to produce. You don't need such a sophisticated system to produce beer”
Listen from 23:53 · History of wine
Dominic Sandbrook
Sandbrook argued that wine retained prestige after Rome because it was a marker of sophistication tied to Roman culture.
“Isn't the point that wine then, as now, is a marker of sophistication?”
Listen from 24:45 · History of wine
Tom Holland
Holland argued that the caliphate's repudiation of wine culture showed how transformative Islam aspired to be.
“I think the repudiation of the culture of wine under the caliphate is a very dramatic marker of just how transformative Islam inspired to be”
Listen from 27:24 · Islamic views on alcohol
Tom Holland
Holland concluded from the contrast between Ibn Taymiyyah and Rumi that wine retains cultural influence even where banned.
“what this illustrates is that even when wine is banned, it can still have a kind of massive, massive cultural influence”
Listen from 34:50 · Islamic views on alcohol
Dominic Sandbrook
Sandbrook suggested Kenelm Digby's credit for the English bottle was somewhat undeserved and that he was merely a figurehead.
“Yes, this is slightly undeserved, isn't it? There aren't loads of people working on this and he's basically just the figurehead”
Listen from 42:43 · Wine bottle
Tom Holland
Holland explained that modern wine bottles are dark as a legacy of seventeenth-century English coal-fired glass, which consumers came to associate with quality.
“Essentially, that is why wine bottles tend to be dark to this day”
Listen from 43:19 · Wine bottle
Dominic Sandbrook
Sandbrook said cork persists over screw tops because it is seen as a marker of prestige and quality.
“But cork is seen as a marker of prestige and quality”
Listen from 46:02 · Methuen Treaty
Tom Holland
Holland said Arnaud de Pontac's pricing of Haut-Brion showed that a wine is worth what people will pay for it.
“what Pontac is demonstrating is that ultimately a wine is worth what people are prepared to pay for it”
Listen from 53:27 · Château Haut-Brion
Tom Holland
Holland argued that the 1855 Bordeaux rankings were based on English market prices rather than objective quality.
“they were based on how much people in england were prepared to pay for the wine”
Listen from 54:54 · Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855
Dominic Sandbrook
Sandbrook noted that wine drinking in England remained elite, with most English people not drinking wine as late as the 1950s.
“as late as the 1950s most english people never ever drank wine in any given year”
Listen from 57:13 · History of wine
Dominic Sandbrook
Sandbrook argued that the French found terroir useful for fending off New World competition in the twentieth century.
“it becomes very useful later in the 20th century when they're facing competition from the New World”
Listen from 1:00:05 · Terroir
Tom Holland
Holland claimed that Burgundy's supposedly ancient wine traditions were largely marketing inventions of the 1920s.
“These traditions are basically an invention of the 1920s”
Listen from 1:00:55 · Terroir
Tom Holland
Holland argued that the Judgement of Paris had a seismic impact on the prestige of Californian and New World wines.
“it's had a pretty seismic impact, I think, hasn't it, on the prestige, not just of Californian wines, but of New World wines generally”
Listen from 1:10:07 · Judgment of Paris (wine)
Tom Holland
Holland suggested that superpower status can be tracked by a country's investment in Bordeaux, from Britain to America to China.
“Maybe you can kind of track the course of superpower status by the degree to which a country can invest in Bordeaux”
Listen from 1:11:01 · History of wine
Dominic Sandbrook
Sandbrook disagreed with Holland's framing of wine history as partnership, arguing it is about competition.
“That's a nice note on which to end. I think it's about competition, frankly,”
Listen from 1:11:58 · History of wine

People

In the conversation

Tom HollandEnglish actor cast as Telemachus
Dominic SandbrookBritish historian, author and co-host of The Rest Is History

Discussed

Pliny the ElderRoman author whose first-century encyclopedia contains an extensive section on wine
Kathleen BurkHistorian whose forthcoming global history of wine the hosts quote repeatedly
Julius CaesarRoman general and statesman who conquered Gaul
Ibn TaymiyyahMedieval hardline Sunni scholar strongly opposed to wine and hashish
RumiPersian Sufi mystic and poet who used wine as a metaphor for divine love
Abu NuwasAbbasid-era poet famed for transgressive wine poetry
Kenelm DigbySeventeenth-century English courtier and privateer credited with inventing the strong English wine bottle
Samuel PepysEnglish diarist who recorded drinking Haut-Brion in 1663
Arnaud de PontacBordeaux parliamentary president and owner of Haut-Brion who pioneered estate wine marketing
John LockeEnglish philosopher who made one of the first recorded wine tours of Bordeaux in 1677
Napoleon IIIFrench emperor whose 1855 Paris exposition prompted the Bordeaux classification
Steven SpurrierEnglish wine merchant who organised the 1976 Judgement of Paris
Leland StanfordRailroad magnate and California governor whose large vineyard venture failed
Warren WiniarskiFounder of Stag's Leap, whose wine won the reds at the Judgement of Paris
Omar KhayyamPersian poet quoted at the episode's close
Henry JeffreysWine writer appearing in the show's bonus episode

Topics

From the publisher

What does The Odyssey teach us about the history of wine in the ancient world? How did Julius Caesar use wine to conquer the world? And, why was The Judgement of Paris - when America took on France - the most controversial incident in the history of wine? Join Dominic and Tom as they discuss the long history of wine; from ancient Jordan, to Bronze Age Greece, to the Vikings, and beyond… Join The Rest Is History Club: Unlock the full experience of the show – with exclusive bonus episodes, ad-free listening, early access to every series and live show tickets, a members-only newsletter, discounted books from the show, and access to our private Discord chatroom. Sign up directly at the⁠restishistory.com⁠ To read our new newsletter, sign up at: ⁠therestishistory.com/newsletters⁠ _______ Lloyds. 250 years on and still backing the nation's aspirations. _______ Pre-order your copy of A History of the World in 51 Heroes and Villains now: https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/history-of-the-world-in-51-heroes-and-villains-9781037211546/ _______ Advertise with us: Partnerships@goalhanger.com _______ Twitter: @TheRestHistory @holland_tom @dcsandbrook Video Editors: Jack Meek, Harry Swan + Adam Thornton Social Producer: Harry Balden Producers: Tabby Syrett & Aaliyah Akude Senior Producer: Callum Hill Executive Producer: Dom Johnson Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Summary, chapters and key points were generated from the episode transcript on September 27, 2026. Quotes are checked word for word against the transcript.

Categories: History·Food