Towering Over the World’s Oldest Cellar

A new high-rise in the Israeli city of Nahariya is being built over the “world’s oldest wine cellar”. The 3,700-year-old cellar was uncovered in 2013 in a Canaanite palace. Archaeologists found forty ceramic jars capable of holding thirteen gallons of wine each. Thankfully, the construction company building the high-rise will be incorporating the cellar into a mini-museum rather than destroying it.

What was the first official appellation (AOC) in France?

A. Pauillac

B. Châteauneuf-du-Pape

C. Vosne-Romanée

D. Languedoc-Roussillon

Châteauneuf-du-Pape was the first French wine Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée (AOC)—a term meaning “controlled designation of origin”—registered in 1936. Until the early 19th century, much of the Châteauneuf-du-Pape harvest was sold in bulk to Burgundy, to be used as vin de médecine—a shot of alcohol to boost Burgundy’s strength. However, in the wake of phylloxera and World War I, efforts by the region’s winemakers to improve the quality of wines resulted in a set of regulations to govern—among other elements—yields, winemaking, and varieties allowed, in order to be eligible to use the Châteauneuf-du-Pape designation. Before this, wine naming laws in France defined only geographical territory (not unlike our AVA system). In 1937, the Châteauneuf-du-Pape AOC commissioned the bottle with the crest of the papal crown and St. Peter’s keys, as an acknowledgment of the region’s history as the temporary home of the Papacy in the 14th century, and as an added measure to protect the authenticity of the wine.

“Context is wildly underrated when it comes to enjoying wine. Where we are, whom we’re with, what time of year it is, what we are eating, when in the wine’s life—and ours—we are drinking it, and even how we are drinking it all influence our perceptions of wine.”

—Tyler Colman
A Year of Wine: Perfect Pairings, Great Buys, and What to Sip for Each Season

Towering Over the World’s Oldest Cellar

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