Oldest Royal Wine Cellar Uncorked in Israel

Archaeologists have uncovered the oldest known palatial wine cellar in the Middle East at a site in Israel.

The storage room stocked at least 3,000 bottles’ worth of the intoxicating beverage in massive pottery jars, researchers report today (Nov. 22) at the annual meeting of the American Schools of Oriental Research in Baltimore. The ancient wine bore little resemblance to the Bordeaux and Chianti of today — it was preserved and spiced with resin and herbs, including juniper, mint and myrtle.

The closest modern analogue is a Greek wine flavored with pine resin called retsina, study researcher Assaf Yasur-Landau of the University of Haifa, told reporters. Read more.

7 of the World’s Oldest Food Finds

Pictured above: the oldest known wine still in a liquid state, from a Roman tomb in Germany.

It has an oaky nose with a dusty, almost mummified finish.