The cultivation of the domesticated grape began 6,000-8,000 years ago in the Near East. Yeast, one of the earliest domesticated microorganisms, occurs naturally on the skins of grapes, leading to the innovation of alcoholic drinks such as wine. First traces of red wine are seen in ancient Armenia where apparently, to date, the oldest winery was found, dating to around 4,000 BCE. By the 9th century CE the city of Shiraz was known to produce some of the finest wines in the Middle east. Thus it has been proposed that Syrah red wine is named after Shiraz, a city in Persia where the grape was used to make Shirazi wine. Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics record the cultivation of purple grapes, and history attests to the ancient Greeks, Phoenicians and Romans growing purple grapes for both eating and wine production. Later, the growing of grapes spread to Europe, North Africa, and eventually North America. 译:栽培驯化葡萄始于6000-8000年前的近东地区。酵母，最早的驯化微生物之一，自然存在于葡萄皮上，导致了酒精饮料如葡萄酒的创新。 最早的红酒痕迹出现在古代的亚美尼亚，迄今为止，最古老的酿酒厂被发现，可追溯到公元前4000年左右。 公元9世纪时，设拉子市出产中东最好的葡萄酒。因此有人提出，西拉红酒是以设拉子命名的，设拉子是波斯的一个城市，那里的葡萄被用来酿造设拉子酒。 古埃及象形文字记录了紫葡萄的种植，历史证明古希腊人，腓尼基人和罗马人种植紫葡萄，用于食用和酿酒。后来，葡萄的生长蔓延到欧洲，北非，最终到达北美。
