Egyptian wine

Egypt used to be the most sought-after wine country in the world. The ancient Greeks made a lot of wine themselves, but when there was something to celebrate, they preferred the wines from the vineyards along the Nile. Nowadays, hardly any wine is made in Egypt. It is not even officially recognized as a wine country anymore. Only a few dare to make quality wines here.

Vine growing as we know it today probably spread from the Caucasus to Europe via Egypt. Thousands of wine jars have been found in the tombs of Egyptian kings from 3000 BC. Initially, they were probably imported from Iran and Syria. But Egypt also developed its own wine culture during this period.

The most important vineyards were in the Nile Delta, where the heat is tempered by the Mediterranean Sea. Around 1000 BC, there must have been around 500 Egyptian vineyards. Virtually nothing is known about the taste and the grape varieties that were used during this period. Most wine must have been red and was often planted with herbs.

Egypt was colonized by the Greeks in the third century BC and more and more Egyptian wine crossed the Mediterranean from this time onwards. Greek philosophers such as Pliny Athenaeus and Horace were crazy about it.

To this day, we are reminded of Greek wine. For example, by the 'Muscat d'Alexandria', the famous muscat grape that originated in Egypt. But after Egypt became Islamic, wine growing declined and has largely disappeared today. Most Egyptian wine is of questionable quality. With a few exceptions. Such as the wines of Sahara Vinyards, a remarkable initiative by the Egyptian-German Karim Hwiadak, who planted vineyards near Cairo with the aim of making the best wines in Egypt.