The first wine label was invented in Egypt

From 1550 to 1070 BC Egypt dominated the wine trade. While wine did not originally exist in the region, it made its way to Egypt via trade, and the Egyptians wholeheartedly embraced and improved it. They first introduced standardized amphorae to make the transportation of the wine easier, creating seals of reeds and clay that protected the wine as it traveled across the world.

But with so much collecting and trading of wine, there was a small problem: no one knew exactly what wine was inside each amphora, so a labeling system was adopted. The system was incredibly specific, recording the year the wine was made, where it was made, who made it, and even the style of the wine. All of this information was imprinted on the clay amphorae as they dried. On top of these essential facts, the Egyptians would often include notes on the amphorae that included how much wine was inside and whether the wine was good, great or excellent – basically creating the first wine ratings.

The 26 labeled jars of wine discovered in the tomb of King Tutankhamun include examples such as: “Year Four. Wine of very good quality of the House-of-Aton of the Western River. Chief vintner Khay.”



Vintage, it seems, was the marking the ancient Egyptians took the most seriously. Based on excavations of Tutankhamun’s tomb, researchers uncovered that only wines from certain years were buried with the king, leading them to believe that even centuries ago, these ancient wine lovers were paying attention to which years were good and which were bad.

Via Adam Teeter/Vinepair