We have evidence of wine production that dates back as far as the early civilisations of Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt.

The Egyptians seemed particularly fond of wine and depicted its harvest on many of their tomb walls and stone tablets. It seems that the production of wine was an intricate part of their daily agriculture.

The Greeks also celebrated the cultivation of grapes and held many religious festivals to ensure for a good harvest. The study of wine making and grape cultivation played a large part in their everyday life as well.

In more recent history, wars and other destructive events such as fires have called for massive replanting of Europe's vineyards. These replantings have not only influenced the wine industry, but the agriculture of Europe as well. Smaller vineyards may have lost their method of earning a living and turned to growing other crops. Also, the increase of larger vineyards in both Europe and the New World has caused many individual farmers to stop cultivating grapes and search for other ways to survive financially.

Many environmentalists believe that the fumigation processes used by some of the larger wineries may lead to the destruction of natural plant and animal life. This problem is currently being researched by many farmers and environmental activists alike.

Perhaps the most famous example of wine's agricultural impact on the world is illustrated by the Phylloxera outbreak in the late 1800s. When this disease first struck, winegrowers tried to halt it through the use of fumigation.

This fumigation did not solve the problem, since it caused the deaths of too many vines as well as workers. By the time agriculturalists discovered that grafting Old World vines onto New World plants halted the spread of Phylloxera, many French vineyards had been lost.

Although the French lost much of their prime wine region to phylloxera, they soon found another area to cultivate grapes in the Rioja region of Spain. Since that time, Rioja has produced many of the world's finest wines, turning a tragedy into something positive.

Phylloxera is still a problem in the wine industry. In 1996 many of the California vines were destroyed by a new strain of Phylloxera. Currently the wine industry has joined scientists around the world to find a solution to the continuing problem of Phylloxera. There is hope that the combined efforts of these two groups will discover a way to halt Phylloxera in the near future.

Wine consumption has influenced our political and religious beliefs. Certain civilisations were so enraptured by this beverage, that they formed entire religious cults devoted to its promotion. Other religions used wine in their ceremonies, some of which continue in today's world.