A visual history of how wine shaped the ancient Mediterranean. Wine is as old as civilization and has had a major impact on shaping it. There is evidence that wild grape vines were growing millions of years ago but the production of wine is generally believed to have started in Neolithic times in the near east. A necessary condition of wine making was the ability to store it. Pottery vessels have been found with traces of wine dating back to 6000 BC in the Zagros mountains of what is now Iran - the first real evidence of wine production. Other places in the eastern Mediterranean continue to claim that they were first. Cyprus, Georgia, Lebanon and others claim to be the cradle of wine but the specific place of origin is unimportant. What is significant is that wine began in a part of the world that was accessible and which led to its rapid spread to other areas.