Oinos: Production and Import of Wine in Graeco-Roman Egypt

The aim of this book is to investigate the role of local and imported wines on the Egyptian market during the Graeco-Roman period. In order to study the supply of wine and its economic role, two separate topics must be considered: local production, and import of foreign vintages. In this book, the part devoted to Egyptian wine seeks to establish where and how wine was manufactured, what was the social base for this industry and what kinds of wine were locally produced in Egypt, as well as what patterns of distribution wine followed after it left the winery. The aim of the part devoted to import, in turn, is to try to determine which foreign wines reached Egypt during the Graeco-Roman period. This part seeks to trace the supply-and-demand mechanisms and channels of distribution of the country’s foreign wine market, and to view Egypt in a wider perspective of Mediterranean trade routes. Why did some wines find their way to Egypt and others did not? Lastly, what changes on the wine market can we trace over time?