Grape evidence for a dominant position of wine-making in human culture dates from 8,000 years ago in Georgia. The oldest known winery was found in Armenia, dating to around 4000 BC. By the 9th century AD the city of Shiraz was known to produce some of the finest wines in the Middle East. Thus it has been proposed that Syrah red wine is named after Shiraz, a city in Persia where the grape was used to make Shirazi wine. Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics record the cultivation of purple grapes, and history attests to the ancient Greeks, Phoenicians, and Romans growing purple grapes
Phenolic content in wine produce grapes with higher levels of resveratrol than warmer, drier wine regions such as California and Australia. Different grape varieties tend to have differing levels, with Muscadines and the Pinot family having high levels while the Cabernet family has lower levels of resveratrol. In the late 20th century interest in the possible health benefits of resveratrol in wine was spurred by discussion of the French paradox involving the health of wine drinkers in France. Piceatannol is also present in grape from where it can be extracted and found in red wine. Vanillin is a phenolic aldehyde most commonly associated with