Washington, April 6: The world’s first cocktail party might have taken place in Mesopotamia 5,000 years ago, if researchers are to be believed.

Researchers at the Pennsylvania University, Philadelphia, have came to this conclusion after studying the evolution of viticulture in the East and West.

They have found some earthenware along the Tigris river showing traces of tartaric acid (an element which is characteristic of the grape fermentation), honey, apple juice, and brew barley (a sort of beer ante litteram).

The researchers say that analyses of some pottery from South Tuscany suggest that this archaic blend was also drunk by Etrurians, a population that knew vine before the Greek arrived in Italy.

Based on these finding, it is assumed that the domestication of vine in Etruria was previous than the diffusion on Greek wine in the South coastlines.

Osvaldo Failla, a researcher at the Milan University, says that it is possible that the wild vine domestication took place in circumscribed areas, and not only after the introduction of external vines.

As part of the Vinum research project, the researchers also analysed the genetic characteristics of various wild vine found at different archaeological places in Maremma (Tuscany) and some vines present in non-anthropized places.

Their studies showed that, where the men were in contact with wild vines, the local genetic variability grew.

It was also possible to genetically distinguish the populations of wild vines deriving from anthropized zones in respect to non-anthropized areas. (ANI)