Truth is this vineyard is older than the Château de Meursault in Burgundy –founded in the 11th century- also older than Barone Ricasoli (1141), Chorherrenstift Klosterneuburg (1114), than the German castles of Vollrad, Johanisberg and Walhausen, and the Staatlitcher Hofkeller wine cellar, all of them harking back from 12th century. Back in 996 –no less- those monks settled down up in the mountains of San Martin and recovered the old vineyards from the Roman Empire rule. Over a thousand years later, their successors continue in the wine-making business. Better yet, they’re back in the business.

There were a couple of gaps –the first between 1550 and 1638- when the Turks took over the region and banned all vineyards. The second one was during World War II. However, a few years ago the monks, with the help of Hungary’s Bank of Foreign Trade, resumed this enterprise. The first evidence of wine making in the Mediterranean, according to archeological findings, were dug out in Cyprus.

However, some mavens trace their origins in old-timed Egypt, though some connoisseurs believe Turkey is the cradle of wine. Other sources point out the oldest wine ever is the one found in a vase at Aji Firuz Tepe, in Iran, with an estimated age somewhere between 5,000 and 5,500 years before Christ.