The Wine and Vineyards of Gaza in the Byzantine Period

The reputation of the city of Gaza as producer of a vintage of export quality to the west has long been known. However, the factors that made the name of Gaza synonymous with its wine in the 5th and 6th centuries are not so well known. Recent archaeological work, in conjunction with citations from literary sources, bear on the social and economic causes for the increased production and popularity of Gazan wine. With the advent of Palestinian monasticism, Gaza and its far-reaching environs experienced a fast-growing population of consumers and producers of wine. The appearance of extraordinarily large wine presses in the hinterland (the Negev) is evidence that the region was a major producer. Gaza, port of call for merchants and pilgrims to the Holy Land from the western provinces, was also the port for shipment of products to the west. Undoubtedly the ships that carried pilgrims to their home ports also carried cargoes of the same Gaza wine that pilgrims savored during their stay in Palestine and Sinai.