'Intentional' winemaking can be traced back to the Neolithic period (8500-4000BCE) when communities of the ancient Near East and Egypt resulted from the domestication of plants and animals. This meant the nomadic life was no longer a necessity. A 'cuisine' emerged during this time and food processing techniques developed such as fermentation, soaking, heating and spicing. Foods like bread, beer, meat dishes and grain entrees had their origins at this time. With new foods, new vessels for the preparation, storage and service made their appearance with clay being the material of choice from which to make them. Dating the 'origin' of wine to the period resulted from the discovery of a yellowish reside in a jar found at the site of Hajji Firuz Tepe in the northern Zagros Mountains of Iran in an earthen floor in a kitchen (of sorts) of a Neloithic mudbrick building dated about 5400-5000BCE.
(Source- http://www.penn.museum/sites/wine/wineneolithic.html)
