Long before the amphorae salvaged from sunken ships off the coast of Bodrum, and long before the oak barrels neatly lined up in Burgundy cellars, wine had already begun weaving itself into the fabric of daily life. And perhaps in a place few would think to look: Troy. Truva’da.

A recent academic study by Blum et al. (2025) reopens the conversation about wine in Early Bronze Age Troy—not through epic tales or poetic fragments, but through organic residue analysis. Their lens? A distinctive vessel type known as the depas amphikypellon.

A Goblet from Another Time

The depas amphikypellon is no ordinary cup. With its twin handles and slender body, it’s been found at multiple elite sites across Western Anatolia and the Aegean, but most notably in Troy itself. It’s often seen as a marker of status, possibly tied to ceremonial or elite social settings.

By analyzing the chemical residues inside these vessels, the research team identified tartaric acid—an organic compound strongly associated with grapes and, by extension, fermented grape beverages.This doesn’t prove the presence of wine as we define it today. But it strongly suggests that people in Troy, some 4,500 years ago, were not only consuming grape products, but perhaps fermenting them, too.

Wine at Home, Not Just at Altars

What makes this discovery especially fascinating is where the vessels were found—not in temples, not in tombs, but in domestic contexts. This hints that wine—or its early ancestor—may have been part of daily life: part ritual, part refreshment, part social glue.

Rather than being reserved for the elite or the divine, wine may have already found its way to the hearth and the shared table. In a time when identity was forged not only through battle but through gathering and gift-giving, wine was likely a companion to both.

A Shared Story in Every Sip

The shape of the depas amphikypellon appears across the wider region—from the Aegean to Central Anatolia—suggesting not just shared tastes, but shared rituals, stories, and aspirations. It’s a reminder that wine was never just a drink; it was always also a message.

Today, at WAYANA, when we open a bottle from one of Anatolia’s native grapes, we’re not just pouring a beverage—we’re uncorking a story that began millennia ago, in places like Troy.

Raise a glass: not only to the present, but to the echoes of the past still swirling in every pour.