Some 5000 years B.C. in Egypt along the Nile river, Egyptians were already experts in making wine. They made red and white wine. The wine was kept in earthenware jars. The Pharaoh, the priests and soldiers only drank wine, whereas the Egyptian population drank palm wine, beer and water from the Nile.

Wine was also well known from the Ancient Greeks who transmitted their usage to the entire Mediterranean region. Vineyards developed rapidly during the 8th till 6th century before Christ. We owe to the Greeks the first vineyards created in France.

Wine was also a great success with the Romans. Each Emperor had its own wine. Some Romans even added some honey to it, which led to think that they preferred sweet wines. Wine was also used as a remedy to some pains, insect or snake bites.

Wine trade intensified along the centuries. During the Middle Age, wine was traded with spices and drapes. It was the beginning of maritime exchanges between France, England and Flanders. Bordeaux was a major harbor. Many wines from the Southwest arrived in Bordeaux and were then boarded on big vessels who headed for various far away destinations.

Wine growing in Dordogne appeared during the first century A.C. as the logical continuity of the Bordeaux wine growing. This very same wine was taken from the Garonne Valley and brought to Bordeaux by the Romans, to create the Bergerac wine variety.