By the third millenium BC, kings of the first dynasty had extensive cellars.

Egyptians produced several different kinds, the Old Kingdom favored red wine, white was only produced from the Middle Kingdom onwards.

The vineyards of ancient Egypt were different from the modern methods. Grapes were hand picked, then placed in a vat for traditional treading on the grapes, or in special presses adding heat to the must in order to make the wine sweet.

The resultant juice was poured through a cloth filter, and then into earthenware jars, where they would be sealed with natural tar and left to ferment..

When ready, these jugs were sealed and marked with the date, name of the vineyard and the person in charge of the wine.

When served, it was poured into shallow vessels with a short stem.

The Egyptians kept accurate records of their vintages, and quality of their wines, each jar was clearly labeled with it's own vintage, and quality.

Wine was very expensive to drink. The main consumption took place as an offering to the gods and dead, as well as between the king, nobles, and the priests in temple ceremonies and party banquets, in party scenes on the tomb walls, there are a number of images depicting the guests throwing up or being carried home because of their drunken state, drunkenness was seen as an amusement to the ancient Egyptians.

The temples associated with the goddesses had their own vineyards to make sure that the celebrants had enough wine for the rituals. Hathor was the goddess of wine and beer, as well as goddess of love and destruction.