The ancient Greeks took wine to the masses, the Romans took it to the world. But it was the innovation of Cypriots that showed them how, say archaeologists.

Italian experts claim to have unearthed evidence suggesting that Cypriots not only introduced clay drinking goblets and wine jars allowing their favourite tipple to be transported further afield, but also had a 1,500 year head start on any of their Mediterranean cousins in the art of making wine.

"It's an amazing discovery," says research head Maria Rosaria Belgiorno. "In the Mediterranean, the earliest examples of winemaking have been in Cyprus."

With a tradition steeped in history, the quality of the "honey flavoured" Cypriot wines has been praised by the ancient Greek poet Homer, and, subject to some scholarly debate, by King Solomon.

Historians say Commandaria, a sweet dessert wine introduced to Europe by the Crusaders, has been made on the island since at least 1,000 BC.

It is thought to be the world's oldest wine still in production.

Belgiorno, of the Italian Institute of Technologies Applied to Cultural Heritage, said testing on pottery fragments showed winemaking was thriving up to 5,500 years ago.

The earliest examples of winemaking discovered in the Greek island of Crete are about 3,600 years old.

"We discovered remains of tartaric acid, a key component of wine," she said.

The pottery fragments, found in the wine-producing region of Erimi some 100 kilometres southwest of the Cypriot capital Nicosia, are the oldest evidence available of "nipple base" storage jars used throughout the ancient world for transporting wine.

With their expertise in pottery, Cypriots also created drinking containers, modelled on cattle horns, which are believed to be the first "wine glasses."

The world's oldest known wine was identified in 1996 in residue from a 5,000-5,500 BC vase from Ajjii Firuz Tepe in Iran.

Editor: Wing