Scientists have reported finding the oldest known winemaking operation, about 6,100 years old, complete with a vat for fermenting, a press, storage jars, a clay bowl and a drinking cup made from an animal horn. Grape seeds, dried pressed grapes, stems, shriveled grapevines and residue were also found, and chemical analyses indicate red wine was produced there.

The discovery, published online Tuesday in The Journal of Archaeological Science, occurred in a cave in Armenia where the team of American, Armenian and Irish archaeologists recently found the oldest known leather shoe. The shoe, a laced cowhide moccasin possibly worn by a woman with a size-7 foot, is about 5,500 years old.

These discoveries and other artifacts found in the cave provide a window into the Copper Age, or Late Chalcolithic period, when humans are believed to have invented the wheel and domesticated horses, among other innovations....