Ancient Roman winemaking

[mstrick96]

I've gotten interested in ancient winemaking techniques. Particularly the quality of the resulting wines.

In ancient times, there was a thriving trade in wines. Some regions and vintages were especially prized, so it must have been reasonably "good", even though ancient tastes were quite different that today's tastes. For example, the Romans liked to sweeten their wines with lead and/or honey.

I've just found a research paper from Sicily written be a researcher who has been attempting to recreate the Roman wines. Dr Mario Indelicato of the University of Catania. He began this research in 2013. In 2020, he published a paper titled "Columella's Wine: A Roman Enology Experiment" that describes one result.

He found that the resulting wine he produced was relatively palatable, but that it has a strong smokey flavor and aftertaste. This was due to the fact that it was aged in a pitch-lined terracotta pot. Sounds a lot like some of the mescals or tequilas of Mexico!

I've done a lot of international travel and one thing I enjoyed was sampling different "flavors" in food and drink, so I have a broad palate. I'll bet that (except for the lead flavoring) I would have enjoyed Roman times!

Has anyone else on the forum looked into this?

 

[Jovimaple]

Fascinating!

I do recall some discussions of old mead making methods - do a search on that if you're interested in checking out the discussion.

 

[Matteo_Lahm]

Awesome post! I’m fascinated with this myself. Though winemaking was spread throughout the Mediterranean by the Greeks and Phoenicians, the Romans industrialized it! They did the same with Olive Oil. Very soon, I will be living abroad in Italy for a while and plan to do a bunch of research. I’m interested in experimenting with some of their techniques, minus the lead of course. No wonder why they went insane LOL!

 

[Rice_Guy]

What I have picked up is that white wines basically were bad/ oxidized. The reds could be done reasonably well as long as held in bulk (amphora). Again oxidation was a problem on partial containers. The best preservation was floating a wood lid on a crock and then adding some olive oil to fill the voids.

 

[mstrick96]

From what I’ve read, the white wines were heavily sweetened. Some red vintages were said to age very well. A highly sought vintage was from 121 BC.

Also the Greeks were said to produce some of the best wines.

 

[Dkrmwiz]

Interesting topic! I love history of stuff and ancient how they made everything. I would think that until they figured out bottling, it would be hard to keep it from going bad or turning into vinegar.

 

[David Violante]

Interestingly, far after 121 BCE, a passage in Acts describes people drinking “new” wine. The Greek root word translation actually means sweet drink. Mark talks about new wine as well, but more about the vessel (goat or sheep skin bag) breaking from age than the drink itself. It got me to thinking of this thread…

 

[VinesnBines]

Since yesterday was the Sunday of Pentecost, I read the passage in Acts. I wondered too about the term "new wine". I know that you don't put new wine in old skins that they will burst. (Fact) I wondered though if by new wine or sweet wine, the Greeks were talking about "good, palatable wine? Old wine was most likely vinegar or oxidized and sour. So it would be easier to get drunk on new wine. Just a thought.

 

[FlamingoEmporium]

I’m thinking still with a bit of fermenting or off gassing.
old wine skins were dry and not supple. New wine skins were able to stretch a little

 

[VinesnBines]

I’m thinking still with a bit of fermenting or off gassing.
old wine skins were dry and not supple. New wine skins were able to stretch a little

Maybe we should clarify that wine skins in the ancient world were animal skin bags that held wine, not skin packs that are fermented with wine.

 

[winemanden]

I'm sure I read somewhere that the Romans used to add sea water to some of their wines.

 

[QuiQuog]

I wonder what they would have thought of modern wines. I would imagine that they bear little resemblance to wines they were accustomed to. Did they off-gas their wines? How well did they clear? What flavors did they take on due to the storage vessels they used. I believe their wines were safer to drink than water, so I wonder what the ABV was. Did they mind oxidation as much as we do today? My guess is that they sweetened wine to make something tasty that would otherwise be unpalatable.

 

[Snafflebit]

Dornish wine is the best, the rest is swill.

 

[Rice_Guy]

* basic tastes are quite similar over the globe, as a result it is reasonable to assume that they were similar over time. Folks tend to like sweet and dislike vinegar or barn yard. Ancients would have been selecting the crops that we use, so the definition of fresh/ fruity would be exactly the same as it is today. The conclusion on my part is that going back three hundred years (glass bottles become available) and earlier folks would be amazed at how high the modern quality is. if you want to sample traditional quality I suggest you sample organic wines which are made without sulphites or for laughs separate the left overs when racking and do not add sulphites.
* yes off gassing would happen naturally, the modern air lock did not exist but a low tech version as round stone or clay or wood would have been used for a cover. Yes grape wines clear given time but my guess is that there would be a sludge on the bottom of all wines
* in Greek and Roman times clay amphora were a normal storage container. We have good pictures in museum collections since there are lots of glazed clay objects which have been found. There also are occasional ship wrecks so we have modern examples of the containers used. Basically they would pass as modern quality. (there are lots of neat two and four thousand year old artifacts in the British Museum)
* ancient amphora would have been poorly sealed by modern standards. The standard would be pitch or tar or wax on a round object. Corks are relatively modern like the glass bottle.
* wine and beer would have less risk of infection or food poisoning. Alcohol above 5% is a good anit microbial. Germ theory dates to 1820 - 1830/ early Victorian period. There were major cholera out breaks since sanitation was to have a cesspool or waste stream which might contaminate the fresh water supply.
* ancient diets had lower levels of sugar. Readily available sweeteners would be honey and dried high sugar fruits or juices. The western diet since 1800 and especially since 1900 is abnormally high in free sugar. It currently is cheap and plentiful so food processors put it everywhere.
* oxidation would be unpleasant to the ancient palette. One salvation is that acetaldehyde is part of a cascade reaction. If acetaldehyde further reacts into sherry type flavor or ethyl acetate it is pleasing. Going into acetic acid again is pleasing and used as a food seasoning in many cultures. Acetaldehyde is not toxic.
* fermentation happens naturally in the wild. There are naturalists who see chimpanzee colonies getting drunk on fruit. Recorded examples of grape tartrate in clay vessels go back 6000 (plus) years. Consuming alcohol was likely also done by Neanderthals . Alcohol is sweet and a good calorie source.

# I wonder what they would have thought of modern wines. I would imagine that they bear little resemblance to wines they were accustomed to. Did they off-gas their wines? How well did they clear? What flavors did they take on due to the storage vessels they used. I believe their wines were safer to drink than water, so I wonder what the ABV was. Did they mind oxidation as much as we do today? My guess is that they sweetened wine to make something tasty that would otherwise be unpalatable.

 

[Kkdd]

I have visited father's friend at Georgia (country) and participated in their traditionally made wine qvevri (amphora) opening - bottling party. Goergians are sticking to traditions very strongly and many very old ways of living is still alive. Georgian winemaking dates back to 6000 BC. I think that it should be pretty similar to Greeks wine. It was quite nice. If you are interested in ancient winemaking it is worth to look it up. Quick search link 8000 Years of Winemaking History - Winemaking Tradition - Wines Georgia

 

[mstrick96]

@Matteo_Lahm While you are in Italy, you should visit Dr Mario Indelicato of the University of Catania. He would be a wealth of information on ancient Roman wines since that is his area of research.

In one of his research papers, he talks about lining the inside of the amphorae with pitch to seal them. He also describes the "smoky" flavor that it imparts to the wine.

If you go to www.Academia.edu , you can find many of his research papers. It's also a good source for other research on wine.

If I were still traveling on business, I would make a side trip to Sicily to visit him!

 

[mstrick96]

@Kkdd Great link! Thanks!

Interesting that 1000 to 1200 liters is the "sweet spot" for fermentation. Also, I see that some qvevri makers line the inside with beeswax and some coat the outside with lime or cement.

Burying the qvevri in the ground is a good means for temperature control. Keeps the temperature around 55 degrees. The Koreans used to make their kimchi in a large vessel buried in the ground for temperature control. Our Korean distributor and I used to trade kimchi recipes when he would come to our office for a visit.

By the way, I live in Georgia, USA.

 

[mstrick96]

In case anyone would like to read it, here is a link to a research paper by Mario Indelicato, who specializes in researching ancient winemaking techniques. You might need to sign up to read it, but I'm pretty sure you can get it free.

https://www.academia.edu/16775960/M..._23_26_maggio_2013?email_work_card=view-paper

 

[balatonwine]

* ancient amphora would have been poorly sealed by modern standards. The standard would be pitch or tar or wax

Interesting you say wax is a method of poorly sealing. Even today, where I live in Hungary, many tanks are sold with the option to seal them with wax. Because wax is a great sealer:

https://bi-bor.hu/termekek/paraffinos-uszofedeles-385​

 

[balatonwine]

Acetaldehyde is not toxic.

OSHA gives ACETALDEHYDE a health rating of 2 (moderate hazard to heath).

https://www.osha.gov/chemicaldata/570
Which is part of a complicated NFPA rating:

https://www.nfpa.org/News-and-Resea...2021/11/05/Hazardous-Materials-Identification
Even so, to call it not toxic is questionable....