Wine

[Gaius Octavius Drusus]

Ave et salutatio Fraterii:

Of all the varities of wine on the market these days, which is the closest to what the Romans would have consumed?

Salve et magna gratias:

Gaius Octavius Drusus

[hoplite14gr]

The "consrevative" approach - before Gaul was added to the empire.

Any traditional Italian Greek or Spanish. That means that the Melrote and Sauvignion grape variety is out.
I Egypt the CoptesChristians make a local white and rose wine that I had the chance to taste when in Cairo but it was rather rough.

Italian and Spanish friends can add their knowledge on the traditonal grape varieties of their countries.

For the Greek varieties:
RED xinomavro Naousa and Agigiorgitiko NEMEA
WHITE : white rodites of Rhodes. Traces of raisin have been found in amphoras so retsina is in too I guess.

Sweet wine from Samos MAVORIDAFNE

Hope I helped

[Alexius]

The most common roman wine was the red wine – like hoplite14gr said, the most common Mediterranean wines are good for a good re-enactment and a god’s taste...

The way you carry out the wine it’s different from today:

- The have anfores (not barrels – a gaulish invention) to transport the wine, in great distances, by boat or car



- When arrive at the consumer they put the wine in clay vase



- To drink, normally are in a clay or metal cup




And to drink, its different to - they have three different normal wine drinks:

- Full of wine – 100% wine in the cup;

- Half of wine – “meadoâ€ÂÂ

[Tiberio]

There is still in Italy one typical roman wine available the so called Falerner
which is still being made just north of Neapel. In roman times it was one of the most expensive wines, still is´t cheap but affordable and yes it tastes not bad!
Martin

[Gaius Octavius Drusus]

Ave Tiberio:

Do you know if that variey is exported? I'd rather like to add a few bottles to my personal wine rack.

Vale:

Gaius Octavius Drusus

[FAVENTIANVS]

In the Museum of History of Barcelona (MHC), there is the remains of a wine factory that exported its wine as far as Britania, called the wine from Laietania. It also said thet appart of honey and spices, the wine could be mixed with sea water or ashes (the ashes for increasing the narcotyc effect).

[Tiberio]

Hi Gaius Octavius Drusus,
yes it is exported, there is even a online shop available.
That is how I managed to get a few bottles.
If you are interested I can mail you the link, as I am not certain if posting the link here would count as a comercial.

Vale Martin

[richsc]

There was a vinyard, Mas de Tourelles, that reproduced mulsum, turriculae and carenum, but there site is down. There was a BBC article on a vinyard in Italy making wine in dolia, similar to the winery found near Pompeii, but I can't find that article.

[Lepidus]

Hopefully these sites may help. I found them on the net a while ago

http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/request.asp

http://www.economist.com/diversions/Pri ... _ID=883706

http://penelope.uchicago.edu/~grout/enc ... /wine.html

Enjoy!

[Gaius Octavius Drusus]

Ave et salutatio Tiberio:

Please e-mail me at [email protected]

I'd very much like to check out the website for that wineshop you mention.

Salve et magna gratias:

Gaius Octavius Drusus

[Tiberio]

Just for the fun of it, there are some more differances between various roman wines. As of Plinius there is vinum album (white), vinum atrum (red), vinum fluvum (yellow), vinum sanguineum (blood red), vinum nigrum (black)
Taste wise the vinum dulce (sweet), praedulce (very sweet),
vinum austerum (dry), vinum tenue (semi dry).
During the early 1st century Greek wines dominated the roman market especially those from Chios, the famous speaker Hortensius gave his heirs over 400hl of it!! During the 1st century good italian wines started taking over the market like Mamtertiner from Sicily, Massiker, Caecuber and Albaner.
The dry Setiner was a favorite of Augustus, where as Surrentiner emperor Tiberius thought of as fancy vinigar. During the late republic and the 1st. century the amber colored Falerner was most cherished, in later times it fell in favor as more quantity than quality was produced. It was available in differant taste variations from sweet to dry. Horaz and Martial favored this wine very much. The very best vintage was the so called Opimianer a Falerner made during the consulate of Lucius Opimius 121 B.C. The harvest was not only very large but also of a outstanding quality so that individual amphores where still found 200 years later, although Plinius said the wein was not any more drinkable it tasted like bitter honey.
Well there is still a lot more, but I guess that is enough for a first.
Martin

[Mithras]

When I was visitining Pompeii I bought lots of bottles of Lacrimi Christi from local supermarkets. This is grown on the slopes of Vesuvius and has a distinctive taste. I read later (an a very good website, edited by an academic - no bookmark!) that the wine is very good a real authentic wine.

Drank it all, though, nothing to bring back (except lots of lamps and pockets full of Vesuvian ash, cinder and smashed Pompeiian pottery).

[LUCIUS ALFENUS AVITIANUS]

At roman times, the gaul wine was famous because it was bad .

Drinking proportions of 100% wine without adding water was very strange for "normal" people and frequent in people like bandits and prostitutes, how it's showed in the novel of Apuleyus (Golden donkey? i don't know how is the name in english).

Last 2 summers i have managed the excavation of a roman villa here at Tarraco. It have a wine production zone, with a amphora kiln and so. The amphora were marked with the name of the possesor, SEXTUS DOMITIUS. A lot of those stamps was founded at Germany and Gaul, related to military excavations. So it's probably that wine was produced principally to military use.

[Caius Fabius]

I don't see why you couldn't post the links to the wine merchants, considering that it would not violate any of the current rules about posting, as far as I can tell.

I do enjoy good wine.

[Tarbicus]

If you are interested I can mail you the link, as I am not certain if posting the link here would count as a comercial.

Flippin' heck, I'm asking for sponsorship from now on!