Saturday, September 15, 2012

Strange Wine

Wine is supposed to improve with age.  How much age?   Would a wine still be drinkable after two thousand years?

We may have a chance to find out.  Recently, I found an article about an interesting archaeological discovery; a full, sealed, amphora of wine from the first century CE, found in Andalusia.  In Roman times, liquids such as olive oil or wine were shipped in large amphoras (terracotta containers shaped roughly like vases for long-stemmed roses). This one holds about 20-30 liters of liquid.

Plans are in the works for the contents to be scientifically analyzed. I imagine that, if the tests indicate that the contents are not toxic and are still potentially potable, someone will taste it.  I wonder if the Spanish archaeologists are aware of Patrick McGovern's work?  If they are, he'd be a natural person to invite to such a tasting.

You can read the article here.

1 comment:

  1. They would need double blind tests with people who can (blindly) tell the difference between table wine and a cabernet sauvignon.

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