Roman Wine Reconstruction

The About.com Guide to Senior Travel writes about a French vineyard that is employing ancient Roman wine making methods. She writes:

About ten years ago, inspired by the history of his family's property, Hervé Durand joined forces with André Tchernia and Jean-Pierre Brun, experts in archaeology and Roman viticulture, to reconstruct a Roman winery and, following ancient agricultural manuals and recorded recipes, produce authentic tasting Roman wines.

The exotic methods, described by Cato, Pliny the Elder and Lucius Columelle, involve adding plants, herbs and spices, defrutum (a concentrated grape juice) and even seawater to the juice of crushed grapes during vinification. Fenugreek, honey, quince, thyme and sage all go into the mixtures as they ferment in large, wide-mouthed, terra cotta jars buried in the earth.

Read Ancient Roman Wines in France - - A Fountain of Youth in a Bottle?, by the About.com Guide to Senior Travel, Ferne Arfin.

Also see

• Cato
• Pliny the Elder