July 2024
Edito
Welcome to our weekly newsletter! This week, we invite you to travel back in time to discover the iconic figures of Antiquity, fascinating numbers, and articles that shed light on lesser-known aspects of Roman history. Dive into the stories and significant events that shaped the world of wine.
By the way, we are talking about the Romans, so we’re in this period:
Birth of Rome in 753 BC: Monarchy
509 – 30 BC: Republic
30 BC – 476 AD: Roman Empire, with a territory stretching from Britain to Syria...
Then, the political climate heats up, leading to the division of the Roman Empire, resulting in the creation of the Western Roman Empire (ending in 476 AD, marking the beginning of the Middle Ages) and the Eastern Roman Empire (ending in 1453 with the fall of Constantinople to the Turks).
Personalities of the Week
We discuss Columella and Pliny the Elder, scientists and agricultural engineers (our #Lydiaetclaudebourguignon, and Marcus Gavius Apicius, a gastronome, jet-setter, and editor of the first recipe book.
Columella and Pliny the Elder: It is thanks to them that the texts of Mago were translated and applied, and widely developed throughout the Roman Empire.
Columella focuses exclusively on agriculture, offering practical and detailed advice.
Pliny the Elder, with his "Naturalis Historia," covers a wide range of subjects, from geography and astronomy to medicine and agriculture.
Approach:
Columella writes primarily from his own experiences and direct observations.
Pliny compiles information from various sources, sometimes without verifying them, which can introduce errors.
Marcus Gavius Apicius, Food influencer ....
Origins and Early Life:
Lived under the reigns of emperors Augustus and Tiberius.
Born into a wealthy family, he dedicated himself to gastronomy. Passion for Gastronomy: Known for his extravagant love of fine food, organizing sumptuous banquets and innovating in his recipes. Travels and Experiences: Allegedly traveled far to obtain specific ingredients. Reference Work: "De re coquinaria," a collection of Roman recipes, divided into ten sections. Decline and End of Life: Reportedly squandered his fortune in his quest for culinary perfection and committed suicide after realizing he only had ten million sesterces left.
Legacy and Influence
Apicius is often cited as the symbol of Roman culinary luxury and excess.
His book, "De re coquinaria," remains a crucial reference for understanding Roman cuisine and its influences on modern gastronomy. Despite the sometimes legendary aspects of his life, Apicius remains an emblematic figure of the gastronomic culture of Ancient Rome, illustrating the refinement and extravagance of Roman society of his time.
Key Facts: Organic is good, but without lead, it's better...
In this recipe book, we discover that about a hundred recipes (out of a total of 450) mention lead or a product for which lead is important in the recipe. This cookbook provides examples confirming that dietary lead (neurotoxic and a cause of lead poisoning even at very low doses) may have contributed, according to Eugène de Saint-Denis, to the decline of the Roman Empire.
A large majority of the recipes used wine or grape syrup sweetened with lead: grape juice (unfermented) was concentrated by hot evaporation into a syrup, and it was noted at the time that these juices took on an apparently sweeter and more pleasant taste when cooked in a lead pot (lead oxide, highly toxic, has a sweetening power). Grape juice is naturally acidic, which facilitates its contamination by lead. Lead poisoning, then known as cholera Pictonum, was described as early as Antiquity among Roman patricians; it was only in 1696 that the Ulm physician Eberhard Gockel attributed lead poisoning in inhabitants of European wine regions to the practice of "correcting" wines by sweetening them with lead compounds
Did you know?
The French kiss is the first breathalyzer:
Women were not allowed to drink wine, which was considered an adulterous act punishable by death, and men kissed them to check their sobriety...
The extended family: father, grandfather, uncle, great-uncle, in short, a bit of everyone.
Let’s talk technique:
Thanks to the work of the "personalities of the Week," it appears that the cultivation of creeping vines and vines trained on trees were the two most widespread techniques. We know that pruning work was highly studied, much like today.
The master pruners at #SimonitSirch would certainly agree.
Soil study, vine spacing, soil fertilization, pest treatment, etc., were all knowledge studied, researched, and documented by the Romans.
Harvest and Winemaking The harvest took place festively in September, a month before the Greeks. This changed the taste of wine with a more controlled grape maturity phase.
Winemaking: No red wine, as maceration was not yet known. Grapes were pressed, placed in amphorae, with added small plants, sea salt, and other ingredients; sulfur was not yet known at that time. The amphorae were sealed hermetically and left for several months or years. The name of the Roman consul in office at the time was added, allowing the amphora to be dated.
"Fortunately, we don't do the same today: otherwise, it would be like labeling a bottle: Elisabetha Borneus, Gabrielus Attalus, non inveni."
Speaking of current affairs, the concept of grand cru wines was not created by Napoleon... It was created by the Romans (Pliny the Elder), who documented 29 grand crus from Rome to Pompeii.
Can you see the tragedy coming?
Wine bar The Price of Wine in the Taverns of Pompeii
Although the city of Pompeii was shaken by the earthquake of 63 and then buried during the eruption of Vesuvius in 79, the remains of the taverns that dotted certain neighborhoods were found intact, some aligned next to each other.
On a street leading to the public baths, no fewer than eight taverns were counted over a length of 80 meters! Many taverns had been rebuilt after the earthquake.
On the wall of one of these ancient bistros, the wine list that could be purchased in carafes or cucumas (“cauldrons, pots”) was painted, with prices ranging from 1 to 4 asses (1 as equals 1/4 of a sesterce
Conclusion
In summary, the Roman Empire not only shaped the ancient world but also left an indelible mark on contemporary gastronomy and viticulture. The Roman know-how, transmitted and perfected over the centuries, continues to inspire and guide today's viticultural practices. We hope this historical immersion has allowed you to appreciate the significance of this exceptional heritage.
See you next week for more fascinating discoveries!
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