Phoenician lime for Phoenician wine: Iron Age plaster from a wine press at Tell el-Burak, Lebanon

Orsingher, Adriano; Kamlah, Jens; Sader, Hélène; Berthold, Christoph

doi:10.15184/aqy.2020.4

Cited by 15 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…In the coastal areas of the Levant, near the present-day city of Jaffa (10th-9th century BC), for example, where there was no bedrock, the basins were made of plaster mixed with crushed shells [26]. In southern Lebanon, the wine-archaeological site of Tell el-Burak (8th-6th century BC) demonstrates the early use of lime plaster by contemporary Phoenicians, who flourished roughly between 1500-300 BC [27]. In an even simpler device, treading could be done in portable clay floors or tubs [28].…”

Section: The Basic Rock-cut Field Treading Installationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Historical and Heritage Sustainability for the Revival of Ancient Wine-Making Techniques and Wine Styles

Harutyunyan

Malfeito‐Ferreira

2022

Beverages

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The purpose of this review is to provide a general description of ancient winemaking techniques and wine styles that were most lauded in antiquity, in support of their revival and dissemination today. From the first fully excavated winery, dating from the late fifth to the early fourth millennium BC, the gentle crushing of grapes by foot and the probable absence of maceration indicate that most wines were made with the aim of reducing astringency. The oxidative nature of winemaking would have resulted in rapid browning, so that wines made from red grapes would have had a similar color to those made from white grapes after being aged in clay vats for several years. The difficulty in preventing the wine surface contact with the air would have resulted in biological ageing under the yeast pellicle being a common occurrence. This phenomenon was not considered a flaw, but a characteristic feature of highly prized wines. Dried grapes were used to make sweet wines, which were also highly prized, therefore justifying the construction of dedicated facilities. The addition of boiled juices, salt, resins, mixtures of herbs, spices, fruit juices, flowers, or honey to the wines would have increased their taste pleasantness while improving their preservability and medicinal properties. Indeed, today’s preference for flavored wines with a soft mouthfeel seems to have been representative of the ancient elite consumers. Overall, the technical interpretation of winemaking described in this review will provide solid historical support for the current rebirth of ancient production methods, particularly those using pottery vessels.

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Section: The Basic Rock-cut Field Treading Installationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Historical and Heritage Sustainability for the Revival of Ancient Wine-Making Techniques and Wine Styles

Harutyunyan

Malfeito‐Ferreira

2022

Beverages

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“…The Iron Age wine production, storage and consumption are evidenced by the variety of transport containers (amphorae) in large quantities and wellknown structures (e.g., presses, masonry vats, storage facilities and equipment) associated with wine or olive oil production [70,160]. particular, excavations at the coastal site of Tell el-Burak have revealed a well-preserved 2600-year-old Phoenician wine press, considered as the first Iron Age wine press in modern-day Lebanon [119]. The Phoenician civilization was founded on the trade of valuable goods and merchant activities from the cities located in contemporary Lebanon and flourished between 1500 and 300 BC.…”

Section: From the Levant To The Italian Peninsulamentioning

confidence: 99%

The Rise of Wine among Ancient Civilizations across the Mediterranean Basin

Harutyunyan

Malfeito‐Ferreira

2022

Heritage

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The purpose of this work is to present the archaeological and historical background of viticulture and winemaking from ancient times to the present day in the Mediterranean basin. According to recent archaeological, archaeochemical and archaeobotanical data, winemaking emerged during the Neolithic period (c. 7th–6th millennium BC) in the South Caucasus, situated between the basins of the Black and Caspian Seas, and subsequently reached the Iberian Peninsula and Western Europe during the local beginning of Iron Age (c. 8th century BC), following the main maritime civilizations. This review summarises the most relevant findings evidencing that the expansion of wine production, besides depending on adequate pedo-climatic conditions and wine-growing practices, also required the availability of pottery vessels to properly ferment, store and transport wine without deterioration. The domestication of wild grapevines enabled the selection of more productive varieties, further sustaining the development of wine trade. Other fermented beverages such as mead and beer gradually lost their relevance and soon wine became the most valorised. Together with grapes, it became an object and a system of value for religious rituals and social celebrations throughout successive ancient Western civilizations. Moreover, wine was used for medicinal purposes and linked to a wide variety of health benefits. In everyday life, wine was a pleasant drink consumed by the elite classes and commoner populations during jubilee years, festivals, and banquets, fulfilling the social function of easy communication. In the present work, emphasis is put on the technical interpretation of the selected archaeological and historical sources that may explain present viticultural and oenological practices. Hopefully, this review will contribute to nurturing mutual understanding between archaeologists and wine professionals.

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“…These are only a few of many testimonies praising the renown and evoking the oldness of wine production in Lebanon, while modern archaeological and scientific evidence have backed up ancient literature. The discovery of shipwrecks from the 8th century BC carrying Phoenician wines from Tyr [ 3 ] and the recent unearthing of an iron-age plaster from a Lebanese wine press [ 4 ] date the production of Lebanese wines back to the Phoenician era at least. On another level, genetic studies have suggested that the Lebanese oenological Saccharomyces cerevisiae flora seems to be ancestral to other worldwide oenological floras [ 5 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lebanon’s Native Oenological Saccharomyces cerevisiae Flora: Assessment of Different Aspects of Genetic Diversity and Evaluation of Winemaking Potential

Ayoub

Legras

Abi-Nakhoul

et al. 2021

JoF

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A total of 296 isolates of Saccharomyces cerevisiae sampled from naturally fermenting grape musts from various locations in Lebanon were typed by interdelta fingerprinting. Of these, 88 isolates were compared with oenological strains originating from various countries, using microsatellite characterization at six polymorphic loci. These approaches evidenced a large diversity of the natural oenological Lebanese flora over the territory as well as in individual spontaneous fermentations. Several cases of dominance and perenniality of isolates were observed in the same wineries, where fermentations appeared to involve lineages of sibling isolates. Our work thus evidenced a “winery effect” on strains’ relatedness. Similarly, related or identical strains were also detected in vicinal wineries, suggesting strain circulation within small geographical areas and a further “vicinity effect”. Moreover, and despite its diversity, the Lebanese flora seemed interrelated, on the basis of microsatellite loci analysis, in comparison to worldwide communities. We finally tested the ability of 21 indigenous strains to act as potential starters for winemaking. Seven of them passed our pre-selection scheme and two of them at least may be good candidates for use provided pilot-scale assays confirm their suitability.

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Phoenician lime for Phoenician wine: Iron Age plaster from a wine press at Tell el-Burak, Lebanon

Abstract: Abstract

Cited by 15 publications

References 19 publications

Historical and Heritage Sustainability for the Revival of Ancient Wine-Making Techniques and Wine Styles

Historical and Heritage Sustainability for the Revival of Ancient Wine-Making Techniques and Wine Styles

The Rise of Wine among Ancient Civilizations across the Mediterranean Basin

Lebanon’s Native Oenological Saccharomyces cerevisiae Flora: Assessment of Different Aspects of Genetic Diversity and Evaluation of Winemaking Potential

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