Roman period
The Romans inherited the Greek civilization, while the Greeks did not drink wine directly, but mostly mixed it with spices and herbs or water (mainly seawater). The more formal the occasion, the more exquisite the food preparation, and the higher the proportion of spices and herbs added to the wine.
Gaius plinius secundus, an encyclopedic writer in ancient Rome, wrote "Natural History" (37 volumes in total) as an important work to study the history of ancient science. It is recorded in the book that when wine is cooked with herbal tea, or soaked herbs, spices, turpentine and other seasonings widely used by Greeks, Greeks like flavored wine. Wormwood, rose petals, violets, mint and pepper are all commonly used condiments in "Greek wine".
Abisius's cookbook introduces the method of "perfect wine mixing": mix rosin, ground pepper, crocus, cardamom and roasted date palm, plus wine and honey.
In ancient Rome, it was common to add some plants to wine. As for why it should be added, there are roughly two opinions. One is to obtain the medicinal properties of herbs, and the other is that the wine brewed at that time was not delicious, and herbs were added to obtain a better taste. Hugh johnson, a British wine historian, supports the latter view.
Middle Ages
In the Middle Ages from 65438 to 0000 AD, it was the monks who really guarded the quality of wine. They devoted a lot of energy to improving technology, managing many vineyards and even creating varieties that are still popular today. Hugh johnson also admitted that information about wine in the Middle Ages was very scarce, and most of it was wine-making technology. But the wine-making methods in the Middle Ages did not change much.
Dr Devilla Nova is from Spain or Catalonia. He is a medical professor at a famous university in Montpellier, southern France. He drowned in 13 1 1. He is the author of the book Liber de Vinis, but it is a professional book that discusses the medical efficacy of wine. Among them, the herbal flavoring wine with good curative effect is described in detail, such as Niutongcao wine for treating insanity and insanity; The "magic power" of rosemary wine includes stimulating appetite, invigorating spirit, beautifying face, promoting hair growth, resisting aging and whitening teeth.
17th century
1662, the newly established Royal Society received a collection of "The Mystery of Wine Merchants", and the subtitle clearly put forward the outline of the content: "Brief introduction to common problems and remedies of wine today". It is mentioned in the book that beetroot, elderberry, lavender, cinnamon, clove and ginger can be used to deepen the color of Bordeaux wine. It is even mentioned that if you want to drink good Rhine white, you need to coat the inner wall of the wine jar with cheese.
This is a description similar to "breaking the news" or revealing secrets, which shows us the privacy of Bordeaux winemakers from the side. The Mystery of the Brewer does not positively describe the medical value of these added plants as in Roman times, but reveals that the purpose of using these plants is to cover up the defects of wine. This practice is regarded as unfair and dishonest cheating in brewing, because the brewer never tells others what plants are added.
/kloc-in the 0 th and 8 th centuries, the biggest advantage of adding soaked elderberry to wine-making is that it can make the color of wine look deep. In other words, the thickening and polishing method of red wine, which prevailed in Bordeaux, France more than 0/00 years ago, is still popular in Portugal.
19th century
Joseph Forrester, an Englishman, is a Potter wine merchant and a talented artist. He established his own winery (Offley Forrester &: Co), and the Portuguese authorities awarded him the title of "Baron". He once spent several months in the remote area of Duro, just to complete the map drawing.
1844, he published A Word or Her Words about Porter's Wine, which repeatedly emphasized the problem that had been raging since 100 years ago: brandy and elderberry juice would only destroy Porter's wine, so Porter's wine should be "natural" without adding anything. Forest refused to add elderberry juice and brandy. He supports the original flavor of wine. He shouted everywhere that the color and quality of wine are not directly related, and the darker the color, the better the quality.
Joseph Forrest's description shows that in 1844, the most important northern port wine producing area in Portugal, winemakers still privately use Sambucus williamsii Hance juice to add deep color and richness to the wine. However, it is dishonest and unacceptable to add plants in wine brewing without permission. Grape brewing has unique aroma and richness advantages, and the pursuit of nature is an increasingly mature winemaking concept.