1.
Glass bottle
A glass bottle is a bottle created from glass. Glass bottles can vary in size considerably, but are most commonly found in sizes ranging between about 10ml and 5 litres, common uses for glass bottles include food condiments, liquor, cosmetics and preservatives. These types of bottles are utilitarian and serve a purpose in commercial industries, glass bottles and glass jars are in many households around the world. The first glass bottles were produced in south east Asia around 100 BCE, americas glass bottle and glass jar industry was born in the early 1600s when settlers in Jamestown built the first glass melting furnace. The invention of the glass bottle blowing machine in 1880 industrialized the process of making bottles. The earliest bottles or vessels were made by ancient man, ingredients were melted to make glass and clay forms were dipped into the molten liquid. When the glass cooled off, the clay was chipped out of the inside leaving just the hollow glass vessel and this glass was very thin as the fire was not as hot as modern day furnaces.
The blowpipe was invented around 1 B. C, molten glass could be gathered on the end of the blow pipe and blown into the other end to create a hollow vessel. Eventually the use of a mold was introduced, followed by the invention of a machine called the Press. In 1904 Michael Owens invented the automatic bottle machine, once made, bottles may suffer from internal stresses as a result of unequal, or too rapid cooling. An annealing oven, or lehr is used to cool glass containers slowly to prevent stress, when a glass bottle filled with liquid is dropped or subjected to shock, the water hammer effect may cause hydrodynamic stress, breaking the bottle. Markings Modern bottles, when moulded, will be given marks on the heel of the bottle, early bottles were sealed with wax, and stoppered with a cork. More common today are screw caps and stoppers
2.
Bordeaux
Bordeaux is a port city on the Garonne River in the Gironde department in southwestern France. The municipality of Bordeaux proper has a population of 243,626, together with its suburbs and satellite towns, Bordeaux is the centre of the Bordeaux Métropole. With 749,595 inhabitants and 1,178,335 in the area, it is the fifth largest in France, after Paris, Lyon and Lille. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture of the Gironde department and its inhabitants are called Bordelais or Bordelaises. The term Bordelais may refer to the city and its surrounding region, Bordeaux is the worlds major wine industry capital. It is home to the main wine fair, Vinexpo. Bordeaux wine has been produced in the region since the 8th century, the historic part of the city is on the UNESCO World Heritage List as an outstanding urban and architectural ensemble of the 18th century. After Paris, Bordeaux has the highest number of preserved buildings of any city in France. In historical times, around 300 BC it was the settlement of a Celtic tribe, the Bituriges Vivisci, the name Bourde is still the name of a river south of the city.
In 107 BC, the Battle of Burdigala was fought by the Romans who were defending the Allobroges, a Gallic tribe allied to Rome, the Romans were defeated and their commander, the consul Lucius Cassius Longinus, was killed in the action. The city fell under Roman rule around 60 BC, its importance lying in the commerce of tin, it became capital of Roman Aquitaine, flourishing especially during the Severan dynasty. In 276 it was sacked by the Vandals, further ravage was brought by the same Vandals in 409, the Visigoths in 414 and the Franks in 498, beginning a period of obscurity for the city. In the late 6th century, the city re-emerged as the seat of a county and an archdiocese within the Merovingian kingdom of the Franks, the city started to play a regional role as a major urban center on the fringes of the newly founded Frankish Duchy of Vasconia. Around 585, a certain Gallactorius is cited as count of Bordeaux, the city was plundered by the troops of Abd er Rahman in 732 after storming the fortified city and overwhelming the Aquitanian garrison.
After Duke Eudess defeat, the Aquitanian duke could still save part of its troops, the following year, the Frankish commander descended again over Aquitaine, but clashed in battle with the Aquitanians and left to take on hostile Burgundian authorities and magnates. In 745, Aquitaine faced yet another expedition by Charles sons Pepin and Carloman against Hunald, Hunald was defeated, and his son Waifer replaced him, who in turn confirmed Bordeaux as the capital city. During the last stage of the war against Aquitaine, it was one of Waifers last important strongholds to fall to King Pepin the Shorts troops. Next to Bordeaux, Charlemagne built the fortress of Fronsac on a hill across the border with the Basques, in 778, Seguin was appointed count of Bordeaux, probably undermining the power of the Duke Lupo, and possibly leading to the Battle of Roncevaux Pass that very year
3.
Phenolic content in wine
These compounds include phenolic acids, flavonols, anthocyanins, flavanol monomers and flavanol polymers. This large group of natural phenols can be separated into two categories and non-flavonoids. Flavonoids include the anthocyanins and tannins which contribute to the color, the non-flavonoids include the stilbenoids such as resveratrol and phenolic acids such as benzoic and cinnamic acids. The natural phenols are not evenly distributed within the fruit, phenolic acids are largely present in the pulp and stilbenoids in the skin, and other phenols in the skin and the seeds. During the growth cycle of the grapevine, sunlight will increase the concentration of phenolics in the grape berries, the proportion of the different phenols in any one wine will therefore vary according to the type of vinification. Red wines will have the phenols found in white wines, anthocyanins react with catechins, proanthocyanidins and other wine components during wine aging to form new polymeric pigments resulting in a modification of the wine color and a lower astringency.
Average total polyphenol content measured by the Folin method is 216 mg/100 ml for red wine and 32 mg/100 ml for white wine, the content of phenols in rosé wine is intermediate between that in red and white wines. In winemaking, the process of maceration or skin contact is used to increase the concentration of phenols in wine, phenolic acids are found in the pulp or juice of the wine and can be commonly found in white wines which usually do not go through a maceration period. The process of oak aging can introduce phenolic compounds into wine, most wine phenols are classified as secondary metabolites and were not thought to be active in the primary metabolism and function of the grapevine. However, there is evidence that in some plants flavonoids play a role as regulators of auxin transport. They are water-soluble and are secreted into the vacuole of the grapevine as glycosides. Vitis vinifera produces many phenolic compounds, there is a varietal effect on the relative composition. In red wine, up to 90% of the phenolic content falls under the classification of flavonoids.
These phenols, mainly derived from the stems and skins are often leached out of the grape during the period of winemaking. The amount of phenols leached is known as extraction and these compounds contribute to the astringency and mouthfeel of the wine. In white wines the number of flavonoids is reduced due to the contact with the skins that they receive during winemaking. There is on-going study into the benefits of wine derived from the antioxidant. Within the flavonoid category is a known as flavonols, which includes the yellow pigment - quercetin
4.
Storage of wine
Storage of wine is an important consideration for wine that is being kept for long-term aging. While most wine is consumed within 24 hours of purchase, fine wines are often set aside for long-term storage, Wine is one of the few commodities that can improve with age, but it can rapidly deteriorate if kept in inadequate conditions. The three factors that have the most direct impact on a wines condition are light, historically, the storage of wine was handled by wine merchants. Since the mid-20th century, consumers have been increasingly storing their own wine in home-based wine cellars, the three factors that have the most pronounced effect on wine in storage are light and temperature. Strong, direct sunlight or incandescent light can adversely react with compounds in wine. Delicate, light-bodied white wines run the greatest risk from light exposure, wines packaged in clear, light green and blue colored bottles are the most vulnerable to light, and may need extra precautions for storage. For example, the Champagne house of Louis Roederer uses cellophane wrap to protect its premium cuvee Cristal from light, in the cellar, wines are stored in corrugated boxes or wooden crates to protect the wines from direct light.
Some degree of humidity is required in order to keep wines with cork enclosures from drying out, even when wine bottles are stored on their sides, one side of the cork is still exposed to air. Should the cork begin to dry out, it can allow oxygen to enter the bottle, filling the ullage space, excessive humidity can pose the risk of damaging wine labels, which may hinder identification or hurt potential resale value. Wine experts such as Jancis Robinson note that 75% humidity is often cited as ideal, some wine experts debate the importance of humidity for proper wine storage. However, Alexis Lichine contends that low humidity can still be detrimental to premium wine quality due to the risk of the drying out. As a way of maintaining optimal humidity, Lichine recommends spreading half an inch of gravel on the floor of a wine cellar, Wine is very susceptible to changes in temperature, with temperature control being an important consideration in wine storage. If the wine is exposed to too high a temperature for long periods of time, it may be spoiled or become cooked, dramatic temperature swings can cause adverse chemical reactions in the wine that may lead to a variety of wine faults.
In general, a wine has a potential to develop complexity. The lower the temperature, the more slowly a wine develops, on average, the rate of chemical reactions in wine doubles with each 18 °F increase in temperature. Wine expert Karen MacNeil recommends keeping wine intended for aging in an area with a constant temperature around 55 °F. Wine can be stored at temperatures as high as 69 °F without long-term negative effect, professor Cornelius Ough of the University of California, Davis believes that wine can be exposed to temperatures as high as 120 °F for a few hours and not be damaged. It is not normally possible to freeze wine in the bottle as there is insufficient room for it to expand as it freezes, in a particular study, vibrations of different frequencies have been shown to have their own distinct effect on the chemistry of the wine
5.
Health effects of wine
The health effects of wine are mainly determined by its active ingredient alcohol. Some studies found that drinking small quantities of alcohol is associated with a risk of heart disease, diabetes mellitus, metabolic syndrome. However, other studies found no such effect, drinking more than the standard drink amount increases the risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, atrial fibrillation and cancer. Mixed results are observed in light drinking and cancer mortality. Risk is greater in younger people due to binge drinking which may result in violence or accidents, about 3.3 million deaths are believed to be due to alcohol each year. Alcoholism reduces a persons life expectancy by around ten years and excessive use is the third leading cause of early death in the United States. According to systematic reviews and medical associations, people who are nondrinkers should not start drinking wine, ancient Egyptian Papyri and Sumerian tablets dating back to 2200 BC detail the medicinal role of wine, making it the worlds oldest documented human-made medicine.
Nearly all research into the medical benefits of wine consumption makes a distinction between moderate consumption and heavy or binge drinking. Moderate levels of consumption vary by the according to age, genetics and body stature, as well as situational conditions. In general, woman absorb alcohol more quickly than men due to their body water content. Some experts define moderate consumption as less than one 5-US-fluid-ounce glass of wine per day for women, the view of consuming wine in moderation has a history recorded as early as the Greek poet Eubulus who believed that three bowls were the ideal amount of wine to consume. The number of three bowls for moderation is a theme throughout Greek writing, today the standard 750 ml wine bottle contains roughly the volume of three kylix cups. However, the cups would have contained a diluted wine. Epidemiological studies have found an association between moderate alcohol consumption and increased bone mineral density. Most of this research has been conducted with women.
The International Agency for Research on Cancer of the World Health Organization has classified alcohol as a Group 1 carcinogen, studies have shown that heavy drinkers put themselves at greater risk for heart disease and developing potentially fatal cardiac arrhythmias. Excessive alcohol consumption can cause blood pressure, increase cholesterol levels. The main cause of heart attacks and the pain of angina is the lack of oxygen caused by blood clots, professional cardiology associations recommend that people who are currently nondrinkers should not start drinking alcohol
6.
Enzyme
Enzymes /ˈɛnzaɪmz/ are macromolecular biological catalysts. Enzymes accelerate, or catalyze, chemical reactions, the molecules at the beginning of the process upon which enzymes may act are called substrates and the enzyme converts these into different molecules, called products. Almost all metabolic processes in the cell need enzymes in order to occur at rates fast enough to sustain life, the set of enzymes made in a cell determines which metabolic pathways occur in that cell. The study of enzymes is called enzymology, enzymes are known to catalyze more than 5,000 biochemical reaction types. Most enzymes are proteins, although a few are catalytic RNA molecules, enzymes specificity comes from their unique three-dimensional structures. Like all catalysts, enzymes increase the rate of a reaction by lowering its activation energy, some enzymes can make their conversion of substrate to product occur many millions of times faster. An extreme example is orotidine 5-phosphate decarboxylase, which allows a reaction that would take millions of years to occur in milliseconds.
Chemically, enzymes are like any catalyst and are not consumed in chemical reactions, enzymes differ from most other catalysts by being much more specific. Enzyme activity can be affected by other molecules, inhibitors are molecules that decrease enzyme activity, many drugs and poisons are enzyme inhibitors. An enzymes activity decreases markedly outside its optimal temperature and pH, some enzymes are used commercially, for example, in the synthesis of antibiotics. French chemist Anselme Payen was the first to discover an enzyme, diastase and he wrote that alcoholic fermentation is an act correlated with the life and organization of the yeast cells, not with the death or putrefaction of the cells. In 1877, German physiologist Wilhelm Kühne first used the term enzyme, the word enzyme was used to refer to nonliving substances such as pepsin, and the word ferment was used to refer to chemical activity produced by living organisms. Eduard Buchner submitted his first paper on the study of yeast extracts in 1897, in a series of experiments at the University of Berlin, he found that sugar was fermented by yeast extracts even when there were no living yeast cells in the mixture.
He named the enzyme that brought about the fermentation of sucrose zymase, in 1907, he received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his discovery of cell-free fermentation. Following Buchners example, enzymes are usually named according to the reaction they carry out, the biochemical identity of enzymes was still unknown in the early 1900s. Sumner showed that the enzyme urease was a protein and crystallized it. These three scientists were awarded the 1946 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, the discovery that enzymes could be crystallized eventually allowed their structures to be solved by x-ray crystallography. This high-resolution structure of lysozyme marked the beginning of the field of structural biology, an enzymes name is often derived from its substrate or the chemical reaction it catalyzes, with the word ending in -ase
7.
Yeast
Yeasts are eukaryotic, single-celled microorganisms classified as members of the fungus kingdom. The yeast lineage originated hundreds of millions of years ago, and 1,500 species are currently identified and they are estimated to constitute 1% of all described fungal species. Yeast sizes vary greatly, depending on species and environment, typically measuring 3–4 µm in diameter, most yeasts reproduce asexually by mitosis, and many do so by the asymmetric division process known as budding. Yeasts, with their growth habit, can be contrasted with molds. Fungal species that can take both forms are called dimorphic fungi and it is a centrally important model organism in modern cell biology research, and is one of the most thoroughly researched eukaryotic microorganisms. Researchers have used it to information about the biology of the eukaryotic cell. Other species of yeasts, such as Candida albicans, are opportunistic pathogens, yeasts have recently been used to generate electricity in microbial fuel cells, and produce ethanol for the biofuel industry.
Yeasts do not form a taxonomic or phylogenetic grouping. The budding yeasts are classified in the order Saccharomycetales, within the phylum Ascomycota, the word yeast comes from Old English gist and from the Indo-European root yes-, meaning boil, foam, or bubble. Yeast microbes are probably one of the earliest domesticated organisms, archaeologists digging in Egyptian ruins found early grinding stones and baking chambers for yeast-raised bread, as well as drawings of 4, 000-year-old bakeries and breweries. In 1680, Dutch naturalist Anton van Leeuwenhoek first microscopically observed yeast, but at the time did not consider them to be living organisms, researchers were doubtful whether yeasts were algae or fungi, but in 1837 Theodor Schwann recognized them as fungi. In 1857, French microbiologist Louis Pasteur proved in the paper Mémoire sur la fermentation alcoolique that alcoholic fermentation was conducted by living yeasts and not by a chemical catalyst. Pasteur showed that by bubbling oxygen into the yeast broth, cell growth could be increased, by the late 18th century, two yeast strains used in brewing had been identified, Saccharomyces cerevisiae and S. carlsbergensis. S.
cerevisiae has been sold commercially by the Dutch for bread-making since 1780, around 1800, in 1825, a method was developed to remove the liquid so the yeast could be prepared as solid blocks. The industrial production of yeast blocks was enhanced by the introduction of the press in 1867. In 1872, Baron Max de Springer developed a process to create granulated yeast. Yeasts are chemoorganotrophs, as they use organic compounds as a source of energy, carbon is obtained mostly from hexose sugars, such as glucose and fructose, or disaccharides such as sucrose and maltose. Some species can metabolize pentose sugars such as ribose, Yeast species either require oxygen for aerobic cellular respiration or are anaerobic, but have aerobic methods of energy production
8.
Wine color
The color of wine is one of the most easily recognizable characteristics of wines. Color is an element in wine tasting since heavy wines generally have a deeper color, the accessory traditionally used to judge the wine color was the tastevin, a shallow cup allowing one to see the color of the liquid in the dim light of a cellar. The color is an element in the classification of wines, the color of the wine mainly depends on the color of the drupe of the grape variety. The Teinturier grape is an exception in that it has a pigmented pulp, the blending of two or more varieties of grapes can explain the color of certain wines, like the addition of Rubired to intensify redness. Red drupe grapes can produce white wine if they are quickly pressed, the color is mainly due to plant pigments, notably phenolic compounds. The color depends on the presence of acids in the wine, the use of a wooden barrel in aging affects the color of the wine. The color of a wine can be due to co-pigmentation of anthocyanidins with other non-pigmented flavonoids or natural phenols.
Rosé wine is made by the practice of saignée or by blending a white wine with a red wine, the presence of a complex mixture of anthocyanins and procyanidins can increase the stability of color in wine. As it ages, the wine undergoes chemical reactions involving acetaldehyde of its pigments molecules. The newly formed molecules are stable to the effect of pH or sulfite bleaching. The new compounds include pyranoanthocyanins like vitisins and portosins, malvidin glucoside-ethyl-catechin is a flavanol-anthocyanin adduct. Flavanol-anthocyanin adducts are formed during wine ageing through reactions between anthocyanins and tannins present in grape, with yeast metabolites such as acetaldehyde, acetaldehyde-induced reactions yield ethyl-linked species such as malvidin glucoside-ethyl-catechin. This compound has a better stability at pH5.5 than malvidin-3O-glucoside. When the pH was increased from 2.2 to 5.5, the exposure of wine to oxygen in limited quantities can be beneficial to the wine. Castavinols are another class of colorless molecules derived from colored anthocyanin pigments, in model solutions, colorless compounds, such as catechin, can give rise to new types of pigments.
The first step is the formation of colorless dimeric compounds consisting of two units linked by carboxy-methine bridge. This is followed by the formation of xanthylium salt yellowish pigments and their ethylesters, resulting from the dehydration of the colorless dimers, the loss of a water molecule takes place between two A ring hydroxyl groups of the colorless dimers. The main colors of wine are, Gray, as in vin gris, orange, as in orange wine, a white wine that has spent some time in contact with its skin, giving it a slightly darker hue
9.
Plastic bottle
A plastic bottle is a bottle constructed from plastic. Plastic bottles are used to store liquids such as water, soft drinks, motor oil, cooking oil, shampoo, milk. The size ranges from very small sample bottles to large carboys, plastic bottles were first used commercially in 1947 but remained relatively expensive until the early 1960s when high-density polyethylene was introduced. They quickly became popular with manufacturers and customers due to their lightweight nature and relatively low production and transportation costs compared with glass bottles. However, the biggest advantage plastic bottles have over glass is their resistance to breakage. Except for wine and beer, the industry has almost completely replaced glass bottles with plastic bottles. Plastic bottles are formed using a variety of techniques, high Density Polyethylene is the most widely used resin for plastic bottles. This material is economical, impact resistant, and provides a good moisture barrier, HDPE is compatible with a wide range of products including acids and caustics but is not compatible with solvents.
It is supplied in FDA-approved food grade, HDPE is naturally translucent and flexible. The addition of color will make HDPE opaque, but not glossy, HDPE lends itself to silk screen decoration. While HDPE provides good protection at below freezing temperatures, it cannot be used with products filled above 160 °F or products requiring a hermetic seal, low Density Polyethylene is similar to HDPE in composition. It is less rigid and generally less chemically resistant than HDPE, LDPE is used primarily for squeeze applications. LDPE is significantly more expensive than HDPE, Polyethylene Terephthalate is commonly used for carbonated beverage, water bottles and many food products. PET provides very good alcohol and essential oil barrier properties, generally good chemical resistance, the orienting process serves to improve gas and moisture barrier properties and impact strength. This material does not provide resistance to high temperature applications—max. 200 °F. Polyvinyl Chloride is naturally clear, has good resistance to oils.
It provides an excellent barrier to most gases and its drop impact resistance is very good. This material is resistant, but it is vulnerable to some solvents
10.
Lees (fermentation)
Lees refers to deposits of dead yeast or residual yeast and other particles that precipitate, or are carried by the action of fining, to the bottom of a vat of wine after fermentation and aging. The yeast deposits in beer brewing are known as trub, yeast deposits from secondary fermentation of both wine and beer are referred to as lees. This material is the source for most commercial tartaric acid, which is used in cooking, normally the wine is transferred to another container, leaving this sediment behind. Some wines are aged for a time on the lees, leading to a distinctive yeasty aroma. The lees may be stirred in order to promote uptake of the lees flavour, the lees are an important component in the making of Ripasso where the leftover lees from Amarone are used to impart more flavour and colour to partially aged Valpolicella. Sur lie literally translates from French as on lees, sur lie wines are bottled directly from the lees without racking. In the case of great Chardonnay, such as Montrachet, this adds a toasty, nutty hazelnut quality and additional depth, chemically this can alter the oak flavour molecules increasing the integration, and making the oak seem less obtrusive to the palate.
This is desirable because oak tannins are an acid. This process can give an added freshness and creaminess to the wine. Muscadet is made in this fashion, the effect of the lees during bottle fermentation for at least 18 months on Champagne is considerable. The bready toasty notes associated with some of the greatest sparkling wines made are the result of sur lie aging, beer on lees is sometimes made. Many of the beers offered by the Quebec, Canada based Unibroue are on lees, a process in which yeast is added to wine that has completed primary fermentation. This secondary yeast addition typically remains in the wine from two to eight weeks, depending on the wine makers goals, the yeast is stirred frequently during the protocol, and racked off when the protocol is complete. Also known as autolysis, a light lees protocol releases additional mannoproteins and polysaccharides that can influence the flavour
11.
PH
In chemistry, pH is a numeric scale used to specify the acidity or basicity of an aqueous solution. It is approximately the negative of the base 10 logarithm of the concentration, measured in units of moles per liter. More precisely it is the negative of the logarithm to base 10 of the activity of the hydrogen ion, solutions with a pH less than 7 are acidic and solutions with a pH greater than 7 are basic. Pure water is neutral, at pH7, being neither an acid nor a base, contrary to popular belief, the pH value can be less than 0 or greater than 14 for very strong acids and bases respectively. The pH scale is traceable to a set of standard solutions whose pH is established by international agreement, the pH of aqueous solutions can be measured with a glass electrode and a pH meter, or an indicator. In the first papers, the notation had the H as a subscript to the p, as so. The exact meaning of the p in pH is disputed, but according to the Carlsberg Foundation and it has been suggested that the p stands for the German Potenz, others refer to French puissance.
Another suggestion is that the p stands for the Latin terms pondus hydrogenii, potentia hydrogenii and it is suggested that Sørensen used the letters p and q simply to label the test solution and the reference solution. Currently in chemistry, the p stands for decimal cologarithm of, PH is defined as the decimal logarithm of the reciprocal of the hydrogen ion activity, aH+, in a solution. P H = − log 10 = log 10 For example and this definition was adopted because ion-selective electrodes, which are used to measure pH, respond to activity. For H+ number of electrons transferred is one and it follows that electrode potential is proportional to pH when pH is defined in terms of activity. The reference electrode may be a silver chloride electrode or a calomel electrode, the hydrogen-ion selective electrode is a standard hydrogen electrode. Reference electrode | concentrated solution of KCl || test solution | H2 | Pt Firstly, the cell is filled with a solution of hydrogen ion activity. Then the emf, EX, of the cell containing the solution of unknown pH is measured.
PH = pH + E S − E X z The difference between the two measured emf values is proportional to pH and this method of calibration avoids the need to know the standard electrode potential. The proportionality constant, 1/z is ideally equal to 12.303 R T / F the Nernstian slope, to apply this process in practice, a glass electrode is used rather than the cumbersome hydrogen electrode. A combined glass electrode has a reference electrode. It is calibrated against buffer solutions of hydrogen ion activity
12.
History of the wine press
The earliest wine press was probably the human foot or hand and squeezing grapes into a bag or container where the contents would ferment. By at least the 18th dynasty, the ancient Egyptians were employing a sack made of cloth that was squeezed with the aid of a giant tourniquet. The wines produced by these presses were usually darker, with more color extracted from the skins, in the 17th century, French traveller Sir Jean Chardin would describe a similar practice still in use thousands of years in Georgia. The earliest evidence of deliberate winemaking is from excavation at sites like Areni-1 winery in what is now the Vayots Dzor Province of Armenia. This site, dating back to around 4000 BC included a trough that measured about 3 by 3 1/2 feet, a modified version of this sack press had the sack hung between two large poles with workers holding each pole. After the grapes were loaded into the sack, the workers would walk in opposite directions, squeezing the grapes in the bag and capturing the juice in a vat underneath the bag.
This early wine press not only had the benefit of exerting pressure on the skins and extracting more juice than treading. One of the earliest known Greek wine presses was discovered in Palekastro in Crete, like most of the earlier presses, it was mainly a stone basin for treading the grapes by feet with a run off drain for the juice to flow. However, there is evidence that some of the Cretan winemakers would use a pressing method similar to how olive oil was extracted from olives. This press would entail laying the grapes out underneath several planks of wood, the wine made from these rudimentary pressing wasnt held in high esteem by the Greeks, often tainted with impurities and having a short shelf life. Much more prized was the produced from free run juice that was released by the grapes under their own weight before any treading or pressing. This wine was believed to be the most pure and was used for medicinal purposes. In the 2nd century BC, Cato the Elder wrote a vivid and detailed account of the workings of early Roman wine presses, the press would consist of a large horizontal beam held up by two upright fixtures in the front and on upright fixture in the front.
The grapes were placed under the beam with pressure was applied by a windlass that was affixed by rope to the front of the beam, rope would be used wound around the cake of the pressed grape skins to help keep it in place. Marcus Terentius Varro and Virgil would include descriptions of the workings of wine presses in their agricultural treatises, yet despite their frequent mentions in ancient writings and archaeological evidence showing the presence of wine presses throughout the Roman empire, their use was actually relatively rare. This was because having a press was a very expensive and large piece of equipment that most Roman farmers, outside the estate holding patricians. Instead, it was more common for Roman estates to have large tanks or trough where grapes were tread upon by feet or paddles. Varro described in his work De re rustica a type of pressed wine known as lorca that was produced by the left over grape skins being soaked in water that was served to slaves and farm workers
