The pictures below show examples of dolia fossa or wine cellars found in various locations in Italy.
From there they focused on aspects including their burial in the ground, shape, porosity and the role of skin-contact methods (when the grape skins remain in contact with the juice during winemaking) and flor yeasts (yeast cells that float on the surface of the wine).
Comparison of the Georgian qvevri and the Roman dolia:
- Dolia and qvevri are egg-shaped, porous clay vessels, which means that vinification is oxidative
- Excessive and harmful oxidation is prevented by the coating of vessel interiors with pitch (dolia) or beeswax (qvevri), which penetrate the clay, thus waterproofing and sterilising the vessels
- Both wood pitch and beeswax have excellent waterproofing capabilities, but the vessels remain porous to a certain extent, and this permits a degree of micro-oxygenation
- Burying and sealing the vessels further ensured ideal conditions for making fine oxidative wines
- Fermentation in Roman winemaking was spontaneous and entirely dependant on the yeasts present on the grapes
- Grapes were gently tread (foot stomped) and squeezed (without breaking stems and seeds, which imparts unpleasant flavours) and fermentation put in motion immediately to reduce the risk of failure
- Primary fermentation—the first so-called tumultuous phase in which the bulk of the sugars are turned into alcohol—lasted nine to 30 days, during which the dolia were kept open
- As the level of carbon dioxide increased during fermentation, the egg-like shape of the dolia and qvevri created internal convection currents gently stirring up (dead) yeasts, skins and other solids and slowly mixing them with the must, promoting a uniform fermentation and a homogenous must
- The jars were then topped up with more must (to minimise air contact) and sealed with a plastered terracotta disc (operculum) or wooden lid or simply with animal skins
- The practice of burying earthenware vessels ensured a constant temperature inside them, providing a stable environment for the wine to ferment and mature through the changing seasons
- Once sealed, the wine remained in the dolia for five to six months until they were opened at the spring equinox
References:
1. Robyn White, Roman Wine Tasted 'Spicy', Archaeologists Reveal, Newsweek, January 22, 2024.
2. Dimitri Van Limbergen and Paulina Komar, Making wine in earthenware vessels: a comparative approach to Roman vinification, Antiquity, Cambridge University Press, 23 January 2024.
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