The oldest liquid wine in the world has been discovered. Although it is red, it has been revealed to be white wine.
According to The Guardian on the 23rd (local time), a research team led by Professor Jose Rafael Ruiz Arrebola of the University of Cordoba in Spain announced in the International Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports that they discovered wine stored in a Roman funeral urn.
In 2019, the research team discovered the red liquid inside an urn in a 2000-year-old Roman tomb in the Andalusian town of Carmona, Seville in southern Spain, where an ancient city was located.
It was discovered after a family renovating their old house found a tomb and immediately reported it to the authorities. The team found urns in six out of eight burial niches (loculi) carved into the tomb’s inner walls. Two urns were inscribed with the names Senicio and Hispana.
The team started the analysis after confirming that the liquid was not due to condensation or flooding. Results showed that the liquid contained chemical components similar to modern wine, including polyphenols, tannins, and benzoic acid.
The team also concluded that the liquid was white wine despite its red color. This was determined as the syringic acid, which forms when anthocyanin, the main pigment of red wine, decomposes, was not detected. The research team speculated that the white wine had oxidized over time and turned red.
The team stated that this was the first analysis of liquid wine, while ancient wine absorbed into the walls of containers or various debris had been discovered and analyzed.
The team said, “We were very surprised to see the urn full of liquid,” adding, “The tomb was well preserved, and the wine was sealed in a lead urn, allowing it to be preserved for 2000 years.”
Previously, the oldest liquid wine was the Speyer wine from Germany, which was made about 1699 years ago. This wine was found in a glass bottle in a Roman tomb near the city of Speyer and is on display at a local museum.
