VĪNĔA, in its literal signification, is a bower formed of the
branches of vines; and, from the protection which such a leafy roof
affords, the name was applied by the Romans to a roof under which the
besiegers of a town protected themselves against darts, stones, fire,
and the like, which were thrown by the besieged upon the assailants.
The whole machine formed a roof, resting upon posts eight feet in
height. The roof itself was generally sixteen feet long and seven
broad. The wooden frame was in most cases light, so that it could be
carried by the soldiers; sometimes, however, when the purpose which
it was to serve required great strength, it was heavy, and then the
whole fabric probably was moved by wheels attached to the posts.
The roof was formed of planks and wicker-work, and the uppermost
layer or layers consisted of raw hides or wet cloth, as a protection
against fire, by which the besieged frequently destroyed the vineae.
The sides of a vinea were likewise protected by wicker-work. Such
machines were constructed in a safe place at some distance from
the besieged town, and then carried or wheeled (_agere_) close to
its walls. Here several of them were frequently joined together, so
that a great number of soldiers might be employed under them. When
vineae had taken their place close to the walls, the soldiers began
their operations, either by undermining the walls, and thus opening a
breach, or by employing the battering-ram (_aries_).
VĪNUM (οἴνος). The general term for the fermented juice of the grape.
In the Homeric poems the cultivation of the grape is represented as
familiar to the Greeks. It is worth remarking that the only wine upon
whose excellence Homer dilates in a tone approaching to hyperbole
is represented as having been produced on the coast of Thrace, the
region from which poetry and civilisation spread into Hellas, and the
scene of several of the more remarkable exploits of Bacchus. Hence we
might infer that the Pelasgians introduced the culture of the vine
when they wandered westward across the Hellespont, and that in like
manner it was conveyed to the valley of the Po, when at a subsequent
period they made their way round the head of the Adriatic. It seems
certain that wine was both rare and costly in the earlier ages of
Roman history. As late as the time of the Samnite wars, Papirius
the dictator, when about to join in battle with the Samnites, vowed
to Jupiter only a small cupful (_vini pocillum_) if he should gain
the victory. In the times of Marius and Sulla foreign wines were
considered far superior to native growths; but the rapidity with
which luxury spread in this matter is well illustrated by the saying
of M. Varro, that Lucullus when a boy never saw an entertainment
in his father’s house, however splendid, at which Greek wine was
handed round more than once, but when in manhood he returned from his
Asiatic conquests he bestowed on the people a largess of more than
a hundred thousand cadi. Four different kinds of wine are said to
have been presented for the first time at the feast given by Julius
Caesar in his third consulship (B.C. 46.), these being Falernian,
Chian, Lesbian, and Mamertine, and not until after this date were the
merits of the numerous varieties, foreign and domestic, accurately
known and fully appreciated. But during the reign of Augustus and
his immediate successors the study of wines became a passion, and
the most scrupulous care was bestowed upon every process connected
with their production and preservation. Pliny calculates that the
number of wines in the whole world deserving to be accounted of high
quality (_nobilia_) amounted to eighty, of which his own country
could claim two-thirds; and that 195 distinct kinds might be reckoned
up, and that if all the varieties of these were to be included in the
computation, the sum would be almost doubled.--The process followed
in wine-making was essentially the same among both the Greeks and the
Romans. After the grapes had been gathered they were first trodden
with the feet in a vat (ληνός, _torcular_); but as this process did
not press out all the juice of the grapes, they were subjected to
the more powerful pressure of a thick and heavy beam (_prelum_) for
the purpose of obtaining all the juice yet remaining in them. From
the press the sweet unfermented juice flowed into another large vat,
which was sunk below the level of the press, and therefore called the
_under wine-vat_, in Greek ὑπολήνιον, in Latin _lacus_. A portion
of the must was used at once, being drunk fresh after it had been
clarified with vinegar. When it was desired to preserve a quantity in
the sweet state, an amphora was taken and coated with pitch within
and without, and corked so as to be perfectly air-tight. It was then
immersed in a tank of cold fresh water or buried in wet sand, and
allowed to remain for six weeks or two months. The contents after
this process were found to remain unchanged for a year, and hence the
name ἀεὶ γλεῦκος, _i.e._ _semper mustum_. A considerable quantity of
must from the best and oldest vines was inspissated by boiling, being
then distinguished by the Greeks under the general names of ἕψημα or
γλύξις, while the Latin writers have various terms according to the
extent to which the evaporation was carried. Thus, when the must was
reduced to two-thirds of its original volume it became _carenum_,
when one-half had evaporated _defrutum_, when two-thirds _sapa_
(known also by the Greek names _siraeum_ and _hepsema_), but these
words are frequently interchanged. Similar preparations are at the
present time called in Italy _musto cotto_ and _sapa_, and in France
_sabe_. The process was carried on in large caldrons of lead (_vasa
defrutaria_), over a slow fire of chips, on a night when there was no
moon, the scum being carefully removed with leaves, and the liquid
constantly stirred to prevent it from burning. These grape-jellies,
for they were nothing else, were used extensively for giving body to
poor wines and making them keep, and entered as ingredients into many
drinks, such as the _burranica potio_, so called from its red colour,
which was formed by mixing _sapa_ with milk. The whole of the mustum
not employed for some of the above purposes was conveyed from the
_lacus_ to the _cella vinaria_, an apartment on the ground-floor or
a little below the surface. Here were the _dolia_ (πίθοι), otherwise
called _seriae_ or _cupae_, long bell-mouthed vessels of earthenware,
very carefully formed of the best clay, and lined with a coating of
pitch. They were usually sunk (_depressa_, _defossa_, _demersa_)
one-half or two-thirds in the ground; to the former depth, if the
wine to be contained was likely to prove strong, to the latter if
weak. In these _dolia_ the process of fermentation took place, which
usually lasted for about nine days, and as soon as it had subsided,
and the _mustum_ had become _vinum_, the dolia were closely covered.
The lids (_opercula doliorum_), were taken off about once every
thirty-six days, and oftener in hot weather, in order to cool and
give air to the contents, to add any preparation required to preserve
them sound, and to remove any impurities that might be thrown up.
The commoner sorts of wine were drunk direct from the dolium, and
hence draught wine was called _vinum doliare_ or _vinum de cupa_,
but the finer kinds were drawn off (_diffundere_, μεταγγίζειν), into
_amphorae_. On the outside the title of the wine was painted, the
date of the vintage being marked by the names of the consuls then in
office. [AMPHORA.] The amphorae were then stored up in repositories
(_apothecae_, _horrea_, _tabulata_), completely distinct from the
_cella vinaria_, and usually placed in the upper story of the house
(whence _descende_, _testa_, and _deripere horreo_ in Horace), for a
reason explained afterwards. It is manifest that wine prepared and
bottled in the manner described above must have contained a great
quantity of dregs and sediment, and it became absolutely necessary
to separate these before it was drunk. This was sometimes effected
by fining with yolks of eggs, those of pigeons being considered most
appropriate by the fastidious, but more commonly by simply straining
through small cup-like utensils of silver or bronze perforated with
numerous small holes. Occasionally a piece of linen cloth (σάκκος,
_saccus_) was placed over the _colum_, and the wine filtered through.
[COLUM.] In all the best wines hitherto described the grapes are
supposed to have been gathered as soon as they were fully ripe, and
fermentation to have run its full course. But a great variety of
sweet wines were manufactured by checking the fermentation, or by
partially drying the grapes, or by converting them completely into
raisins. _Passum_ or _raisin-wine_ was made from grapes dried in
the sun until they had lost half their weight, or they were plunged
into boiling oil, which produced a similar effect, or the bunches
after they were ripe were allowed to hang for some weeks upon the
vine, the stalks being twisted or an incision made into the pith
of the bearing shoot so as to put a stop to vegetation. The stalks
and stones were removed, the raisins were steeped in must or good
wine, and then trodden or subjected to the gentle action of the
press. The quantity of juice which flowed forth was measured, and an
equal quantity of water added to the pulpy residuum, which was again
pressed, and the product employed for an inferior _passum_ called
_secundarium_. The passum of Crete was most prized, and next in rank
were those of Cilicia, Africa, Italy, and the neighbouring provinces.
The kinds known as _Psythium_ and _Melampsythium_ possessed the
peculiar flavour of the grape and not that of wine. The grapes most
suitable for passum were those which ripened early, especially
the varieties _Apiana_, _Scirpula_, and _Psithia_. The Greeks
recognised three colours in wines: _red_ (μέλας), _white_, i.e. pale
straw-colour (λευκός), and brown or amber-coloured (κιῤῥός). The
Romans distinguish four: _albus_, answering to λευκός, _fulvus_ to
κιῤῥός, while μέλας is subdivided into _sanguineus_ and _niger_, the
former being doubtless applied to bright glowing wines like Tent
and Burgundy, while the _niger_ or _ater_ would resemble Port. We
have seen that wine intended for keeping was racked off from the
dolia into amphorae. When it was necessary in the first instance to
transport it from one place to another, or when carried by travellers
on a journey, it was contained in bags made of goat-skin (ἀσκοί,
_utres_) well pitched over so as to make the seams perfectly tight.
[Illustration: Silenus astride upon a Wine-skin. (Museo Borbonico.
vol. iii. tav. 28.)]
As the process of wine-making among the ancients was for the most
part conducted in an unscientific manner, it was found necessary,
except in the case of the finest varieties, to have recourse to
various devices for preventing or correcting acidity, heightening the
flavour, and increasing the durability of the second growths. The
object in view was accomplished sometimes by merely mixing different
kinds of wine together, but more frequently by throwing into the
dolia or amphorae various condiments or seasonings (ἀρτύσεις,
_medicamina_, _conditurae_). The principal substances employed as
_conditurae_ were, 1. sea-water; 2. turpentine, either pure, or in
the form of pitch (_pix_), tar (_pix liquida_), or resin (_resina_).
3. Lime, in the form of gypsum, burnt marble, or calcined shells.
4. Inspissated must. 5. Aromatic herbs, spices, and gums; and these
were used either singly, or cooked up into a great variety of
complicated confections. But not only were spices and gums steeped
in wine or incorporated during fermentation, but even the precious
perfumed essential oils (_unguenta_) were mixed with it before it was
drunk (μυῤῥίνη, _murrhina_.) Of these compound beverages the most
popular was the _oenomeli_ (οἰνόμελι) of the Greeks, the _mulsum_
of the Romans. This was of two kinds; in the one honey was mixed
with wine, in the other with must. The former was said to have been
invented by the legendary hero Aristaeus, the first cultivator
of bees, and was considered most perfect and palatable when made
of some old rough (_austerum_) wine, such as Massic or Falernian
(although Horace objects to the latter for this purpose), and new
Attic honey. The proportions were four, by measure, of wine to one
of honey, and various spices and perfumes, such as myrrh, cassia,
costum, malobathrum, nard, and pepper, might be added. The second
kind was made of must evaporated to one half of its original bulk,
Attic honey being added in the proportion of one to ten. This,
therefore, was merely a very rich fruit syrup, in no way allied to
wine. _Mulsum_ was considered the most appropriate draught upon an
empty stomach, and was therefore swallowed immediately before the
regular business of a repast began and hence the whet (_gustatio_)
coming before the cup of mulsum was called the _promulsis_. _Mulsum_
was given at a triumph by the imperator to his soldiers. _Mulsum_
(sc. _vinum_) or _oenomeli_ (οἰνόμελι) is perfectly distinct from
_mulsa_ (sc. _aqua_). The latter, or _mead_, being made of honey
and water mixed and fermented, is the _melicraton_ (μελίκρατον) or
_hydromeli_ (ὑδρόμελι) of the Greeks. The ancients considered old
wine not only more grateful to the palate, but also more wholesome
and invigorating. Generally speaking the Greek wines do not seem to
have required a long time to ripen. Nestor in the Odyssey, indeed,
drinks wine ten years old; but the connoisseurs under the empire
pronounced that all transmarine wines arrived at a moderate degree
of maturity in six or seven. Many of the Italian varieties, however,
required to be kept for twenty or twenty-five years before they were
drinkable (which is now considered ample for our strongest ports),
and even the humble growths of Sabinum were stored up for from four
to fifteen. Hence it became a matter of importance to hasten, if
possible, the natural process. This was attempted in various ways,
sometimes by elaborate condiments, sometimes by sinking vessels
containing the must in the sea, by which an artificial mellowness
was induced (_praecox vetustas_) and the wine in consequence termed
_thalassites_; but more usually by the application of heat. Thus
it was customary to expose the amphorae for some years to the
full fervour of the sun’s rays, or to construct the _apothecae_
in such a manner as to be exposed to the hot air and smoke of
the bath-furnaces, and hence the name _fumaria_ applied to such
apartments, and the phrases _fumosos_, _fumum bibere_, _fuligine
testae_, in reference to the wines. If the operation was not
conducted with care, and the amphorae not stoppered down perfectly
tight, a disagreeable effect would be produced on the contents. In
Italy, in the first century of the Christian aera, the lowest market
price of the most ordinary quality of wine was 300 sesterces for
40 urnae, that is, 15 sesterces for the amphora, or 6_d._ a gallon
nearly. At a much earlier date, the triumph of L. Metellus during
the first Punic war (B.C. 250), wine was sold at the rate of 8 asses
the amphora. The price of native wine at Athens was four drachmas
for the metretes, that is, about 4½_d._ the gallon, when necessaries
were dear, and we may perhaps assume one half of this sum as the
average of cheaper times. On the other hand, high prices were given
freely for the varieties held in esteem, since as early as the time
of Socrates a metretes of Chian sold for a mina.--With respect to
the way in which wine was drunk, and the customs observed by the
Greeks and Romans at their drinking entertainments, the reader is
referred to the article SYMPOSIUM.--The wine of most early celebrity
was that which the minister of Apollo, Maron, who dwelt upon the
skirts of Thracian Ismarus, gave to Ulysses. It was red (ἐρυθρόν),
and honey-sweet (μελιηδέα), so precious, that it was unknown to
all in the mansion save the wife of the priest and one trusty
house-keeper; so strong, that a single cup was mingled with twenty
of water; so fragrant, that even when thus diluted it diffused a
divine and most tempting perfume. Homer mentions also more than once
_Pramnian wine_ (οἴνος Πραμνεῖος), an epithet which is variously
interpreted by different writers. In after times a wine bearing the
same name was produced in the island of Icaria, around the hill
village of Latorea in the vicinity of Ephesus, in the neighbourhood
of Smyrna, near the shrine of Cybele, and in Lesbos. But the wines
of greatest renown at a later period were grown in the islands of
Thasos, Lesbos, Chios, and Cos, and in a few favoured spots on the
opposite coast of Asia, such as the slopes of Mount Tmolus, the ridge
which separates the valley of the Hermus from that of the Caÿster,
Mount Messogis, which divides the tributaries of the Caÿster from
those of the Meander, the volcanic region of the Catacecaumene,
which still retains its fame, the environs of Ephesus, of Cnidus,
of Miletus, and of Clazomenae. Among these the first place seems to
have been by general consent conceded to the _Chian_, of which the
most delicious varieties were brought from the heights of Ariusium in
the central parts, and from the promontory of Phanae at the southern
extremity of the island. The _Thasian_ and _Lesbian_ occupied the
second place, and the _Coan_ disputed the palm with them. In Lesbos
the most highly prized vineyards were around Mytilene and Methymna.
There is no foundation whatever for the remark that the finest
Greek wines, especially the products of the islands in the Aegean
and Ionian seas, belonged for the most part to the luscious sweet
class. The very reverse is proved by the epithets αὐστηρός, σκληρός,
λεπτός, and the like, applied to a great number, while γλυκύς and
γλυκάζων are designations comparatively rare, except in the vague
language of poetry.--The most noble Italian wines, with a very few
exceptions, were derived from Latium and Campania, and for the most
part grew within a short distance of the sea. In the first rank
we must place the _Setinum_, which fairly deserves the title of
_Imperial_, since it was the chosen beverage of Augustus and most of
his courtiers. It grew upon the hills of Setia, above Forum Appii,
looking down upon the Pomptine marshes. Before the age of Augustus
the _Caecubum_ was the most prized of all. It grew in the poplar
swamps bordering on the gulf of Amyclae, close to Fundi. In the time
of Pliny its reputation was entirely gone, partly in consequence
of the carelessness of the cultivators, and partly from its proper
soil, originally a very limited space, having been cut up by the
canal of Nero extending from Baiae to Ostia. It was full-bodied and
heady, not arriving at maturity until it had been kept for many
years. The second rank was occupied by the _Falernum_, of which the
_Faustianum_ was the most choice variety, having gained its character
from the care and skill exercised in the cultivation of the vines.
The _Falernus ager_ commenced at the Pons Campanus, on the left
hand of those journeying towards the Urbana Colonia of Sulla, the
_Faustianus ager_ at a village about six miles from Sinuessa, so that
the whole district in question may be regarded as stretching from
the Massic hills to the river Vulturnus. Falernian became fit for
drinking in ten years, and might be used until twenty years old, but
when kept longer gave headaches, and proved injurious to the nervous
system. Pliny distinguishes three kinds, the rough (_austerum_),
the sweet (_dulce_), and the thin (_tenue_). Others arranged the
varieties differently; that which grew upon the hill tops they called
_Caucinum_, that on the middle slopes _Faustianum_, and that on the
plain _Falernum_. In the third rank was the _Albanum_, from the
Mons Albanus, of various kinds, very sweet (_praedulce_), sweetish,
rough, and sharp; it was invigorating (_nervis utile_), and in
perfection after being kept for fifteen years. Here too we place the
_Surrentinum_, from the promontory forming the southern horn of the
bay of Naples, which was not drinkable until it had been kept for
five-and-twenty years, for, being destitute of richness, and very
dry, it required a long time to ripen, but was strongly recommended
to convalescents, on account of its thinness and wholesomeness. Of
equal reputation were the _Massicum_, from the hills which formed
the boundary between Latium and Campania, although somewhat harsh,
and the _Gauranum_, from the ridge above Baiae and Puteoli, produced
in small quantity, but of very high quality, full-bodied, and thick.
In the same class are to be included the _Calenum_ from Cales, and
the _Fundanum_ from Fundi. The _Calenum_ was light and better for
the stomach than Falernian; the _Fundanum_ was full-bodied and
nourishing, but apt to attack both stomach and head; therefore
little sought after at banquets. This list is closed by the
_Veliturninum_, _Privernatinum_, and _Signinum_, from Velitrae,
Privernum, and Signia, towns on the Volscian hills; the first was a
sound wine, but had this peculiarity, that it always tasted as if
mixed with some foreign substance; the second was thin and pleasant;
the last was looked upon only in the light of a medicine valuable
for its astringent qualities. We may safely bring in one more, the
_Formianum_, from the Gulf of Caieta, associated by Horace with the
Caecuban, Falernian, and Calenian. The fourth rank contained the
_Mamertinum_, from the neighbourhood of Messana, first brought into
fashion by Julius Caesar. The finest was sound, light, and at the
same time not without body.