Speaking of Hugh Johnson...
I'm reading his bood The Story of Wine and enjoying it immensely. One thing I didn't know: women in Mesopotamia and some other ancient cultures were very involved in the wine industry. The Code of Hammurabi even refers to wine merchants as being female.
The specific passages:
(Puts all this talk about modern women becoming powerful in the wine industry into some perspective, doesn't it?)
On a related note, here's an interesting site that provides a description of many types of ancient Roman wine. While I would love to taste the ancient stuff for curiosity's sake, it sounds like modern wine is far better!
The specific passages:
108: If a [woman wine-seller] does not accept [grain] according to gross weight in payment of drink, but takes money, and the price of the drink is less than that of the corn, she shall be convicted and thrown into the water. (1)
109: If conspirators meet in the house of a [woman wine-seller], and these conspirators are not captured and delivered to the court, the [wine-seller] shall be put to death.
(Puts all this talk about modern women becoming powerful in the wine industry into some perspective, doesn't it?)
On a related note, here's an interesting site that provides a description of many types of ancient Roman wine. While I would love to taste the ancient stuff for curiosity's sake, it sounds like modern wine is far better!
2 Comments:
http://zinquisition.blogspot.com/2005/10/yestradition-sucks.html
You also may try finding a translated copy of the Roman writers Cato & Varro (writing circa 50 B.C.) which had some interesting descriptions of wine production as well as other wine related paraphenalia. (barnes & Noble may have it as a used copy.
Columella would be another good source. Books are grouped into 3 larger books (books 1~4, 5, and 12 are pertinent to viticulture & Roman winemaking).
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?z=y&isbn=0674993985&itm=1
Enjoy!
Neat, thanks! I've been thinking about buying another book, called Vinum: The Story of Roman Wine. Once the wedding and the house-remodeling are done I might actually have time to read again...
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