Ancient Wine: The Phoenicians and the spread of wine across the Mediterranean Basin

According to Yuval Noah Harari (Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind), the genus Homo evolved in Africa and spread to Eurasia 2 million years ago, resulting in the evolution of different Homo species. Homo sapiens evolved in East Africa approximately 200,000 years ago and lived there until a breakout into the broader world, commencing 70,000 years ago. The story of wine has a parallel trajectory, with its crucible being the Levant and early touch points being "near-abroad" countries. These early-adopting countries were the cult-wine regions of the time and in this series I seek to describe wine making and wine drinking therein then and now. I have, to date, covered Armenia (wine history and winemaking) and Iran and continue herein with Lebanon.

Ancient Phoenicia

Current-day Lebanon was the Phoenicia of yore. Phoenician was an ancient Greek term used to describe the Iron Age, Semitic-speaking people who inhabited the central coast of the Levant (the region along the eastern Mediterranean which roughly corresponds to modern-day Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, and certain adjacent areas).

But the Phoenicians were not limited to the Levant. Around 1100 BC the Phoenicians began founding colonies all across the Mediterranean and even on the Atlantic coasts of Europe and Africa. Carthage and Syracuse are two of the noteworthy names that have resonated down the corridors of history but these -- and most of the other colonies -- were lost to Rome during the course of the Punic Wars (264 - 146 BC).

The Phoenicians used their trade routes to spread wine and their alphabet across the Mediterranean.

Phoenicia and its trade routes
(Source: Wikipedia.org)

Wine in Ancient Phoenicia

Grape cultivation spread to Phoenicia around 3000 BC and wine became a valuable commodity for the inhabitants both as as a trade good and for local consumption in feasts and as a libation. As shown in the chart below, the wine was well-regarded and was referenced in many ancient sources.

Phoenician Winemaking

Winemaking in the Levant and across the Mediterranean, in the period between the 5th century BC and 1st century AD, utilized wine presses with the following characteristics:

• A treading floor/basin where grapes were crushed by foot
• A vat for the collection of the must 
• A connecting channel between the "crush pad" and vat.

The crush pad was generally hewn out of rock or built with stone blocks.

A newly discovered wine press at the Tell el-Burak archaeological site has revealed a marked departure from this convention.

Tell el-Burak is a small Phoenician site located near the modern-day Lebanese city of Sidon. It was occupied between the 8th and 5th centuries BC. The wine press excavated from the site dates to the 7th century BC and is the earliest evidence of winemaking in ancient Phoenicia.

The press consisted of a large rectangular treading basin (4500 L) attached to a large vat. The structure was built with plaster made from a mixture of lime and recycled ceramics. This material rendered the press both easier to build and stronger than its contemporaries. The size of the vessel indicates industrial-scale wine production.

The chart immediately below captures the actual excavated material while the one following is an artist's conception of how the press would have appeared when operational.

Excavated Tell el-Burak Wine Press
(Source: Orsingher, et al., Phoenician
lime for Phoenician wine: Iron Age
 plaster from a wine press at Tell el-Burak,
Lebanon, Antiquity 377, 1224 - 1244)

Artist's conception of Tell el-Burak Wine Press
(Source: Orsingher, et al., Phoenician lime
for Phoenician wine: Iron Age plaster from
 a wine press at Tell el-Burak, Lebanon,
 Antiquity 377, 1224 - 1244)

In addition to the press, a large number of grape seeds were found at the site, confirming a large scale, industrial operation.

Wine as a Key Phoenician Trade Good

There are a number of references from ancient sources as to the importance of wine in the Phoenician trade arsenal:

• Ezekiel's (Chapter 27) oracle against Tyre suggest the city's involvement (6th century BCE) in transporting and marketing wines produced in other parts of the Levant
• Herodotus (Hist 3.6) claimed that Phoenician wine was imported twice a year into Egypt
• Two shipwrecks (ca. 8th century BCE) discovered 30 nautical miles off the coast of Gaza are advanced as evidence of the scope of the Phoenician wine trade. These ships were laden with hundreds of carinated-shoulder amphorae (a distinctive Phoenician container) and organic residue from one amphora suggests that its contents were wine.

Carinated-Shoulder Amphora
(Source: amarnaproject.com)

Initially the Phoenicians tried to avoid spills during transport by covering the wine with a layer of oil but this proved unsatisfactory. They next tried a pinewood disk bedded into the necks of the amphorae with a clay and resin mixture. This resinous mix flavored the wine as it made contact during the course of the voyage and the Phoenicians -- as well as the Greeks -- thought that it also acted as a preservative. This was the precursor to Retsina.

Phoenician Influence in the spread of Wine beyond the Middle East

Domestication of the grapevine and production of wine was initiated in the Caucusus region during the Neolithic and spread to neighboring polities, reaching Phoenicia by 3000 BC. Phoenicia then became the key link in catapulting wine consumption and cultivation knowledge into the wider world:

• It is believed that wine was first brought to Crete by Phoenician traders
• Stassinus, author of the "Cyprus Epic Songs," stipulates that the cultivation of grape vines dates back to the early days of the Island's colonization by the Phoenicians in 3000 BC
• The Romans learned to appreciate the consumption and production  of wine from the Phoenician/Punic and Greek peoples
• The first vines in Sardinia were imported by the Phoenicians
• Winemaking in Sardinia dates back to the time of the Phoenicians.

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The Phoenicians, the progenitors of modern-day Lebanon, were clearly major players in the development and spread of wine in Mediterranean Basin and beyond.  What has become of that headstart in more modern times? I will explore that question in an upcoming post.

©Wine -- Mise en abyme

Contextualizing the newly minted Chianti Classico sub-zones

There has been a lengthy ongoing discussion among invested parties as to the need for sub-zones within the Chianti Classico DOCG. In June 2021, a specific sub-zone proposal was presented to the members of the Chianti Classico Consorzio and was approved by an overwhelming majority. I provide some context in this post.

Chianti Classico DOCG

Production Zone

The modern Chianti Classico production zone encompasses a series of hills -- elevation between 200 and 600 meters -- that are bordered by Siena to the south, the Florentine town of San Casciano Val di Pesa to the north, the hills of the Arno River Valley to the east, and the Elsa River Valley to the west. Originally referred to as Chianti, the area shaded in blue in the map below was recognized as a wine region since the 13th century but was legalized as such by a decree issued by Grand Duke Cosimi III de Medici in 1714. A Ministerial Decree issued in 1932 expanded the Chianti region to cover eight sub-zones, one of which was the original Chianti. The former Chianti was expanded to its current borders (shown in the map below) and given the name Chianti Classico in a bow to its historical origins. Chianti Classico was granted DOCG status in 1996.

Tuscany wine region map (ateliersetsaveurs.com)

Approximately 10,000 ha of vineyards are planted of which 7100 ha is classified DOCG. Vineyards have traditionally utilized the Guyot training system -- or a derivative known as the Tuscan bow -- but, more recently, spurred cordon is being implemented as it aids mechanization without sacrificing quality.

The DOCG production discipline requires a maximum yield/ha of 7500 kilograms, yield/vine of not more than 3 kg, and minimum planting density of 3350 vines/ha. Average planting density runs between 4500 and 6500 plants/ha.

The varieties planted in the region are shown in the table below.

To be designated DOCG, a wine must be made of a minimum 80% Sangiovese and up to a maximum of 20% of the following regionally produced varieties: Canaiolo, Colorino, Merlot, or Cabernet Sauvignon. A Chianti Classico D'annata cannot be sold until 1 year after the harvest and must be a minimum 12% abv. A Chianti Classico Riserva must spend 2 years in oak and a minimum 3 months in bottle. Alcohol levels must be 12.5% or greater.

After over two years of study, The Chianti Classico Consorzio announced the introduction of a new tier of wine positioned above the Riserva. This new tier is called Gran Selezione and is designed to communicate the quality of the wines resulting from replanting over 60% of the regions vines in the past 15 years. The wines must be: made from estate-grown grapes with yields not to exceed 52.5 hectoliters/ha; 80% Sangiovese; spend 30 months in oak; and spend three months in bottle. While some producers saw this as a positive step, potentially leading to single-vineyard offerings, others saw the possibility for creating greater confusion as the consumer wades through the thickets of Chianti, Chianti Classico, IGT, and the relevant tiers.

Climate

The Chianti Classico climate is continental, with long summers and cold winters. Various aspects of the climate are illustrated in the chart below.

Sources: Map - pinterest.com; information - Nesto and
di Savino, Chianti Classico

As shown on the chart, the combination of the Chianti and Pratomagno Mountains block morning sunlight from the region. In the southeast of the region, the upper Arno River valley opens up to the east and south, allowing in some morning sunlight.

According to Nesto and di Savino, climate change is forcing vineyards to migrate to higher elevations. Thirty years ago, according to the duo, vines planted above 350 m subjected their growers to ridicule; 350 m was considered prime real estate for Sangiovese. Today 500 m is desired. Alcohol levels are increasing such that in the warmer Chianti Classico areas, less sun is preferred, leading to a preference for north and northeast exposures in those zones.

As it relates to seasonal weather hazards, there is potential for bud damage from spring frosts and damaging summer hail resulting from warm humid winds rising from low to high elevations. 

Landscape and Soils

Coltorti, et al., provide insight into the population of rock types encountered in Siena Province (see chart directly below) while Bonini and Sani and Amato and Vallatto, respectively, provide soils distribution in Chianti Classico by percentage and by location.

As shown in the preceding charts, the region possesses a diversity of soils: marl (San Casciano Val di Pesa); calcareous clay (Greve and all zones at lower altitudes); sandstone (backbone of Chianti Mountains); limestone (central and southern portions of the district); and tufa (around Castelnuevo Berardenga). When limestone and sandstone are found in alternating layers, that soil is called Galestro. Clay-limestone mixes are called Albarese. According to Berry Bros & Rudd, "The sandy alluvial soils of the lower sites yield fuller, meatier wines while the limestone and galestro soils of the higher vineyards deliver finer, more ethereal examples" (bbr.com).

Calls for Chianti Classico Sub-Zones

Over the years a number of proponents have advanced arguments for dividing the broader Chianti Classico into sub-zones as a means of better defining the region’s wines. A subset of those voices — and their arguments — are presented in the following.

Walter Speller (Chianti Classico -- a call for subzoning, insidechianticlassico.com, 2/8/14) called for the Chianti Classico officials to take a cue from Côtes-du-Rhone Villages and divide Chianti Classico into sub-zones based on the main villages and allow producers to print the names of the villages on the labels. According to Walter, "this would provide the perfect structure to make the necessary, complex terroir research manageable" as it would be cut down into logical portions. This approach has historically been treated with disdain because, the argument goes:

• Soil compositions are too complex and diverse
• The hills offer too many expositions and altitudes to really corral them in such a simplistic system.

Roberto Stucchi (The Evolution of Chianti Classico, insidechianticlassico.com, 2/28/14) predicted zonation as a natural evolution. According to Roberto, the zone was "too large and diverse to be locked in the current DOCG regulations which make no distinction between the extremely diverse expressions of Sangiovese in its original territory. The evolution that he saw was first a commune-level zonation which would eventually be superseded by a village-level facility.

Michael Schmeizer (The map has arrived, now where do we go? insidechianticlassico.com, 10/15/14) spoke positively about a commune-level zonation allowing the region to sidestep the ever-present Chianti vs Chianti Classico conversation but was adamantly against restricting it by category (Gran Selezione, for example) "as this sends the signal to the market that a Chianti Classico normale cannot be special or unique, and robs the smaller producers of their advantage."

Unità Geografiche Agguniative (UGA): The Chianti Classico Sub-Zoning Solution

UGA, translated as Additional Geographic Units, has been regulated by wine laws since 2013 and defines a place of origin within a DOC/G which can be added to the name of the wine. A UGA can be an entire administrative area (a commune), a part of an administrative area, or a smaller locality within the commune (Frazione). Soave DOCG has 33 UGAs and, rather than a quality classification, each highlights the wines available therein.

Chianti Classico declined to pursue UGAs based on soils and topography because of the geologic complexity of the area. Instead, they opted to embrace the traditional areas of production with a strong terroir connection and sense of identity. Eleven areas were specified with eight going into effect immediately and three slated to be implemented in three years. The initial specification would only include the Gran Selezione category but is expected to be expanded in the future to include Riserva and Annata wines as well as additional sub-zones. The initial Chianti Classico UGA schema is illustrated graphically in the chart below.

Some points of note:

• Four of the proposed UGAs are village level (and three of those village-level UGAs are in Greve in Chianti)
• As part of this process, the Consorzio has already been able to describe the types of wine that are characteristic of each area
• The initial implementation ignored calls to not restrict the zones to a specific category (it currently only covers Gran Selezione) but this is considered a temporary state of affairs.
• This approach incorporates Robert Stucchi's evolutionary model (commune then village) into a hybrid model (mix of commune and village).

I personally look forward to gaining a deeper understanding of Chianti Classico wines by drinking within and across these new zones. I also look forward to the promised expansion to additional zones and wine categories.

©Wine -- Mise en abyme