Le γλεῦκος dans tous ses états. Le moût, le « vin doux », le vin nouveau et la maîtrise du processus fermentaire dans le monde égéen de l’époque classique à l’époque byzantine

Abstract

This article explores the winemaking practices of the Greeks in the Aegean world, from classical times to late antiquity, reading the ancient sources in the light of the latest progress in oenology. Following the process of wine-making from the harvest and its crushing to the moment of the opening of the amphoras and the consumption of wine, it shows that the winemakers used a variety of efficient techniques to supervise fermentation. Resulting from overripe harvests, the must, aged in an oxidative atmosphere, could, if necessary, receive plant or mineral inputs in different forms to correct its sugar content and acidity. These additions also had an antibacterial and antifungal action contributing, like tanning and salting, to the stability of the must. Thermoregulation permitted a long term consumption of unfermented must, especially within the context of γλυκισμοί.