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Advisor(s)
Abstract(s)
The earliest archaeological evidence of wine came from ceramic vessels of the Tran-
scaucasian ‘Shulaveri-Shomutepe’ or ‘Aratashen-Shulaveri-Shomutepe culture’ (SSC/AShSh: c.
6000–5200 BC). Western European ‘Bell Beaker culture’ (BB: c. 2500–2000 BC) is characterized by bell-
shaped pottery vessels but has so far not been found with residues consistent with wine. Knowing
that wild grapes populated both habitats, the absence of wine during the Bell Beaker period remains
to be explained. The main goal of this work was to investigate whether the shape of the vessels could
influence the performance of spontaneous fermentation, specifically regarding the production of
volatile acidity. Crushed grapes or juices from various grape cultivars were fermented in two types
of vessels: (i) borosilicate glass beakers (4–5 L) to imitate bell beakers and (ii) Erlenmeyer flasks (5 L)
to imitate SSC/AShSh vessels. Fermentations occurred spontaneously, and the wines were analyzed
for their conventional physical–chemical parameters (e.g., ethanol content, total acidity, volatile
acidity, pH), chromatic characteristics (e.g., wine color intensity, wine hue), and volatile composition
by gas-chromatography-flame ionization detection (GC-FID). At the end of fermentation, the yeast
species were identified by molecular methods. In addition, wine yields and phenolic composition
(e.g., total phenols, anthocyanins, total pigments) were determined for wild grapes in comparison
with six red varieties Vitis vinifera L. subsp. sativa (Vinhão, Marufo, Branjo, Melhorio, Castelão and
Tempranillo Tinto), chosen as a function of their genetic relatedness with the wild counterpart. Wines
produced from V. sylvestris grapes showed higher total acidity and color intensity when compared
to the cultivated varieties. Saccharomyces cerevisiae dominated at the end of all spontaneous fermen-
tations in all types of vessels and conditions. Wines fermented in Erlenmeyers showed ethanol
concentrations as high as 14.30% (v/v), while the highest ethanol level was 12.30% (v/v) in beakers.
Volatile acidity increased to a maximum of 4.33 g/L (acetic acid) in Erlenmeyers and 8.89 g/L in
beakers. Therefore, the shape of the vessels influenced the performance of fermentation, probably
due to the different exposures to air, leading to vinegary ferments more frequently in open mouths
than in conical-shaped flasks. These results provide a hypothesis based on fermentation performance
for the absence of wine produced in the Iberian Peninsula until the arrival of Phoenician settlers.
Description
Keywords
experimental archaeology pottery vessels vessel’s shap prehistoric winemaking Shulaveri-Shomutepe/Aratashen-Shulaveri-Shomutepe culture Bell Beaker culture Vitis sylvestris spontaneous fermentation vinegar wine yields phenolic composition volatiles
Pedagogical Context
Citation
Malfeito-Ferreira, M.; Granja-Soares, J.; Chandra, M.; Asryan, A.; Oliveira, J.; Freitas, V.; Loira, I.; Morata, A.; Cunha, J.; Harutyunyan, M. Investigating the Influence of Vessel Shape on Spontaneous Fermentation in Winemaking. Fermentation 2024, 10, 401. https://doi.org/10.3390/fermentation10080401
Publisher
MDPI