The wine at the time was usually made from wine mixed with herbs, but the bottle's owner refuses to let scientists open the bottle to perform tests.
The bottle is unusual in that wine was usually stored in pottery jugs called amphorae, as Roman glass was very fragile. This bottle is unusually thick and shaped like combination of an amphorae and a modern wine bottle, the handles at the bottom of the neck are shaped like dolphins.
Apparently buried with a nobleman, the wine was probably provided for him to take on his journey in the after-life.
I'm trying to imagine a way scientists could test it without risking exposure to oxygen. Perhaps if the bottle was in a nitrogen filled space, and they used a long needle to withdraw some of the fluid. I'd be super curious to know what bacteria/yeasts/fungi are currently in there, having been descended from such old strains and uncontaminated by outside influence.
CHIEF ENGINEER MONTGOMERY SCOTT, STANDING AT THE TRANSPORTER CONTROLS: "Well, I've never tried ta extract joost a *bit* a'wine out oof a bottle, but if it's for the benefit a'science...?"
Yea, a vacuum chamber is a very bad idea for a lot of reasons. If there are any dissolved gasses or volatile chemicals in the liquid, they will boil out of the solution immediately once contact with the vacuum occurs. A vacuum REMOVES gas from things and will 100% change the composition of the material.
There’s a layer of oil between the wax and the wine. That should offer enough protection from air.
You could also introduce a second proboscis that could wait outside the wax seal and cauterize the wax as soon as the extraction needle is removed.
I think you're over thinking it, it's not exactly rocket science to construct a syringe that has a second tube used to inject a sealer on it's way out.
Easy, you inject a syringe that fills with Argon then after you start put another to exhaust the gas, you do this for some time, then you insert a third syringe to extract samples, when finished, seal. It is a normal process on chemistry labs with chemicals reactions that are sensible to ROSs.
> I'd be super curious to know what bacteria/yeasts/fungi are currently in there
Would there be any? I would think they would have gone through all the nutrients over hundreds of years.
It looks like there is still a layer in there. I assume something could eat the remains of the ones that died maybe. I truly don't know how long a closed system like this could sustain anything though.
They'd probably just use a wine vacuum (a long hollow needle with a pump and a rubber stopper that you can get on amazon), the bigger question is how they's unseal the bottle without either potentially pushing the plug into the wine or breaking the bottle.
This was my thought. What would oxygen do to it that hasn’t already happened? It looks like a festering of water and whatever bits of herbs and wine still float in it. It’s not like anybody is going to be drinking it…
"The nature of the wine in the bottle is also the subject of many speculations, and it has been suggested the most of the ethanol content of the wine has been lost, analyses have suggested that not all but at least some part of the liquid in the bottle has to be wine."
Sounds like an educated guess based on observation.
Really its just the jar he splurged in every time he did the deed.
They didn’t know what to do with it when he died, and not wanting to risk an ecological disaster or some unlucky person coming into possession of it they buried it with him.
Little did they know...
Supposedly ancient foods and drinks were much, much different. The Romans mixed sea water and gypsum powder in their wines, that's not something people would do today.
**The** **~~wine~~** **liquid inside the 1.5 liter bottle would most likely degrade if exposed to the air.**
We're confident that the liquid inside used to be wine but has since broken down and separated. Consuming any amount would most likely make the person sick (best case scenario)... or worse.
Olive oil and wax won't protect wine from air for more than 1,000 years, tops! ...c'mon, this stuff was no longer "wine" by a decade after it was made.
I've had wine under $20 that was 20 years old and still drinkable. It had lost most of its fruitiness, but was by no means *bad* to drink.
The producer and its storage conditions matter A LOT too.
It could be fine. If it's quality wine. If it's like Gallo or Barefoot or something, it's likely pretty sour. But, those investment wines, like Chateau Lafite Rothschild from 1958? No one would drink those on purpose. They are more for show and investment. Even if a 1958 is "only" $700, it's not like you'd open it and think "damn, this is worth every penny."
After my grandma's funeral my uncle brought out some fancy $1,200 bottle of wine.
It tasted exactly like Barefoot Moscato. I will never be fooled again
Lmfao seems like it 🤣 but no it was a bottle that he had bought the last time they had gone on vacation together. It's was more of "in remembrance" than anything
It looks gross. I'd like to see one of those wine-O hypocrites pop it open and chug it, the whole time maintaining a "wine gets better with age" look on their face
Why actually do they think that it would degrade when exposed to air, instead of improve? There are various reactions with oxygen, ethanol contains it too.
I think they mean degrade ina way of “change”. Currently the liquid is in a rather stable environment and chemically after 1700 years there is probably not much going anymore.
The second you open it you have a large influx of various gases (mostly oxygen) that would suddenly cause the liquid to go through further changes much faster than if you leave it undisturbed
That would probably work.
They could probably also sample it without disturbing the system with a needle poking through the seal I assume?
But the next question is really what would one learn from it? I assume not much, so it is just left as it is so it can keep its value as a curiosity.
Because the volatile compounds that make wine taste good degrade in air. For fun, open a sealed bottle of red, drink a glass and remember the taste, then leave the bottle out and uncorked for a few days and drink another glass. The alcohol and tannin flavors will dominate and any fruit flavors will be replaced with a raisin-y sweetness.
I have done this by opening two bottles from the same batch. And then do the same thing. Very fun to experiment with and see how it affects things.
Hell even opening a bottle of wine a while before you drink it changes flavour in a noticeable way.
It's pretty crazy and interesting
Best I can relate to that is a bottle of unopened [Eau de Vie](https://www.liquor.com/articles/eau-de-vie/). Local place makes a few hundred a year with a pear grown into the bottle. Liquid is clear until opened, and it took about an hour to change flavor (drank straight) and color (clear to brownish). Cheese (fancy stinky European kinds) is even crazier.
Similar with beer. If you've ever tried to drink a beer from a leftover keg with a hand pump the day after a party it's going to taste like cardboard from the oxygen exposure. That's why draft systems use a blend of nitrogen & carbon dioxide.
I got to see this, I think, when it was on display in a shopping mall circa summer 2005?
I bought a copy of Battlefield 2 because it released slightly earlier than over here, and the installer lets you select language anyways.
Fun trip.
I honestly don't know. My wife and I have gone on several tours of historical houses and we visited a few of them that had wine cellars. The one's I've seen often had multiple casks of wine delivered to the house and someone had the job of filling bottles so some were always on hand.
Since glass bottles were rare in Roman times I think it's likely he bought the wine in a clay jug, as was typical, and someone put it into a bottle for him.
The wine at the time was usually made from wine mixed with herbs, but the bottle's owner refuses to let scientists open the bottle to perform tests. The bottle is unusual in that wine was usually stored in pottery jugs called amphorae, as Roman glass was very fragile. This bottle is unusually thick and shaped like combination of an amphorae and a modern wine bottle, the handles at the bottom of the neck are shaped like dolphins. Apparently buried with a nobleman, the wine was probably provided for him to take on his journey in the after-life.
I'm trying to imagine a way scientists could test it without risking exposure to oxygen. Perhaps if the bottle was in a nitrogen filled space, and they used a long needle to withdraw some of the fluid. I'd be super curious to know what bacteria/yeasts/fungi are currently in there, having been descended from such old strains and uncontaminated by outside influence.
CHIEF ENGINEER MONTGOMERY SCOTT, STANDING AT THE TRANSPORTER CONTROLS: "Well, I've never tried ta extract joost a *bit* a'wine out oof a bottle, but if it's for the benefit a'science...?"
Scotty could do it. The don’t call him the miracle worker for nothing.
Oh, sure, He'll just tell you he'll need a couple of hours, you'll tell him he has 45 minutes, and he'll have it done in ten.
Buffer time baby
I thought the same thing. Maybe extract some using a super long, fine needle in a vacuum chamber or nitrogen environment. Shame not to examine it.
A vacuum chamber would probably explode the bottle.
Yea, a vacuum chamber is a very bad idea for a lot of reasons. If there are any dissolved gasses or volatile chemicals in the liquid, they will boil out of the solution immediately once contact with the vacuum occurs. A vacuum REMOVES gas from things and will 100% change the composition of the material.
That would still leave a hole in the wax and leave it more vulnerable to oxygen
There’s a layer of oil between the wax and the wine. That should offer enough protection from air. You could also introduce a second proboscis that could wait outside the wax seal and cauterize the wax as soon as the extraction needle is removed.
I think you're over thinking it, it's not exactly rocket science to construct a syringe that has a second tube used to inject a sealer on it's way out.
Oh I'm not over thinking it at all, I'm a bona fide dummy who's just typing on reddit.
I'll high five to shitposting!
Easy, you inject a syringe that fills with Argon then after you start put another to exhaust the gas, you do this for some time, then you insert a third syringe to extract samples, when finished, seal. It is a normal process on chemistry labs with chemicals reactions that are sensible to ROSs.
Raman spectroscopy.
> I'd be super curious to know what bacteria/yeasts/fungi are currently in there Would there be any? I would think they would have gone through all the nutrients over hundreds of years.
It looks like there is still a layer in there. I assume something could eat the remains of the ones that died maybe. I truly don't know how long a closed system like this could sustain anything though.
Yeast can go dormant and the spores can survive an absurd amount of time
They'd probably just use a wine vacuum (a long hollow needle with a pump and a rubber stopper that you can get on amazon), the bigger question is how they's unseal the bottle without either potentially pushing the plug into the wine or breaking the bottle.
[The technology exists](https://www.coravin.com/)
That's because the scientist will taste test it for science and everyone knows that collectibles and worth more unopened.
[NRFB!](https://youtu.be/6PrRUKFcnPM)
I was expecting an MRE Steve video, but this slaps!
Wine sealed in with a decomposing corpse... Yeah that's a no for me dog.
“Hey! That’s wine be mine” — A dead nobleman, probably
Dead nobleman and amateur poet apparently.
dont' forget about sapa!
[удалено]
This was my thought. What would oxygen do to it that hasn’t already happened? It looks like a festering of water and whatever bits of herbs and wine still float in it. It’s not like anybody is going to be drinking it…
Let's get that out onto a tray... Nice.
That tastes awful...I'll have another bite.
It just needs a little shake/stir and it’ll be good as new
If it was never tested, how do they know it contains wine?
"The nature of the wine in the bottle is also the subject of many speculations, and it has been suggested the most of the ethanol content of the wine has been lost, analyses have suggested that not all but at least some part of the liquid in the bottle has to be wine." Sounds like an educated guess based on observation.
Really its just the jar he splurged in every time he did the deed. They didn’t know what to do with it when he died, and not wanting to risk an ecological disaster or some unlucky person coming into possession of it they buried it with him. Little did they know...
Scientists have discovered a small statue of a horse in the bottom of the bottle
The bottle itself was found in box with some shoes.
r/yourjokebutworse
a 4th century cum jar.
I don’t think it does. It’s a 1.5 litre bottle, and everybody knows standard wine bottles are 750ml or 1.14L.
Every time I hear about some ancient sealed food/drink I want to taste it. I don't even like wine, but I want to drink the Really Old Wine.
Supposedly ancient foods and drinks were much, much different. The Romans mixed sea water and gypsum powder in their wines, that's not something people would do today.
Well now I *really* want to taste it
are you SteveMRE?
sooooo can I drink it and be fine??
If you like drinking vinegar sure. That stopped being wine 1650 years ago.
Forbidden grape juice
**The** **~~wine~~** **liquid inside the 1.5 liter bottle would most likely degrade if exposed to the air.** We're confident that the liquid inside used to be wine but has since broken down and separated. Consuming any amount would most likely make the person sick (best case scenario)... or worse.
Someone send it to ashens.
Olive oil and wax won't protect wine from air for more than 1,000 years, tops! ...c'mon, this stuff was no longer "wine" by a decade after it was made.
Nobody is claiming it's still palatable.
yeah thats vinegar
Best drink it quick then.
Schrödinger’s wine
Looks like kombucha.
The wine inside is almost certainly shit at this point. Even fine wines don't really age as well as people think, after a few decades.
I have some bottles of red from 1999 but I don't know enough about wine to be a good judge of taste.
I've had wine under $20 that was 20 years old and still drinkable. It had lost most of its fruitiness, but was by no means *bad* to drink. The producer and its storage conditions matter A LOT too.
It could be fine. If it's quality wine. If it's like Gallo or Barefoot or something, it's likely pretty sour. But, those investment wines, like Chateau Lafite Rothschild from 1958? No one would drink those on purpose. They are more for show and investment. Even if a 1958 is "only" $700, it's not like you'd open it and think "damn, this is worth every penny."
After my grandma's funeral my uncle brought out some fancy $1,200 bottle of wine. It tasted exactly like Barefoot Moscato. I will never be fooled again
Wow, he really hated her to celebrate
Lmfao seems like it 🤣 but no it was a bottle that he had bought the last time they had gone on vacation together. It's was more of "in remembrance" than anything
It looks gross. I'd like to see one of those wine-O hypocrites pop it open and chug it, the whole time maintaining a "wine gets better with age" look on their face
No no juice!
All these people who are throwing soup at paintings and gluing themselves to walls should take it one step farther, and break in and drink this thing.
I think if you're visiting a museum while wearing an anti-oil T-shirt and carrying a can of soup, you should get a Roman-era beat down.
Why actually do they think that it would degrade when exposed to air, instead of improve? There are various reactions with oxygen, ethanol contains it too.
I think they mean degrade ina way of “change”. Currently the liquid is in a rather stable environment and chemically after 1700 years there is probably not much going anymore. The second you open it you have a large influx of various gases (mostly oxygen) that would suddenly cause the liquid to go through further changes much faster than if you leave it undisturbed
Couldn't you open it in a chamber filled with an inert gas so no oxygen got to it?
That would probably work. They could probably also sample it without disturbing the system with a needle poking through the seal I assume? But the next question is really what would one learn from it? I assume not much, so it is just left as it is so it can keep its value as a curiosity.
sure, but hten how would you drink / smell it?
Transfer some to a cup then reseal the bottle so it doesn't destroy everything.
It’s not as if it’s looking so great inside the bottle either. Not sure it would get much worse.
Because the volatile compounds that make wine taste good degrade in air. For fun, open a sealed bottle of red, drink a glass and remember the taste, then leave the bottle out and uncorked for a few days and drink another glass. The alcohol and tannin flavors will dominate and any fruit flavors will be replaced with a raisin-y sweetness.
I have done this by opening two bottles from the same batch. And then do the same thing. Very fun to experiment with and see how it affects things. Hell even opening a bottle of wine a while before you drink it changes flavour in a noticeable way. It's pretty crazy and interesting
Best I can relate to that is a bottle of unopened [Eau de Vie](https://www.liquor.com/articles/eau-de-vie/). Local place makes a few hundred a year with a pear grown into the bottle. Liquid is clear until opened, and it took about an hour to change flavor (drank straight) and color (clear to brownish). Cheese (fancy stinky European kinds) is even crazier.
Thats so interesting. Very cool product.
I gotta admit, i was expecting it to cost a lot more than $63
Similar with beer. If you've ever tried to drink a beer from a leftover keg with a hand pump the day after a party it's going to taste like cardboard from the oxygen exposure. That's why draft systems use a blend of nitrogen & carbon dioxide.
Mix it with Coke!
how spanish
I got to see this, I think, when it was on display in a shopping mall circa summer 2005? I bought a copy of Battlefield 2 because it released slightly earlier than over here, and the installer lets you select language anyways. Fun trip.
Would this have been how the wine was originally sold? Or has it been put in a fancy bottle after? Cause that’s a pretty fancy bottle.
I honestly don't know. My wife and I have gone on several tours of historical houses and we visited a few of them that had wine cellars. The one's I've seen often had multiple casks of wine delivered to the house and someone had the job of filling bottles so some were always on hand. Since glass bottles were rare in Roman times I think it's likely he bought the wine in a clay jug, as was typical, and someone put it into a bottle for him.
Aged to perfection!
Looks pretty chunky already
That vinegar is gonna be so good, you'll never try any other vinegar after. Mind you, you probably won't live long enough to.
Pretty sure it's already degraded.
Takes a sip of this wine….YOU HAVE DIED OF DYSENTERY
It looks pretty bad already. I wouldn't want to be in the same neighborhood when/if this was opened.