Wine in 14th Century England
There was considerable consumption of wine in the Middle Ages. A certain amount was produced in England, although by the reign of Henry III the output was decreasing, possibly due to the poor quality and the change in the weather conditions with decreasing temperatures and increase in dampness. (Newman, 2001, p21-22). The ease with which the wine could be imported from France also assisted with this decline. However, some was still produced in England during the reign of Henry VIII. In England this was predominantly the domain of the church, although many households carried out small production for personal use.
The greatest volume of wine drunk in England was imported wine. Most of the production in England was white wine and most of the produce of English vineyards in the Middle Ages appeared to be verjuice. In 1289, 7 pipes (1 pipe was 126 gallons) of white wine and 1 pipe of verjuice were produced from the epsiscopal winery at Ledbury, owned by the Bishop of Hereford. He was expected to drink his own wine for at least part of the year. The 7 pipes were apparently valued at about ½ of the price of the same quantity of imported wine bought in Bristol. (Hammond, p12)
The sale of wine was regulated, as was the sale of ale. Sellers were only allowed to sell red or white, not both, which was meant to inhibit the mixing of the two varieties. In 1353, sellers were also forbidden to stock sweet wine with any other type, probably due to the medical/health benefits to sweet wines over sour red. Most wine was bought as needed – Edward IV forbade any commoner to keep more than 10 gallons of wine in his house for his private use, unless his income of more than 100 marks per year, or had property worth more than 1000 marks. (Hammond, p57)
Wine drunk in England tended to be new and therefore strong and harsh. Less strong wines did not keep well and old wine was not well regarded. There was some awareness of the decomposition of wine, although there appeared to be limited ability to address it. A number of solutions provided to improve or cure bad wine. The Goodman of Paris gave a number, including letting it stand out in the frost, adding powdered elderwood and grains of paradise in order to improve the smell. Viander de Taillevent (Prescott, p49-51) had a number of remedies to cure wine, including to: improve and redden must or new wine for early sale; keep wine from becoming ropey and being troubled; cure wine turned sour, frusty, musky or spoiled; clarify wine.
The distillation of wine to spirits had been known in Europe since at least the 12th century. It was first used mainly as a medicine, distilled by apothecaries, but by the 14thcentury England as aqua vitae in recipes for spiced wine. Other recipes describe how to make a kind of liqueur by distilling strong wine with spices. (Hammond, p60)
Plenty of food and ale had to be supplied when entertaining guests, because it was important that the lord appear open handed and generous. The cups of ale and wine had to be kept full and the presentation of wine and ale to the guests, as well as to the lord, was accompanied by much ceremony. Wine was frequently drunk watered down and would have been diluted before it was brought to the table, since wine was usually served to the guests (they were neither expected nor allowed to serve themselves). (Hammond p112)
The greatest volume of wine drunk in England was imported wine. Most of the production in England was white wine and most of the produce of English vineyards in the Middle Ages appeared to be verjuice. In 1289, 7 pipes (1 pipe was 126 gallons) of white wine and 1 pipe of verjuice were produced from the epsiscopal winery at Ledbury, owned by the Bishop of Hereford. He was expected to drink his own wine for at least part of the year. The 7 pipes were apparently valued at about ½ of the price of the same quantity of imported wine bought in Bristol. (Hammond, p12)
The sale of wine was regulated, as was the sale of ale. Sellers were only allowed to sell red or white, not both, which was meant to inhibit the mixing of the two varieties. In 1353, sellers were also forbidden to stock sweet wine with any other type, probably due to the medical/health benefits to sweet wines over sour red. Most wine was bought as needed – Edward IV forbade any commoner to keep more than 10 gallons of wine in his house for his private use, unless his income of more than 100 marks per year, or had property worth more than 1000 marks. (Hammond, p57)
Wine drunk in England tended to be new and therefore strong and harsh. Less strong wines did not keep well and old wine was not well regarded. There was some awareness of the decomposition of wine, although there appeared to be limited ability to address it. A number of solutions provided to improve or cure bad wine. The Goodman of Paris gave a number, including letting it stand out in the frost, adding powdered elderwood and grains of paradise in order to improve the smell. Viander de Taillevent (Prescott, p49-51) had a number of remedies to cure wine, including to: improve and redden must or new wine for early sale; keep wine from becoming ropey and being troubled; cure wine turned sour, frusty, musky or spoiled; clarify wine.
The distillation of wine to spirits had been known in Europe since at least the 12th century. It was first used mainly as a medicine, distilled by apothecaries, but by the 14thcentury England as aqua vitae in recipes for spiced wine. Other recipes describe how to make a kind of liqueur by distilling strong wine with spices. (Hammond, p60)
Plenty of food and ale had to be supplied when entertaining guests, because it was important that the lord appear open handed and generous. The cups of ale and wine had to be kept full and the presentation of wine and ale to the guests, as well as to the lord, was accompanied by much ceremony. Wine was frequently drunk watered down and would have been diluted before it was brought to the table, since wine was usually served to the guests (they were neither expected nor allowed to serve themselves). (Hammond p112)
Wine production
While wine presses based on a platform which screwed down were available they were often owned by the church or the gentry who charged a fee to use (Estricher, 2004, p23). Foot pressing of grapes, while not as efficient as wine presses, was continued for small scale production. One of the more common depictions of this process shows the local population stamping the grapes in a barrel with the juice draining from holes in the base of the barrel. The fermentation was often assisted by the addition of wild yeast and, once fermented, the wine was allowed to age in barrels as the wood allowed the wine to breathe.
Pressing our own wine
As one of our entries for the Pentathlon, we chose to make some wine, using the foot-press method (see our blog entry here). We chose to use table white grapes rather than red due to the medieval preference for sweeter white wines over the stronger red wines. We don’t expect to produce a great wine, but the process has been enjoyable so far.
The experience of pressing the grapes was fun and interesting. Whilst it was cold at the commencement of the process, it was very cathartic. There is a noticeable technique to foot pressing grapes, which includes a twist and slide of the foot when stamping down on the grapes. This seemed to squish the grape more effectively than just stamping on the grape. Once all the grapes were pressed (approximately half an hour for 15 kg of grape), we added some sulphide tablets (for sterilisation) and yeast (for fermentation). The grapes sat in their skins and the yeast for a week in the stamping barrel and were then strained, with the juice and yeast poured into a fermenter for a few months.
The final product will be available for tasting at the display in November.
The experience of pressing the grapes was fun and interesting. Whilst it was cold at the commencement of the process, it was very cathartic. There is a noticeable technique to foot pressing grapes, which includes a twist and slide of the foot when stamping down on the grapes. This seemed to squish the grape more effectively than just stamping on the grape. Once all the grapes were pressed (approximately half an hour for 15 kg of grape), we added some sulphide tablets (for sterilisation) and yeast (for fermentation). The grapes sat in their skins and the yeast for a week in the stamping barrel and were then strained, with the juice and yeast poured into a fermenter for a few months.
The final product will be available for tasting at the display in November.