Roman Wine Press

1. The Discovery and Excavation

The large Roman wine-press complex at Piesport was discovered in 1985 during land consolidation work on the western outskirts of Piesport, directly on the Moselle. In 1985 and 1986, it was archaeologically investigated and excavated under the direction of Dr. Karl-Josef Gilles of the Rheinisches Landesmuseum in Trier.

The complex dates from the 3rd/4th century A.D. and is one of the most significant examples of Roman viticulture along the Moselle.

The excavations brought to light the remains of an exceptionally large wine-production facility. Among the preserved features were the foundations of various rooms, several basins for processing grapes, and structural evidence of the use of a massive tree-press.

Previous excavations by Dr. Gilles had already revealed other Roman wine-pressing facilities: one across from Müstert, dated to around 120 to 130 AD, and another near the village of Ferres.

Piesport thus boasts two extraordinary examples of Roman viticulture: the oldest documented Roman wine-pressing facility north of the Alps near Müstert and the largest known Roman wine-pressing facility north of the Alps on the western outskirts of Piesport.

 

2. The Size and Structure of the Site

The large Roman wine-pressing complex originally extended over a length of 45 meters and a depth of 20 meters. The building was situated directly on the Moselle. Its front facade extended all the way to the riverbank. From here, the wine could be transported by ship to the Roman imperial city of Trier.

During the excavations, ten cellar rooms and seven basins were uncovered.

 

3. The Tanks and Their Functions

Seven vats that served different purposes in winemaking are still preserved today in the Roman large-scale wine-pressing facility.

a. The Mash Tanks

Two equally sized mash basins, each measuring 5 × 4 meters, and a smaller mash basin measuring 5.60 × 2 meters.

In these basins, the grapes were crushed by foot to produce the must.

b. The Two Pressing Basins

The two pressing vats are semicircular in shape (diameter 2.5 m). They held the pressing baskets in which the mash was pressed. The must obtained in this process flowed into the lower must collection vats.

c. The two must collection basins

Each of the two must collection basins had a floor area of approximately 2.30 × 1.80 meters and a depth of just over one meter.

According to our preliminary estimate, the practical usable capacity was up to 2,000 liters per basin.

From these basins, the must was scooped out with buckets and poured into barrels for further processing and storage.

 

4. The Wooden Wine Press and the Pressing Process

The wine-pressing facility in Piesport featured a wooden wine press with two pressing baskets. The first basket was used for the initial pressing, which yielded the higher-quality must. In the second basket, the pomace from the first pressing was pressed again. This must was of lower quality.

The pressing pressure was generated by a massive press beam, at the end of which a large wooden spindle with a heavy press stone was attached.

Before pressing, the press beam was raised and the two baskets were filled: the first with fresh must, the second with the pomace from the first pressing. A wooden plank and several smaller wooden beams were placed on top of the must until they touched the press beam.

To begin pressing, the heavy press stone was raised using the wooden spindle. This applied the necessary pressure to the press baskets. Raising the press stone required the strength of two strong slaves, who were employed as specialized laborers in Roman viticulture.

The must from the first pressing flowed into one collection basin, while the must from the subsequent pressing flowed into the other.

The two wine-press baskets and the separate collection basins thus made it possible to separate the must according to its quality.

 

5. Vineyard Areas and Their Yields

The Roman agricultural writer Columella describes grape yields that, when converted, could reach up to 6,000 liters of wine per hectare. Assuming a vineyard area of 80 hectares, this results in an annual production of approximately 480,000 liters of wine. To achieve this, approximately 720 metric tons of grapes had to be harvested and processed. With a harvest lasting at least three weeks, this meant processing about 35 metric tons of grapes daily, yielding roughly 29,000 liters of must.

The grapes were transported from the vineyards to the wine press in baskets with a capacity of about 25 kilograms. Donkeys were used as pack animals, or poles were used, with two slaves each carrying the baskets. With a daily harvest of about 35 metric tons, this amounted to approximately 1,400 basketloads per day.

Assuming dimensions of 2 × 1.5 × 2 meters, the wine-pressing basket had a usable capacity of about 5 m³. Taking practical working conditions into account, this would result in about seven pressings per day.

The extraordinary size of the Piesport large wine press suggests a correspondingly extensive and well-organized viticultural operation.

 

6. The Volume and Quality of the Wine

Assuming a vineyard area of just over 80 hectares in the Piesporter Berg—about one-fifth less than today—annual wine production was calculated at around 480,000 liters.

The separate initial and secondary pressings resulted in wines of varying quality. Based on practical experience, about one-third of the total wine yield came from the secondary pressing.

This results in the following estimated annual production:

 

Wine Quality	Volume
Wine from the first pressing, higher quality	320,000 liters
Wine from the second pressing, lower quality	160,000 liters
Pomace wine (“Bubbel”), additionally	approx. 100,000 liters
Total production	approx. 580,000 liters

 

Pomace wine —known as “Bubbel” on the Moselle:

The pressed pomace was also processed further. To do this, it was firmly trampled with the feet in a basin. Water and, in some cases, herbs or honey were then added. The pomace was sealed with soil.

Due to the remaining sugar residues, a second fermentation began. After some time, usually in November, the fermented pomace was pressed again. This produced the pomace wine, which was also known as “slave wine.”

This wine tasted rather watery but contained tannins from the grape skins and stems.

In total, the Piesport large wine press may have produced around 580,000 liters of wine of varying quality each year.

 

In closing—a Roman wine custom

At the Roman wine festival known as the Meditrinalia on October 11, old wine was mixed with new wine. To mark the occasion, a traditional blessing was recited, which we can paraphrase as follows:

Old wine to new wine.

May the old wine heal your ailments,

and may the new wine protect you from new illnesses.

 

Text: Aloys Leyendecker, Piesport

 

References

• Karl-Josef Gilles: Bacchus and Sucellus.
• Decimus Magnus Ausonius: *Mosella* (c. 371 AD).
• Lucius Iunius Moderatus Columella: De re rustica (On Agriculture), particularly Books III and IV.
• Karl-Wilhelm Weeber: Roman Wine Culture.
• Aloys Leyendecker: Lecture notes on “Sucellus” to accompany the practical demonstrations at the large Roman wine-pressing facility in Piesport. Unpublished manuscript, updated over several years.