Roman wine at Mas des Tourelles

These Beaucairois are crazy!

I tested for you... the Roman harvest at Mas des Tourelles !

In this farmhouse where we discovered the remains of a Roman villa guaranteed 100% antique, we were passionate about making wines from the Roman era.

The owner of the premises made a crazy betv :
Recreate the winemaking conditions of Roman times and using exactly the same recipes as the Romans !

They decided to do everything the same : from picking by hand, dressed in the cuculus, to the setting of amphora, all just a few stone throws from Via Domitia, the first Roman road built outside Italy.
Today, like every 2nd Sunday afternoon of September, it is the day of the Roman harvest. And we had the chance to attend !
Men, women and children in loincloth bring back huge plaited baskets full of clusters. They then crush the grapes at the foot in large stone vats.

The grape then passes through the wooden lever press. An exceptional historical reconstruction that is - I admit it - really impressive (it was made from the very precise incidations contained in the texts of Caton the Elder).
The grape juice is then harvested in large terracotta jar, it will macerate several weeks with spices (the recipe is secret...).

We then go for a walk in the wonderful Roman garden and discover the remains of the Gallo-Roman villa of which we were told. Children run through the olive fields while we taste the different varieties of this famous Roman wine. We smell cinnamon, honey, nuts, it's surprising but rather pleasant I must say ! There is even a dry white wine with iodine notes, made with sea water, if so !
The afternoon ends and we leave this magical place with regret. We'll come back, promise !