The 1,650-Year-Old Bottle of Wine Debate Remains: To Open or Not To Open?

Almost a year ago, when I was reporting this story for Ancient Origins, the desire of the "experts" to open this truly rare bottle of wine was greater than ever before. This morning, however, I found out that the Speyer wine bottle remains sealed. 

Source: Ancient Origins

Modern historians have been debating for many years now if they should open the Speyer wine bottle, which is believed to be the world’s oldest bottle of wine. The Pfalz Historical Museum in Germany has been home to the legendary 1,650-year-old bottle that is sealed with wax and contains a white liquid. 

Golden Age of Wine and the Discovery of the Speyer Bottle

 The period from around 1810 until 1875 has been termed by modern historians as the golden age of wine. In northern Europe, the industrial revolution and the influx of wealth from expanding overseas empires was providing a growing middle class with resources for luxuries, some of which included wine. Legal structures were changing to facilitate credit and investment was becoming more widespread – so it was easier to expand wine production.

Source: Decanter 

Another key change was heralded by the free-trade agreement between France and Britain in 1861. This led to a period when tariffs on wines were almost entirely gone – thus ensuring that export growth stimulated production not merely for the French, but also for the Germans and Spanish, and, to a lesser extent, Italians. It was during that period (1867), when a bottle of unusual wine was discovered in Germany. 

Apparently, a Roman noble was buried with a bottle of locally produced wine around 350 AD. When his burial was unearthed near the city of Speyer in Germany, the researchers were shocked to see that there was still liquid within the bottle. 

Source: Qualita Magazine 

To Open or NOT To Open? 

So, back to the future (2018 that would be) and the question remains: Should the Speyer Bottle be opened or not? The answer is a little more complicated than most of you may think. Sure, the older a bottle of wine is, the better its contents will taste. However, in this case the Speyer Bottle is so old that many experts doubt if its wine is drinkable. 

Source: Giphy

Widely considered as the oldest known liquid wine recovered from any archaeological site, the bottle has been dated between 325 and 350 AD. Although it was analyzed by a chemist during the First World War, the bottle was never opened. 

A splash of olive oil and a seal of hot wax has kept the white wine liquid down in the 1,650 years since it was made. The wine bottle has been on display at the Pfalz Historical Museum for more than a century and though it is a curious artifact no research team dares to open it. 

During the past few years though, researchers are debating if they should open it or not, with many microbiologists insisting that the opening of the bottle could be dangerous.  The museum’s wine department curator Ludger Tekampe stated to Daily Mail, 

We are not sure whether or not it could stand the shock to the air. It is still liquid and there are some who believe it should be subjected to new scientific analysis but we are not sure. Furthermore, wine Professor Monika Christmann added, Microbiologically it is probably not spoiled, but it would not bring joy to the palate.

So, rephrasing William Shakespeare, we wonder: to open or not to open? It looks like this dilemma will continue “torturing” wine experts and scientists for many years to come.

Source: Giphy 

Sources:

To Open or Not to Open The 1,650-Year-Old Speyer Wine Bottle? ---Written by Me

Shall we crack open the 350AD vintage? Historians debate whether to open 'world's oldest bottle of wine'

Wine & Society