Wine trade in medieval Islamic Sicily

A study examines wine trade in early medieval Sicily. Wine was a popular good traded in the Roman Empire. However, it is unclear whether wine trade in Sicily continued during the Byzantine-Islamic transition. To distinguish remnants of grapevine products from other fruit-based products in ancient ceramics, Léa Drieu and colleagues analyzed organic acids found in 109 amphorae produced or imported in Sicily between approximately 400 and 1100 CE. Amphorae were excavated in Italy and North Africa and may have stored grapevine products if they contained residue composed of more than 35% tartaric acid, with respect to the sum of malic and tartaric acids; in ripening grapes, the proportion of malic acid decreases, while the proportion of tartaric acid increases, and this effect is stronger in grapes than in other ripening fruits. Traces of grapevine products were found in local amphorae, suggesting that local trade in wine continued in Sicily. However, these amphorae might have stored grape syrup or wine vinegar, which were used as preservatives, for medicinal purposes and in Islamic cuisine. Additionally, the detection of grapevine products in Palermitan amphorae found as far away as Christian Sardinia and mainland Italy suggests that, despite wine being prohibited by Islamic hadiths, early medieval Sicilian merchants may have continued trading wine across the Mediterranean, according to the authors.

Article #20-17983: "Chemical evidence for the persistence of wine production and trade in Early Medieval Islamic Sicily," by Léa Drieu et al.

MEDIA CONTACT: Léa Drieu, University of York, UNITED KINGDOM; tel: +33 (0)648757336; email: <lea.drieu@york.ac.uk>; Samantha Martin, University of York, UNITED KINGDOM; tel: +44 (0)7385341616; email: <s.martin@york.ac.uk>; Martin Carver, University of York, UNITED KINGDOM; email: martin.carver@york.ac.uk; Oliver Craig, University of York, UNITED KINGDOM; email: oliver.craig@york.ac.uk

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