In Beaucaire, while digging on the site of a 17th-century Languedoc farmhouse, amphorae were discovered... and more specifically, the ruins of an authentic Gallo-Roman villa, buried for centuries under the local vineyards.
The owners then had a brilliant idea and decided, with the help of archaeologists, to “delve deeper” into the adventure. Excavations, extraction, collaboration with archaeologists—everything was done to return to the most authentic form of antiquity.
This is how a functioning cellar, with its wooden lever press, terracotta jars, amphorae, and baskets, and a Gallo-Roman vineyard were reconstructed, and wine-making recipes handed down by Latin authors were developed.
A Roman-style garden leads to the reconstructed vineyard. A path runs alongside an orchard and a herb garden, ending at the archaeological remains of a Gallo-Roman amphora workshop with its pottery kilns.
The three Roman wines
Mas des Tourelles produces three wines made according to original recipes.
These are “Mulsum,” a “honeyed” wine whose preparation and virtues are described by several authors, such as Pliny the Elder and Columella.
Secondly, “Turriculae,” according to a text by Columella. Plants such as fenugreek, iris, and, even more surprisingly, the addition of seawater, contribute to the originality of this wine.
Carenum, a sweet wine described by Palladius, is obtained by fermenting very ripe grapes with plants, defrutum, grape juice concentrated by boiling and flavored with quinces.
After visiting the cellar and the exhibition on Roman roads, vine cultivation, and wine in the Gallo-Roman era, you can taste the “Roman archaeological” wines in the regional products shop.
In 2015, a perfumer's workshop was reconstructed, complete with its monumental wedge press.
A 10-minute film on a giant screen in the heart of the cellar presents the Roman grape harvest in the reconstructed cellar.
Around mid-September, don't miss the Roman grape harvest in period costume and period pressing.
Mas des Tourelles
4294, route de Saint-Gilles,
30300 Beaucaire
Tel.: +33 (0)4 66 59 19 72
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