The urn was found in a tomb in Carmona, southern Spain, in 2019.
The teams research waspublishedthis week in the Journal of Archaeological Science.
The team confirmed the mystery liquid was wine by identifying its polyphenols, which are biomarkers found in wines.
The white wine, turned red by 2,000 years of chemistry, in a burial urn.Photo: Juan Manuel Román
It yielded seven polyphenols that are present in modern wine-making regions in Spain.
But a missing polyphenolsyringic acidled the team to conclude the wine was, in its day, a white.
Ignore the brownish-red color.
The top of the glass jar that contained ancient liquid wine.Photo:Cosano et al. 2024, the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports
That just means its well-aged and mixed with the ashes of the dead.
The liquids pH was 7.5, much higher than wines produced in the region today.
Forget dying of drinkone ancient Roman appears to have been interred in it.
Importantly, this is the oldest liquid wine ever found.
However, maybe someone with a very refined palette could give it a taste.
Just remember: human tastes of chicken tannins.
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We should look into changing that.
