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The production of wines using ancient techniques is a present trend with commercial interest among consumers valorising their historical background. Therefore, the objective of the present work was to recreate wines and piquettes produced from dehydrated grapes, vinified according to the techniques described in classical Roman agricultural manuals. Muscat of Alexandria grapes were harvested and subjected to greenhouse drying under ambient temperature for 7 days, during the 2020 and 2021 harvests. When weight loss was approximately 30%, grapes were processed according to different protocols, including a rehydration step using saltwater or white wine (2020 harvest). Fermentation was conducted with the addition of commercial yeast without sulphur dioxide supplementation. The piquettes were obtained from the pressed pomaces diluted with water solution (5 g/L tartaric acid). The 2020 wines showed alcoholic content and residual sugar ranging from 14.8 to 17.0% (v/v), and 0.8 g/L to 18 g/L, respectively. Volatile acidity was less than 1 g/L (as acetic acid) in all wines, except for the fermentation of crushed grapes alone, which yielded 2.3 g/L volatile acidity. The fermentation of dehydrated crushed grapes in the semi-industrial trial run in the harvest of 2021 yielded 1.1 g/L volatile acidity. The piquettes analysis showed ethanol ranging from 10.2% (v/v) to 16.0% (v/v), reducing substances less than 2 g/L and volatile acidity less than 0.8 g/L. Overall, the physicochemical analysis showed that it was possible to recreate ancient winemaking techniques that may be further improved to produce commercially and legally acceptable wines.

This study aims to assess the consumers' acceptance/preference of wines produced according to Ancient Wine-making Techniques. The wines were made from the Muscat of Alexandria variety (Vitis vinifera L.), comprising three basic styles: (i) young passito-style; (ii) passito wine incubated at 45 C for 4 months; and (iii) piquette-style beverages obtained from the pomace of the withered grapes. The produced wines were rated on a 9-point hedonic scale for liking; whereas familiarity, consumption intention, and willingness-to-pay (WTP) were assessed by respondents on a 5-point Likert scale. The results showed that heating was essential to obtain liking scores and WTP equal to those given to a commercial Madeira fortified wine. Overall, the wines with higher residual sugar were preferred over the drier ones. The least preferred wines were the piquettes, those where salt was added during grape rehydration.Overall, this study demonstrates that it is possible to recreate ancient wines with acceptance compared to that of commercial counterparts, especially when subjected to a heating process. Practical ApplicationsThis study revealed that the "AWT" process described in Roman agricultural treatises may be easily adapted by the industry to produce wines with sensory features compared to present commercial wines. Moreover, the results of the study showed that consumers can be segmented according to their preferences. While some individuals showed consumption intention directed to all wines, others were more discerning ("discriminating consumers") in their preferences. Thus, the marketing of these products should anticipate possible rejection by some consumers and demand an appropriate explanation of their cultural and historical meaning.