A
fumarium was a smoke chamber used in ancient Rome to enhance the flavor of wine through artificially "aging" the wine.
were placed in the chamber, which was built on top of a heated
hearth, in order to impart a smoky flavor in the wine that also seemed to sharpen the acidity. The wine would sometimes come out of the fumarium with a paler color. In his book
Vintage: The Story of Wine, Hugh Johnson noted that Pliny the Elder and
Columella did not recommend that "first-growth wines" like
Falernian wine,
Caecuban wine, and
Alban wine be smoked.
[Hugh Johnson, Vintage: The Story of Wine pg 72. Simon and Schuster 1989.]
Process
For preservation, the amphorae were sometimes treated with
sulphur dioxide prior to being placed in the fumarium. In his book,
The Cyclopedia of Biblical Literature, John Kitto states that the ban on smoked wines as offerings in the
Mishna stemmed from the Roman use of sulphur fumes - a uniquely
Gentile technique.
[John Kitto, The Cyclopedia of Biblical Literature, Fredonia Books 2005.]
See also
