Ancient Celts and Wine

There have been reports recently that suggest that the Ancient Celts were partial to a tipple of wine. Archaeologists in Northern Burgundy have identified drinking vessels from 500 BC, and discovered the remains of Greek wine. There is no doubt that the Celts enjoyed a pot of wine with their game pie. I wonder if the wine tasted like ancient retsina.

The Celts also drank beer and mead. They had no idea of the natural process of fermentation; mankind had to wait until the 19th century until Louis Pasteur discovered how the process of fermentation worked. This means that for over 2,000 years the Celts remained ignorant of how their favourite drinks were produced, and that any improvement was the result of trial and error or fortuitous accident rather than scientific discovery.

I wonder what the Ancient Celts must have thought when they slugged back a goblet of red with their roast boar while they sat around the camp fire. They must have smelt their wine and tasted that it was good, and quaffed it back while they sang folk songs. The ancient stories must have become more exaggerated as they drank more and more. Some would have got quite drunk if they could afford it and some would have become alcoholics.

The ancient Celts would not have cared less about the nose of the wine or its bouquet. They weren't interested to assess its sugar content and whether the alcohol was well integrated into the wine. They might have perceived the complexity and concentration of its taste. The idea of a caudalie or a grand cru was far away from their thinking. They were just interested in whether the wine tasted good or not. The alcoholics would not have cared about the quality of the wine.

None of the mental or physical paraphernalia associated with sophisticated modern wine tasting and drinking would have existed. No doubt, the profit motive would have been going strong and some wise guy or other would have been trying to corner the wine market. 

https://www.newscientist.com/article/2206989-ancient-celts-were-partial-to-beer-mead-and-imported-greek-wines/