SC - Palladius on Booze (#7)

[Ian van Tets]

Hello!  In this instalment Palladius goes on a brewing binge...

October:  Book the Eleventh
De vinis pomorum

40      That I have redde, and Greekes in thaire faith
        Afferme I thinke it here to you declare.
        This difference in winw thaire writyng saith
        Ther is, that swettest wynes hevy are,
        The white a partie salt is not to spare,
        The bledder helpeth it, the yolgh coloured
        Digestion is greetly by socured.
        
41      The stiptik white a stomake that is laxe
        Wol helppe enducing coloure that is pale
        And lesse of bloode in man therof wol waxe;
        From grapes blake a mighty wyne wol hale;
        And swete of rede;  and swettest from the smale;
        And fro the white is drawe a commune wyne,
        But condyment is thus to make it fyne.
        
42      The must decocte to his medietee
        Or thridde parte thay caste to thaire wyne.
        But Grekes have an other subtiltee:
        Of see quyete up taketh thai maryne
        Water purest, oon yere thai lete it fyne,
        Wherof thai sayen so maade is the nature,
        Of bitterness or salt that it is sure.
        
43      This age alle ille odoure eschaungeth sweete.
        The VIIIth part therof in must thay doo;
        The Vth part of gipse is therto meete.
        And after dayes three thai gothe therto,
        And mightily thai route it to and fro.
        Thus dight, thay sayen that longe thai wol endure,
        And in coloure be resplendent & pure.
        
44      Iche daies IX a wyne is to be moeved,
        And namely when ther is a latte vyndage.
        By sayng ofte is what to hold ypreved
        And what is goode to send on pilgramage.
        Of resyne drie and stamped sumen gage
        Three unces into a tonne, and alto meve
        It, and it shal endure, as thay byleve.
        
45      The must that is byrayned thus thai sure:
        By taste thay wite yf it berayned be,
        The XXth part away to boile, her cure
        Is first of gipse an hundreth quantitee
        Doon with;  and other wol it boiled se
        Until the Vthe parte of it consume,
        And after yeres IIII in use assume.
        
46      Of wynes soure is taught to make sweet
        With barly floure, and not but cruses two,
        As for a smalle vessesl so moche is meete,
        An houre into the wyne let it be doo.
        And oon doth dregge of swete wyne therto.
        Of glizicide a parte he hath infuse
        All drie, and longe yshogged it wol use.
        
47      And beste odour hath wyne in dayes lite,
        The bay of myrte agrest mountaine and drie
        Yf that me grynde, or braying al to smyte,
        And into a wyne barel downe let hem sie,
        And after dayes X theroute of trie.
        Or floures sweete of vyne or other tree
        In umber dried may reserved be.
        
48      Bur bray hem smal, & presse hem in a newe
        Vessel, and whenne thou wilt, on kades thre
        Of wyne a certayne of this floures snewe,
        And closed fast uppon the vessel se;
        At dayes VI ydroken may it be.
        And forto make a wyne to drynke swete
        Of saturage or fenel putte in meete.
        
49      Other the fruyte of pynes nuttes two
        Wol bake, and in a cloothe into the wyne
        Vessel let honge, and cleme it wol therto.
        Atte dayes V yserved this wyne is.
        To other crafte an ere eke to enclyne is:
        Howe vynes yonge as olde shal appere:
        Who liketh have that crafte may lern it here,-
        
50      The soure almaunde, & wermode, & feyn greeke,
        Frote hem yfere asmoche as wol suffice,
        The gumme of fructifying pynes eke,
        And bray alle aswel as thou canst devyse.
        A cruce into a stene of wyne devise:
        Confected thus ther wol be wynes greet.
        Lest thay enfecte is forther nowe to trete:
        
51      Tak aloen & murre & magma with
        Saffron, of iche iliche, and thus demene
        With brayyng whenne thay made to pouder beth
        Let mynge hem with an hony that is clene,
        A cruse of this nowe putte in a wyne stene;
        And save thay are;  and wynes of oon yere
        Atte passing age is thus to make appere.
        
52      An unce of melion, of gliricide
        Thre unce, and take asmoche of narde Celtike:
        Let stampe hem also smal as may betyde,
        With aloes tweyne unces epatike;
        Let vessel it, and set it uppe in smyke.
        Sex spoonful putte in V sester wyne
        Wol make it auntceaunt appere and fyne.
        
53      The wynes browne eschaungeth into white
        Yf that me putte in it lomente of bene.
        To putte also in oon galon the white
        Of eyron III, and shake it in his stene,
        The next day al white it wol be clene.
        Of Afre pese if thou do to loment,
        The same day it serveth thyne entent.
        
54      The vyne also thai sayen hath that nature, 
        that vynes yf me brenne, or white or blake,
        And kest hem into wyne, me may be sure
        The wyne coloure after the vynes take,
        For white of white, and broune of browne, shal wake.
        But therof into a tonne a strike donne be, 
        That is X stene, and there be dayes three,
        
55      So close it, XL dayes let it rest.
        An esy wyne a man to make stronge,
        Take leef, or roote, or caule of malowe agrest,
        And boyle it, kest it so thyne wyne amonge.
        Or gipse, or askes twey cotuls no wronge
        Thi wynes doth, III piluls of cupresse
        Or leef of boxe an handful thereto gesse.
        
56      Or ache seede, & askes of sarment
        Wherof the flaume hath left a core exile,
        The body so, not alle the bones, brent;-
        Also a man may in oon dayes while
        So trete a stordy wyne that it shal smyle,
        And of a rough drinker be clere and best.
        Now se the crafte is easy and honest.
        
57      Take pepur cornes X and twy as fele
        Pistacies, hem with a quantitess
        Of wyne to stampe as mal as thou may dele,
        And to VI sester wyne comyxt it be,
        And route of so that thay togeder fle.
        Nowe let hem rest, and clense hem, and to use
        Hem right anoone ther wol noo man refuse.
        
58      A trouble wyne anoon a man may pure:
        Seven curnels of a pyne appul do
        In oon sester of wyne that is ympure,
        And travaile it a tyme to and fro, 
        And after suffre it to rest (to) go,
        Anoon it wol receyve a puritee:
        So clensed thenne & used may it be.
        
Translator's notes:
40:  Greeks say that sweet wines are heavy;  white salty wine is good 
for the bladder;  yellow wine for digestion.
41:  A white styptic helps laxity, inducing paleness and making 
little blood.  Black grapes make a strong wine, red a sweet.  Common 
wine is from white grapes.
42:  To flavour wine, the Greeks add to it must boiled down to half 
or a third.  Another contrivance is to take clean water from the sea 
when quiet, and let it fine for a year.  They say it is thus free 
from salt and bitterness.
43:  Its 8th (qu. 80th) part they mix with must, and a 5th (qu. 50th) 
of gypsum.  After three day stir it well, and it will keep long and 
be brilliant.
44:  Every nine days it should be stirred, especially in a late 
vintage.  Frequent observation will teach what to keep and what to 
send away.  Some plunge 3 oz of resin into the barrel to make it keep.
45:  They know by tasting, whether the must has been damaged by rain, 
and they boil away the 20th part, and cure it 100th part of gypsum.
46:  Sour wines are made sweet by 2 cyathi of barley meal, left in 1 
hr, and some add dregs of sweet wine, or dry liquorice, and use it 
after it has been long shaken.
47:  In a few days wine acquires best odour if myrtle berries dried 
and ground, or pounded, are allowed to sink in the barrel for 10 
days;  or keep sweet flowers dried in the shade.
48:  And pound them small and sprinkle a certain quantity of them on 
3 casks of wine, and close them for 6 days, or put in a sufficient 
quantity of savoury or fennel.
49:  Others bake the fruit of 2 pinenuts and let them hang in a cloth 
in the vone-vessel, and plaster it well over.  Listen to another 
method for making new wine appear old.
50:  Rub together sour almonds, wormwood and fenugreek, and the gum 
of fruit-bearing pine.  Put a cruse of it into a stone of wine:  thus 
they will be great.
51:  Take equally of aloes, myrrh, saffron-dregs, and when they are 
powdered, mix them with honey, put a cupful into a stone of wine, 
and it will make new wine appear old.
52:  1 oz meliot, 3 of licorice, 3 of Celtic nard, stamp small with 2 
oz of hepatic aloes, put into a vessel in the smoke.  This will make 
wine appear old.
53:  Bean-mash changes dark wine to white;  or the white of 3 eggs; 
or a mash of African beans.
54:  If one burns a vine, black or white, and casts it into wine, it 
will take the same colour.  Into a tune of wine put a strike of this 
burnt vine for 3 days.
55:  Close it and let it remain 40 days.  To make a mild wine strong, 
boil the leaf, root or stalk of wild mallow, and cast it in the wine.
56:  Or parsley-seed, or ashes of burnt vone-cuttings from which the 
flame has taken body and strength:  in one day a strong and rough 
wine may be made light and clear.
57:  Mix 10 peppercorns and twice as many pistachios stamped as small 
as possible with 6 pts of wine, and shake well together.
58:  A muddy wine is made clear by putting 7 kernels of pineapple 
into a pint, and working it well.

More coming soon!
Cairistiona
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