This material is prepared based on the original historical research from the section "Histoire de l'ampélographie" ("History of Ampelography") authored by Ch. Tallavignes, published in the first volume of the classic "Ampélographie" edited by P. Viala and V. Vermorel (Macon, 1901–1910).
The Decline of Greece and the Mystery of Carthage
While Greece began to gradually lose its former power after the glorious centuries of Aristotle and Theophrastus, Italy rose rapidly on the world stage. It was the Roman Republic, and later the Empire, that became the primary source of unique documents on viticulture and variety study for several centuries to come.
However, maintaining strict chronological order, before analyzing Roman authors, it is necessary to pause over one of the greatest mysteries of ancient agronomy — the works of the Carthaginian Mago, brother of Hannibal (died circa 203 BC). Did a true Carthaginian ampelography ever exist? And if so, was it truly an important scientific work? Ch. Tallavignes expresses serious doubts about this. It is known that Mago wrote a monumental agricultural treatise whose reputation was universal. After the fall of Carthage, the Roman Senate specifically ordered this work to be translated into Latin, and later Greek versions appeared as well. To our great regret, neither the original Punic codex, nor the senatorial translation by Decimus Silanus, nor the Greek version by Cassius Dionysius of Utica, nor even the summary by Diophanes of Nicaea have reached us.
All that remains of Mago today are scattered citations in the works of Columella, Pliny, Palladius, and in the Byzantine "Geoponica." Yet, in these surviving fragments, there is absolutely nothing from which an ampelographic researcher could gather value. It appears that in Carthage itself, the culture of the vine was of very limited significance, which is why it did not occupy much space in the lost treatise.
The First Latin Lists: Cato the Censor and Virgil
The first Latin author encountered on this historical path is Cato the Censor (233–149 BC), whose austere and ascetic figure has been preserved by history. At the same time, Horace and Plutarch ironically hinted that the old Cato was by no means a stranger to good wine, and his virtue was frequently "warmed" by noble Falernian. Cato's treatise "On Agriculture" (De Re rustica), of which only fragments remain, is valuable primarily because it is one of the oldest surviving Latin texts.
Cato, in all probability, was completely unacquainted with the books of the Greek botanist Theophrastus, which largely explains the somewhat mediocre quality of his rural notes, which lagged far behind the level of Greek science. Nevertheless, Cato forever entered the history of ampelography, as he was the first to record the oldest Latin names of grape varieties on paper. In his lists (chapters VI, VII, XXIV), vines such as Aminea major, Aminea minor, Apicius, Lucanus, Murgentinus, Eugeneus geminus, Helveolus minor, and Duracina are mentioned.
It is impossible to pass over the great poet Virgil (70–19 BC) in silence. In his famous "Georgics" (Book II), he used poetic language to convey the ideas current among the viticulturists of his time regarding the infinite number and variability of grape varieties, comparing the attempt to count them to counting the grains of sand driven by the wind in the desert. Virgil provides the names of several varieties which (with the exception of Aminea) differ entirely from Cato's list. The poet mentions the grapes of Methymna, Thasos, Mareotis, as well as the Psythia, Lageos, Purpurea, Precia, Argitis minor, Bumasta vines, and the wild forest vine Labrusca. The confusion in the naming of varieties at that point was already so deep that Virgil openly called any attempts to precisely navigate it reckless and temerarious.
The Lost Treasure of Julius Graecinus
In the period between Cato, whom Columella called the pioneer of Latin agrology, and Varro, who wrote his treatise "On Agriculture" at the age of 80 (in 38 BC), Roman viticultural literature was enriched by several important works. Sadly, today only their titles or abridged citations remain. Among these authors, Julius Atticus, Cornelius Celsus, and Julius Graecinus stand out.
The loss of Julius Graecinus's work entitled "On Vines and Trees" (De vitibus et arboribus) is one of the heaviest losses for science. According to the direct testimonies of Columella and Pliny the Elder, this foundational work constituted a true, deep, and detailed ampelography of its time. As for Varro, in his dialogue on agronomy, he dedicated a modest space to the vine and added nothing fundamentally new to the science, essentially just copying Cato's brief notes literally and adding only one new variety of Aminea to his list — Aminea scantiana.
The Pinnacle of the Roman School: Columella the Practitioner
Columella stands before us as the most profound, consistent, and authoritative agricultural writer of all antiquity. Granted, not everything in his monumental work "On Agriculture" (De Re rusticâ) was entirely original. Columella was extraordinarily well-read, knew the writings of Xenophon and Theophrastus perfectly, and by his own admission made copious borrowings from his immediate predecessors — Celsus, Atticus, and Graecinus. Yet, with a remarkable breadth of view, mastery of style, and above all, the spirit of a true practitioner, he successfully re-energized the sources he drew upon and added immense personal knowledge to them.
Like Virgil, Columella shrinks from the task of attempting to measure the infinite number of grape varieties, but he specifies an essential scientific point: a vast portion of this seemingly infinite diversity consists simply of duplicates and synonyms. Columella writes: "Every region and almost every part of a region has its peculiar types of vines to which names consecrated by custom are given. Some varieties have changed their name by changing location. Others, by changing location, have altered their quality to the point of being unrecognizable: thus, even in Italy, not to cite the entire world, even neighboring populations do not agree on the names of these vines and designate them by different names."
Some have sought to conclude from this passage that for Columella grape varieties were not fixed and modified by transfer. This interpretation squares poorly with the enumeration of a rather large number of varieties that Columella provides later. Columella simply meant that the exact same variety does not yield uniform products of quality everywhere. He flags as an exception the Amineas (Amineae), which were reputed to provide excellent wines wherever they were planted. In this regard, the ancient Amineas behave exactly like modern great varieties — Pinot Noir, Malbec, Riesling, or Furmint, which produce relatively superior wines wherever they are established around the globe.
The true treatise on viticulture that Columella inserted into his De Re rusticâ, where he masterfully condensed the most judicious advice, will remain one of the most glorious monuments raised in honor of the vine. Columella wrote practical instructions, not as a botanist or philosopher, but as a true viticulturist; his work remains full of freshness and has aged less than many modern manuals on viticulture.
It is precisely because Columella wanted to write practical instructions that he did not wish to linger over lengthy descriptions of the grape varieties. His conclusion on the application of the elementary ampelography of his time was simple: "One must plant no variety that is not renowned and keep only those whose value experience has consecrated." This aphorism would later be adopted by the wise Olivier de Serres. Columella contents himself with citing these varieties renowned either for their purpose (table, wine), or for their value (quality, quantity), or for their adaptation requirements (climat, soil, exposure). It is under these various headings that Columella gives us practical information on a large number of grape varieties and their synonymy.
Grape Varieties Cited by Columella (Book III): Albuelis, Allobrogica, Aminea gemella major, Aminea gemella minor, lanata, major, minor, Arcella (Arcelaca) major, Argitis minor, Basilica, Basilica cocolubis, Biturica, Bumasta, Ceraunia, Cydonitae, Dactyli, Dracontion, Duracina, Eugeniae, Fereola, Fregellana nigra, Helvenacia (Emarcum, Longa, Parva), Helvolae (variae), Inerticula syn. Anathiston, Irtiola, Lybiae, Merica, Murgentina syn. Pompeiana, Nomentana major, minor, Numisiana, Oleaginia, Pergulana, Praecoques, Pretia major et minor, Psythiæ, Purpurea, Rhodiæ, Rhætica, Spionia or Spionicus, Stephanitæ, Tripedanea, Unciaria, Verrucula, Visula.
Pliny the Elder: The Great Compiler
Passing over Dioscorides, who lived at the beginning of the Christian era and busied himself very little with the vine in his medical botany, we move on to Pliny. To be sure, the work of the great compiler deserves the criticism of which it has often been the object. We must, however, be more indulgent of this scientific bee that gathered honey indiscriminately from the blossoms of so many good and bad flowers. In the chapters Pliny dedicated to the vine, one no longer finds the practiced certainty of Columella. Pliny gathered information right and left from technical books as well as popular hearsay, attached more, it seems, to quantity than quality. He did not pause to separate the chaff from the wheat. His work is nonetheless of genuine interest for the ampelography of antiquity.
Furthermore, erroneous opinions have been attributed to Pliny, or rather some of his assertions have at times been taken too literally. His ampelographic ideas were not nearly as exclusive as sometimes claimed. Pliny wrote: "The types of vines are innumerable and differ no less by their size, color, flavor, and berries than by their wines." And if he advanced that there were almost as many varieties as vineyards, he likely meant that the terroir often dominated the grape strain. In our era, certain ampelographers have committed an opposite exaggeration of the same order by asserting that the variety absolutely dominates the terroir.
Pliny by no means intended to dispute the fixity of the variety, citing about a hundred of them, including several imported from foreign vineyards. What he tells us of the Eugenia plant, which succeeded well only on the territory of Alba, beautifully illuminates his thought on the modifications that many varieties can undergo when displaced: "Certain types are so fond of a given soil that they leave all their virtues there and do not transport them entirely elsewhere." One cannot contest even today the correctness of such an observation.
Pliny transmitted to us the most numerous list of ancient grape varieties that any author has provided. Pliny does not enter into a detailed morphological description of each, focusing primarily on grouping them according to their qualities and adaptation, while noting key synonyms along the way.
New Variety Names Cited by Pliny: Ægia, Æthal, Alexandrina (the pseudo-vine of Phalacra of Theophrastus), Alopecis, Ambrosiaca, Asinusca, Bannanica, Bimammia, Bucconiatis, Chane, Cinerea, Columbina, Conseminia, Echolada, Etesiaca, Falerna, Fecenia, Forensis, Gallica, Graecula, Hispana, Horconia, Leptoraga, Narbonica, Peuce, Pharia, Prusinia, Picina, Pumula, Rabuscula, Scirpula, Sophortia, Sticha (apiana), Talpana, Tarentinum, Tarrupia, Tiburtes, Tudernis, Uncialis (Unciaria of Columella), Uva Pompeii, Vernicula (syn. Scircula, Stachula), Vinaciola, Viennensis or Allobrogica.