IMPORT-EXPORT OF WINE IN ANCIENT POMPEII: THE NEARBY VILLA OPLONTIS WAS THE CENTER OF WINE DISTRIBUTION, A SORT OF "ANTIQUE CO-OPERATIVE AND NEGOCÌANT", SAYS THE CALIFORNIAN ARCHEOLOGIST AND WINE PRODUCER, MICHAEL THOMAS

The link between Pompeii and wine is not a secret, as the many excavations and cultural recovery experiences narrate: for instance, the wine of "Villa dei Misteri", produced by the Campania region firm Mastroberardino with grapes from vineyards that thrive among archaeological digs. But, that in the ancient village there was some sort of "cooperative winery or forerunner of wine negociant" is a rather recent interpretation.
The Californian wine producer and archaeologist Michael Thomas, co-Director of Oplontis Project and director of the Center for the Study of Ancient Italy at the University of Texas, from studies carried out on the "Oplontis B" site- which excavations date back to the 70’s through the 80’s and that will be more thoroughly studied in the next three years- the building was not really just a large villa, but an actual distribution center for wine. According to Thomas, as "Wine Spectator" reported, given the artifacts and structures found, many growers gave their wine to the center, which was then put into amphorae and redistributed. The center was also a platform for imports, given the many amphorae of wine from Crete regarded as a luxury wine, and it probably supplied the important Roman villas in the area. And from antique times, as often happens, come new opportunities for narrating wine today...
Info: http://oplontisproject.org/