Wine & Met

The wine of antiquity

Here you will find selected wines based on ancient recipes by Roman chefs, such as Apicius! But see for yourself!

By the way, wine was one of the staple foods of the Romans! In ancient times, wine was the only drink recognised by all the nations of the Mediterranean world. Just like today, there was a distinction between vinum album, white wine, and vinum atrum, red wine (dark wine). In between, of course, there were numerous nuances. Apicius even provides a recipe in his cookbook for speeding up the process of how wine becomes lighter when stored. The Romans drank far more red wine than white grape juice. In terms of taste, ancient wine drinkers preferred a vinum dulce (sweet wine) and some of the top vineyards produced praedulce (very sweet). The Romans already had a rich abundance of wine varieties. So far, about 185 varieties of Roman wine have been recorded.

Omnipresent Roman wine

In the Roman Empire, wine was a mass product that was available in all regions and was transported in amphorae, in the Mediterranean region also in hoses, and in northern Europe also in barrels. Wine was drunk in large quantities and always by the Romans. Not only citizens and legionaries drank wine in the Roman Empire. Slaves were also allowed to drink wine. Only women were originally forbidden to drink wine in order to prevent licentiousness. However, this ban was already lifted in the late Republic.

Wine with honey

The Romans primarily drank sweet wine, which they called mulsum and which was made with honey. Depending on the time of day, they mixed it with water in a ratio of up to one to ten - a little more water in the morning, a little more vino in the evening! Apicius, by the way, reports on the preparation of ancient spiced wine: "15 pondera of honey are put into a vessel, having previously poured in two sextarii of wine, so that you boil down the wine to a honey broth. It is heated over a low flame and with dry wood, stirred with a stick while it boils. When it starts to boil over, unless it goes down by itself by reducing the fire. When it has cooled down, it is reignited. This is done two and three times and only then is it taken off the cooker and skimmed the following day. Then add four vniciae of already cracked pepper, three scripvli of mastrix, one dragma each of bay leaves and saffron, five roasted date seeds and the dates themselves soaked in wine, preceded first by the addition of wine, so that you get a mild mixture. When all this is prepared, pour over it sextarii 18 mild wine."

Roman wine today

Why not try this recipe for yourself and pour the drink into one of the beautiful clay jugs that you will also find on these pages of the Roman Shop. For any "Roman" guest meal or a festive, very stylish table you will find under the category Roman pottery and ceramics in the Roman Shop. And of course, for decoration and the corresponding flair, also under the other pages of the Roman Shop. Simply go on a voyage of discovery on the Roman pages!

Have fun!