Ancient age

It was in ancient Egypt that the first great winemakers and consumers of wine were born. Numerous hieroglyphs illustrate how wine was produced: it was mainly of the red type and was stored in amphorae with the seal of the producer and the year of the harvest. With the emergence of Greek civilization, the practice of winemaking is perfected. The use of wine becomes a sacred practice to the point of giving birth to the figure of one of the gods of Olympus: the god of wine, Dionysus, son of Zeus. From the Greeks the culture of wine is handed down to the Romans with whom the wine production undergoes an unparalleled development; this is testified by a large quantity of both poetic and technical writings dedicated to wine. The Roman people used to boil wine to preserve it better and the result of its transformation was a thick liquid with a sweet taste; in addition, to reduce its acidity, it was lengthened with sea water. Conservation and aging techniques also begin to spread. A typical wine product of the Roman age was "mulsum" or wine with honey. This precious nectar was also spiced with brown sugar, pepper, rose petals, cinnamon, saffron and other spices. It was consumed only by men while it was forbidden to women.