Let’s Make Spiced Wines from the Past

This is not just a wine course: it is a journey into the past through wine!

You will discover every secret to prepare at your home the spiced wine drunk thousands of years ago in Roman times, in the Middle Ages and in the Renaissance! We will take a journey through the history and archeology of wine, talking about the studies I have conducted on wine amphorae and commercial routes: the “wine route” that from Roman times to the Renaissance was a place of cultural exchange, populations and magic.

The first part of the experience is an historical journey through the art of wine at Pompeii. I will show you which wine gladiators liked to drink, the one preferred by Julius Caesar or the classic wine that can be found in the shops of ancient Rome or in Pompeii; I will tell you about wine in the Middle Ages and how it was used for magical and esoteric purposes; we will try the wine drunk during the wedding banquets in the Renaissance period. It’s not just history, but we’ll have fun!

In this experience we will prepare together 4 different types of spiced wine from different eras and that we can drink as an aperitif, as an accompaniment to a meal, for a special party or as an end of meal / dessert:

– Mulsum wine (Roman)

– Granum Paradisi (Roman)

– Hippocrasso or Hippocratic wine (Middle Ages)

– Elixir of Youth (Renaissance) We will follow and comment on ancient sources such as Columella, Apicius or medieval anonymous.

 

* Carefully read NOTES for the ingredients you need. We will prepare the wines based on a 250ml for each type

** In case you miss some of them you can skip one type or we can find a substitute! I wait for you!

 

 

Notes

Ingredients:

– Red and white wine (1 bottle each)

– cinnamon sticks or powder (4 sticks or 25/30gr)

– cloves (10/12 in total)

– fresh ginger or powder (2 pieces or 40/50gr)

– nutmeg 1

– pepper

– Bay leaves (few grams)

– Honey

– Orange and lemon (1/2 and 1/2)

– Bottles, Funnel, Pot

– Spoon to mix