The wine at Roman times
Wines in use were not so many and Latin literature transmits the names of some among which the Grecum and the Falernum. The haustores (the Roman times sommeliers) did classify the taste of wines utilizing many adjectives, showing that they already had a fine and discerning sensible palate: sweet, suave, noble, precious, soft, delicate, thin, light, drowsy, weak, strong, solid, consistent, robust, valuable, austere, severe, hard, harsh, acrid, sparkling, ardent, untamed, generous, adipose, fat, sordid or even vile.
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The wine consumption was common among nobles and it was always present on the tables of court dignitaries. This beverage had a sacred connotation and was drank in large flat goblets often diluted with warm or cold water. The distinguished aristocrats consumed mixtures of various kinds. The most common was the one to which liquid honey was added, obviously as a sweetener, to obtain what was defined vinum mulsum, apparently much appreciated. Better quality wines were served generally at the beginning of a convivial banquet while as the courses were served their quality waned.
Wine was the lord of the tables. It was considered a divine nectar because of the well known Bacchus appreciation. Before a banquet it was customary to elect an arbiter bibendi whose thorny task was to establish how many parts of water were to be added to wine so that the convivial event could come to an end without mishaps. Such arbiter has to be decided by the outcome of a dice throw, hoping that Bacchus would choose the most appropriate person or simply the one with the necessary poise to spread moderate elation among guests.
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During banquets it was not polite to get drunk even if it was not unusual that someone did fall into such snare of excessive drinking thus becoming sick. Outside meals every excuse was good to drink. One could toast to a friend health, to an important acquaintance or to the beloved woman drinking as many goblets as the letters composing her name.
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