|
Falernian
Falernian ( la, Falernum) was a strong white wine popular in the classical Roman period, produced from Aglianico grapes (and quite possibly Greco as well)J. Robinson ''Vines, Grapes & Wines'' pgs 213 & 242 Mitchell Beazley 1986 on the slopes of Mount Falernus (now Monte Massico) near the border of Latium and Campania. From here, Falernian wine grew in popularity, becoming the one of the most highly regarded wines accessible to and consumed by the ancient Romans. In an Epyllion written in c.92 AD, Silius Italicus, a prominent Roman senator, attributed its origin to a chance meeting between a mythic pauper named Falernus, who was said to have lived on Mount Falernus in the late 3rd century BC, and Liber, the Roman god of viticulture. Considered a "first growth" or "cult wine" for its time, it was often mentioned in Roman literature, but disappeared after the classical period. There were three vineyards (or appellations) recognized by Romans: Caucinian Falernian from the vineyards ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Opimian Vintage
Ancient Rome played a pivotal role in the history of wine. The earliest influences on the viticulture of the Italian peninsula can be traced to ancient Greeks and the Etruscans. The rise of the Roman Empire saw both technological advances in and burgeoning awareness of winemaking, which spread to all parts of the empire. Rome's influence has had a profound effect on the histories of today's major winemaking regions in France, Germany, Italy, Portugal and Spain. The Roman belief that wine was a daily necessity made the drink " democratic" and ubiquitous; in various qualities, it was available to slaves, peasants and aristocrats, men and women alike. To ensure the steady supply of wine to Roman soldiers and colonists, viticulture and wine production spread to every part of the empire. The economic opportunities presented by trading in wine drew merchants to do business with tribes native to Gaul and Germania, bringing Roman influences to these regions even before the arrival of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Greco (grape)
Greco is an Italian wine grape that may be of Greek origin. The name relates to both white ''(Greco bianco)'' and black ''(Greco nero)'' grape varieties. While there is more land area dedicated to ''Greco nero'', the ''Greco bianco'' is the grape most commonly referred to by "Greco". In the Campania region it is used to produce the ''Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita'' (DOCG) wine ''Greco di Tufo''. In Calabria, it is used to make the ''Denominazione di Origine Controllata'' (DOC) wine ''Greco di Bianco''. The name "Greco" is sometimes used as a synonym for several varieties of supposed Greek origins-most notably Trebbiano.J. Robinson ''Jancis Robinson's Wine Course'' Third Edition pg 112 Abbeville Press 2003 History The ancestor of the ''Greco'' vine may have been brought to southern Italy more than 2,500 years ago by ancient Greek settlers. Historians and Italian growers have speculated that the grape may have been a blending component in the ancient Roman "c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Monte Massico
Monte Massico (Latin: ''Mons Massicus'') is a mountain situated in the Italian Province of Caserta (Campania) between the rivers Volturno and Garigliano. Description Monte Massico is an Italian mountain ridge. In antiquity, it was described as being in the territory of the Aurunci, and on the border of Campania and Latium Adiectum, but attributed by most authors to the latter. It projects south-west from the volcanic system of Rocca Monfina (see Suessa Aurunca) as far as the sea, and separates the lower course of the Liris from the plain of Campania. It consists of limestone, with a superstratum of pliocenic and volcanic masses, and was once an island; its highest point is 811 meters (2661 feet) above sea-level. It was famous for its Falernian wine in ancient times. There was just room along the coast for the road to pass through; the pass was guarded by the Auruncan town of Vescia (probably on the mountain side), which ceased to exist in 314 BC after the defeat of the Aus ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Faustus Cornelius Sulla (quaestor 54 BC)
Faustus Cornelius Sulla (before 86 BC – 46 BC) was a Roman senator. Faustus was the only surviving son of the Roman Dictator Lucius Cornelius Sulla and his fourth wife, Caecilia Metella, and thus was a member of one of the most ancient patrician families, the Cornelii. After his father's death in 78 BC, he and his twin sister, Fausta, were brought up by his guardian and father's friend, Lucullus. Faustus married Pompeia, daughter of Pompey the Great. Faustus accompanied Pompey on his Asian campaigns, and was the first to climb over the walls of the Temple of Jerusalem when it was stormed by Pompey in 63 BC. After his return to Rome, he gave gladiatorial games to celebrate his father in 60 BC. At an unknown time before 57 BC, Faustus Sulla became augur. As moneyer in 56 BC, he issued coinage in honor of his father and his father-in-law. As owner of the central slopes of Mount Falernus, his name became synonymous with the most esteemed wine in ancient Rome, Faustian Falernian. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aglianico
Aglianico ( , ) is a black grape grown in the southern regions of Italy, mostly Basilicata and Campania. It is considered with Sangiovese and Nebbiolo to be one of the three greatest Italian varieties. Aglianico is sometimes called "The Barolo of the South" () due to its ability to produce highly refined, complex fine wines like the famous wine from Piedmont, Barolo. History The origins of both the vine itself and its name are unclear. Traditionally, the vine is thought to have originated in Greece, first cultivated by Phocians from an unidentified ancestral vine; it was then brought to Cumae, near modern-day Pozzuoli, by Greek settlers in the 8th century BC, and from there it spread into southern Italy. However, modern DNA analysis of Aglianico does not support this view, revealing little relation to other Greek grape varieties. Its parentage also remains unknown, implying that it is likely to be endemic to its region. If Aglianico was imported to Italy from Greece, no ori ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Flaming Drink
A flaming drink is a cocktail or other mixed drink that contains flammable, high-proof alcohol, which is ignited before consumption. The alcohol may be an integral part of the drink, or it may be floated as a thin layer across the top of the drink. The flames are mostly for dramatic flair. However, in combination with certain ingredients, the flavor of the drink is altered. Some flavors are enhanced, and the process may impart a toasted flavor to some drinks. History Alcohol has been consumed as a drink for millennia. It has been used as a fuel for fire for a long time as well. Exactly when people began combining alcohol in drink with fire is uncertain. Many traditional recipes for food incorporate flaming alcohol as a key process or ingredient. This method of cooking is usually referred to as flambé. Bananas Foster, cherries jubilee, bombe Alaska, crêpe Suzette, steak Diane, and coq au vin are a few well-known dishes that utilize this method for both imparting complex flavo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Frost
Frost is a thin layer of ice on a solid surface, which forms from water vapor in an above-freezing atmosphere coming in contact with a solid surface whose temperature is below freezing, and resulting in a phase change from water vapor (a gas) to ice (a solid) as the water vapor reaches the freezing point. In temperate climates, it most commonly appears on surfaces near the ground as fragile white crystals; in cold climates, it occurs in a greater variety of forms. The propagation of crystal formation occurs by the process of nucleation. The ice crystals of frost form as the result of fractal process development. The depth of frost crystals varies depending on the amount of time they have been accumulating, and the concentration of the water vapor (humidity). Frost crystals may be invisible (black), clear (translucent), or white; if a mass of frost crystals scatters light in all directions, the coating of frost appears white. Types of frost include crystalline frost (hoar fro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maderisation
Maderisation is a process that involves the heating and oxidisation of a wine. The term is named after the process used in the production of Madeira wine, where it occurs while the wine is in cask. The resulting wine darkens in color and acquires a Sherry-like character. Outside Madeira wine, it is generally seen as a wine fault, but is desirable in the case of certain dessert wines where it occurs over the course of long bottle aging Ageing ( BE) or aging ( AE) is the process of becoming older. The term refers mainly to humans, many other animals, and fungi, whereas for example, bacteria, perennial plants and some simple animals are potentially biologically immortal. In .... {{wine-stub Madeira wine ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Amphora
An amphora (; grc, ἀμφορεύς, ''amphoreús''; English plural: amphorae or amphoras) is a type of container with a pointed bottom and characteristic shape and size which fit tightly (and therefore safely) against each other in storage rooms and packages, tied together with rope and delivered by land or sea. The size and shape have been determined from at least as early as the Neolithic Period. Amphorae were used in vast numbers for the transport and storage of various products, both liquid and dry, but mostly for wine. They are most often ceramic, but examples in metals and other materials have been found. Versions of the amphorae were one of many shapes used in Ancient Greek vase painting. The amphora complements a vase, the pithos, which makes available capacities between one-half and two and one-half tons. In contrast, the amphora holds under a half-ton, typically less than . The bodies of the two types have similar shapes. Where the pithos may have multiple smal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ancient Rome
In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 BC), Roman Republic (509–27 BC) and Roman Empire (27 BC–476 AD) until the fall of the western empire. Ancient Rome began as an Italic settlement, traditionally dated to 753 BC, beside the River Tiber in the Italian Peninsula. The settlement grew into the city and polity of Rome, and came to control its neighbours through a combination of treaties and military strength. It eventually dominated the Italian Peninsula, assimilated the Greek culture of southern Italy ( Magna Grecia) and the Etruscan culture and acquired an Empire that took in much of Europe and the lands and peoples surrounding the Mediterranean Sea. It was among the largest empires in the ancient world, with an estimated 50 to 90 million inhabitants, roughly 20% of t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Varro
Marcus Terentius Varro (; 116–27 BC) was a Roman polymath and a prolific author. He is regarded as ancient Rome's greatest scholar, and was described by Petrarch as "the third great light of Rome" (after Vergil and Cicero). He is sometimes called Varro Reatinus to distinguish him from his younger contemporary Varro Atacinus. Biography Varro was born in or near Reate (now Rieti) to a family thought to be of equestrian rank, and always remained close to his roots in the area, owning a large farm in the Reatine plain, reported as near Lago di Ripasottile, until his old age. He supported Pompey, reaching the office of praetor, after having been tribune of the people, ''quaestor'' and ''curule aedile''. It is probable that Varro was discontented with the course on which Pompey entered when the First Triumvirate was formed, and he may thus have lost his chance of rising to the consulate. He actually ridiculed the coalition in a work entitled the ''Three-Headed Monster'' ( in th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pliny The Elder
Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/2479), called Pliny the Elder (), was a Roman author, naturalist and natural philosopher, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the emperor Vespasian. He wrote the encyclopedic ''Naturalis Historia'' (''Natural History''), which became an editorial model for encyclopedias. He spent most of his spare time studying, writing, and investigating natural and geographic phenomena in the field. His nephew, Pliny the Younger, wrote of him in a letter to the historian Tacitus: Among Pliny's greatest works was the twenty-volume work ''Bella Germaniae'' ("The History of the German Wars"), which is no longer extant. ''Bella Germaniae'', which began where Aufidius Bassus' ''Libri Belli Germanici'' ("The War with the Germans") left off, was used as a source by other prominent Roman historians, including Plutarch, Tacitus and Suetonius. Tacitus—who many scholars agree had never travelled in Germania—used ''Bella Germani ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
_01.jpg "Click for more on -> Opimian Vintage")
