In Vino, Veritas

Wine is certainly the most popular drink in Remia, and for this reason, the following is work on the wine that is made in or purchased in Remia. Whether used in social, medicinal, or religious purposes, wine is certainly the 'go to' drink. Wine is integral to the Remian diet, which needs to wash down the bread that they ate most often. Many slave owners even provide (limited) wine to their slaves for their health and maintenance, and it is actually quite common for many estates and manors in Remia to have their own wine press.

While wines can vary in color from dark inky black to red to tan/tawny and onward, the most cherished Remian wine is old sweet white wine. Herbs and spices are often added, much like vermouth or rum today, to give the Remian wines more flavor and aroma - the two qualities that are most often looked for in a vintage.

With the ability to barrel and cask their wines, many vintners ("vintner" is the term for winemakers, as "brewer" is for beer) are able to store and age their wines as they see fit. By law "Old" wine is wine that has been aged at least a year, and most of the most favored wines in Remia are aged up to 25 years or more.

The quality of the wine depends on the amount of pure grape juice used to make the beverage and how diluted the wine is when it is served. The best quality wine is reserved for the upper classes of Rome, generally white wines and some select red wines. Below that is posca - a mixture of water and sour wine that has not yet turned into vinegar. This wine is less acidic than vinegar and still retained some of the aromas and texture of wine. It was the preferred wine to make up the rations of Remia's soldiers due to its low alcohol levels. The use of posca for soldier's rations was codified and amounts to around a liter per day for each soldier. Still lower in quality was lora (modern day piquette) which is made by soaking the pomace of grape skins that have been pressed twice before in water for a day and pressing them for a third time.

Posca and lora wines are the most common type of table wine and can be bought and sold at just about every corner. Though the exact varieties may differ in color or flavor, most of these wines are usually decent enough to the taste and spirits through lacking the distinctive features of the more expensive varieties of wine. Likewise, common table wine tends to be a bit weaker alcohol wise.

Sparkling wine, better known as champagne , is a bubbly sort of wine that gains its carbonated effects from a secondary form of fermentation. Though this sort of wine begins as a common table variety wine, while sugar and yeast are added to it and the mixture sealed, allowing the gases of fermentation to build up in the mixture. Sparkling wines, and in particular, sparkling white wine, is the form of wine that generally has a 'label' attached to it.

Brandy is the distilled alcohol from grapes. usually it starts out as a wine but through further refining, the concentrated alcohol is removed from the wine, allowing the distiller to claim this resulting distilled batch of alcohol as brandy. Quite often this potable intoxicant will be added to another batch of wine, resulting in fortified wine, or port.

Fortified Wines, or Port as they are more commonly called, are non-carbonated table wines that are very potent in alcohol and tend to be reasonbly sweet and fruity in taste. The taste and potency is caused by the addition of brandy tot he wine mixture before the juices have had time to ferment on their own.

While a good glass of port is appreciated by some of the better folks of the community, fortified wines tend to be more popular amongst sailors, commoners, and alcoholics. There's also been evidence of various humanoid tribes adopting the addition of brandy to young wines, particularly amongst a few sources of orcish plums or prune nectar wines.

Fortified wines tend to be a bit cheaper than other wines, and there is less concern over the year that the wine was produced or the overall quality of aging in regards to the texture of the wine's taste. These wines have a simple, direct taste, much like their intoxicating kick, and are most savored by individuals who are seeking a quick means of getting drunk. Also, due to the particular fortification and fermenting processes of this variety of table wine, port wines tend to produce repulsive hangovers.

Of course, not all wines are created from grapes. For instance, Dandelion wine is a potent, sweet "folk" wine that is created by allowing a base of sugars, pure water, brewer's yeast, and the flower heads of dandelions ferment. Usually, fermentation takes around half a year so most batches are made in the spring and enjoyed during the coming of the colder autumn weather. Quite often some batches are allowed to age for a full year or more so that the wine may be enjoyed during the following spring and summer. While this recipe is mostly cherished by common folk, there are some professional brewers who take the production of dandelion wine with serious interest. Likewise, it's not unheard of for many taverns and inns to offer this delightful wine.

Apple cider is also a type of wine that is also served alongside beer and more contemporary wine. Though often preferred by many ale and beer drinkers, the creation of cider is a bit more similar to winemaking than it is to brewing. Usually cider is treated to a mild spicing of a dash or two of cinnamon, clove, or other such spices during its fermentation process.

Another popular wine that originates from outside Remia is sake. Sake is a powerful, alcoholic drink that is created from fermented rice, and is generally clear like water and may be served warm. Unlike sweet and fruity flavors of wine, sake is hard and quick.