To the Romans, food was a source of pleasure and an opportunity for socializing. This also applied to wine mixed with water, different herbs, spices and honey. The recipe for spiced wine can be found in the only preserved antique cookbook De re coquinaria (The Art of Cooking) which was written in 4th or 5th Century. The recipes were probably wrote by a wealthy Roman, Apicius. He was a gourmand and a creator of many complex and unusual dishes. According to Apicius, making spiced wine can be trusted only to experienced cooks who prepare it with utmost care and precision.
Conditum paradoxum
The spicy wine, drunk by the ancient Romans, was also used for toasts in the former Ljubljana - Emona and in Žumberak – Samoborsko gorje. The famous Apicius wrote about it in the 4th or 5th century.
