History questions not worth their own thread III

[NovaKart]

I keep reading about how the ancient Greeks and Romans would drink watered-down wine. Since that sounds disgusting I wonder if their wine was a lot stronger than ours or what?

I also read that in England, at least during the time of Henry VIII that people drank wine and beer all the time, that only the poor drank water. Did they really drink alcohol all the time? Was it also watered down or was it weaker?

 

[Masada]

I keep reading about how the ancient Greeks and Romans would drink watered-down wine. Since that sounds disgusting I wonder if their wine was a lot stronger than ours or what?

It would have been weaker; wine is also fine to water down, grab a glass and give it a go.

I also read that in England, at least during the time of Henry VIII that people drank wine and beer all the time, that only the poor drank water. Did they really drink alcohol all the time? Was it also watered down or was it weaker?

It was weaker. Modern spirits would have blown the socks off people.

 

[Heretic_Cata]

I keep reading about how the ancient Greeks and Romans would drink watered-down wine. Since that sounds disgusting I wonder if their wine was a lot stronger than ours or what?

Around here, a lot of people in the countryside drink wine+mineral water instead of water. It's not nearly as bad as you think. It's something you drink when you're thirsty.

 

[NovaKart]

I guess it's a cultural thing, I've never heard of people watering down wine before except in ancient times which is why I thought it was so odd. I think most Americans would find it very odd to water down anything but hard liquor.

Even if alcohol was weaker I still can't imagine drinking that all the time and not water. It's not as refreshing.

 

[Heretic_Cata]

I guess it's a cultural thing, I've never heard of people watering down wine before except in ancient times which is why I thought it was so odd. I think most Americans would find it very odd to water down anything but hard liquor.

Even if alcohol was weaker I still can't imagine drinking that all the time and not water. It's not as refreshing.

Maybe i just don't like water - but almost anything is more refreshing than water to me.

Also, americans water down beer all the time.

 

[NovaKart]

You're probably only familiar with the really well-known brands. A lot of people see Budweiser and Miler and think all American beer is like that. American beer does often have a lighter more mild taste to it so maybe it tastes watered down to you. As far as people actually putting water into a glass of beer, I've never heard of anyone doing that.

 

[Arakhor]

You're forgetting that frequently "fresh" water wasn't safe to drink centuries ago, so people almost always drank beer or wine of various sorts. They generally had to dilute their water to make it safe.

 

[madviking]

Yep. Alcohol is somewhat useful as an antiseptic.

 

[Cheezy the Wiz]

Also, americans water down beer all the time.

There's an old joke about the difference between American beer and making love in a canoe...

As for the practice in question, mixing water and alcohol was a way to sanitize the water somewhat before drinking it. Grog is probably the most famous example of this. Water goes stale in about a week, even in a cask, but distilled spirit can make it safe for months. Watering wine was, I suspect, rather a way to produce a refreshing beverage for hot summer days than to sanitize the water. And of course beer was the primary drink in Europe for centuries, because the brewing process made the water in the beer far safer than well water.

 

[LightSpectra]

I keep reading about how the ancient Greeks and Romans would drink watered-down wine. Since that sounds disgusting I wonder if their wine was a lot stronger than ours or what?

The word "wine" only means one thing in English but the word in ancient Greek it translates from can mean multiple things. There's also a bit of controversy as to which of these were strongly alcoholic since if somebody was said to be "euphoric," it could be just joy for the occasion, or intoxicated.

The basic word for wine in Koine Greek is "oinos", which can be more specifically any of the following: "gleukos", which was a thick syrupy wine that was more of a dessert than a beverage; "methusma", which is the type of wine people drank to intentionally become tipsy or intoxicated (presumably on special occasions like after a victory or on a wedding); and then "oxos" can mean either vinegar or a very sour and cheap wine (I'm guessing it's cheap wine mixed with vinegar but I can't remember at the moment of writing this). "Oxos" is perhaps the Greek equivalent of the Roman "posca", though that varied a bit by region. There is also "sikera", which literally means 'strong drink', however that's a loan word from Hebrew to refer to barley beer, which wasn't a common drink for the Greeks, so it's usually a word that's only come across in places with communities of Hellenized Jews. So yeah, is a complicated matter just because there's disputes over proper translations.

In ancient Rome, they either copied/imported Greek wines, or they drank their own kind of Italian wine. The Italian kind was sweet and very strong, and so they were diluted with saltwater. More expensive wines were also spiced (or even more infrequently, mixed with honey), in contrast to "lora", which was red wine that was so watered down that it's the equivalent of $4 Vermouth you can get at a liquor store.

 

[NovaKart]

Diluted with seawater? That sounds awful.

 

[Traitorfish]

It was weaker. Modern spirits would have blown the socks off people.

Well, the English, at any rate.

As for the practice in question, mixing water and alcohol was a way to sanitize the water somewhat before drinking it. Grog is probably the most famous example of this. Water goes stale in about a week, even in a cask, but distilled spirit can make it safe for months. Watering wine was, I suspect, rather a way to produce a refreshing beverage for hot summer days than to sanitize the water. And of course beer was the primary drink in Europe for centuries, because the brewing process made the water in the beer far safer than well water.

Noting, of course, that the beer in question had a very low alcohol level. They weren't all walking around sloshed for centuries, even if that would help make sense of a lot of European history.

 

[Lord Baal]

The Romans also enjoyed a drink that was wine mixed with honey. Why the hell they'd want to sweeten the already notoriously sweet Italian wines I don't know. Possibly that's what they did to imported wines to make them taste more like their own, though again, I have no idea why they'd do that.

 

[LightSpectra]

Maybe they needed a pansy drink after a long day of manly speeches.

 

[W|M]

I don't see how anything can be too sweet for someone's tastes.

 

[_random_]

I don't see how anything can be too sweet for someone's tastes.

Eat a spoonful of aspartame and we'll talk.

 

[Lord Baal]

I don't see how anything can be too sweet for someone's tastes.

This reminds me of that Simpsons episode where Carl got diabetes from eating a single pudding.

 

[W|M]

Eat a spoonful of aspartame and we'll talk.

Does a tablespoon of maple syrup count?

 

[Masada]

Well, the English, at any rate.

You can't have drunk that stuff straight. I hope... more like drinking turps than liquour.

 

[Cheezy the Wiz]

The Romans also enjoyed a drink that was wine mixed with honey. Why the hell they'd want to sweeten the already notoriously sweet Italian wines I don't know. Possibly that's what they did to imported wines to make them taste more like their own, though again, I have no idea why they'd do that.

Sangiovese is many things, but sweet isn't one of them.