Wine was a daily necessity in ancient Roman life. Clean water was not always accessible to the public, and wine was the safe alternative. Even children and slaves had access to wine. Ancient Roman meals tended to be bread based, and wine was a good accompaniment to eat with hard and dry bread.

Wine had various uses in ancient Rome. It was a common sacrificial offering in religious ceremonies, especially for Bacchus, the god of wine. Wine was also used for medical purposes. Doctors used wine as an antiseptic and as a painkiller when performing surgery. There are many writings on wine that have survived. One influential writer of wine was Marcus Porcius Cato the Elder. He advocated a hygientic approach to wine making in his book De Agri Cultura (Concerning the cultivation of land) :

Here is a video showing a demonstration on making ancient Roman wine :