The addition of various flavourings to wine to improve its taste and/or appearance or make it more durable is a practice that has been around for thousands of years. Many ancient wines were flavoured. In ancient texts from Mesopotamia, there are recipes with the addition of honey, spices, myrrh and even drugs. The Germanic tribes were already producing mead (honey wine) before the turn of the millennium. The Greeks added resin, as is still common in Retsina today, as well as various spices such as absinthe, aniseed and pepper.

![]()
For my many years of work as an editor with a wine and culinary focus, I always like to inform myself about special questions at Wine lexicon. Spontaneous reading and following links often leads to exciting discoveries in the wide world of wine.
Dr. Christa Hanten
Fachjournalistin, Lektorin und Verkosterin, Wien