The Falernian (also Falernum) was probably the most famous of all ancient wines and was considered "the wine of the Caesars" from the 1st to the 4th century. It was produced on the border between Lazio and Campania on the southern slopes of Monte Massico, at the fork of the Via Appia and Via Domizina roads. Ager Falernus (Falernian field) was the name given to the fertile plain between the mountains Massicus and Callicula, so called at that time, crossed by the small river Savo. The river Volturnus (today Volturno) forms the border with the rest of Campania (Ager Campanus). It was divided into three layers or qualities. The Cauciner was grown on top of the hills, the Faustitian on the slopes and the actual Falernian at the foot of the hills. The vines then grew on elms and mulberry trees or were trained on trellises.
The Roman scholar Pliny the Elder (23-79 AD) reports " that the best quality comes from the vineyard of Faustus, there are the three types dry, sweet and light (austerum, dulce, tenue) and that it catches fire (due to high alcohol content) when you hold a flame to it". The poets Horace (65-8 BC), Martial (40-102)...
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