A wine flavoured and fortified with spices and herbs, whose name is derived from the wormwood herb (Artemisia absinthium). This is also used for the famous spirit absinthe with its characteristic green colour. The main ingredient of the plant is the essential oil thujone, which causes the typical bitter flavour. Wines flavoured with herbs, roots, barks, flowers and various sweeteners were already being produced in ancient China, Mesopotamia and ancient Rome.
The Greek physician Hippocrates (460-377 BC) was aware of the digestive properties and healing power of the drink and experimented with it to treat jaundice and tetanus (lockjaw), which was common at the time. The Roman writer Pliny the Elder (23-79) praised a spiced wine called "Hypocras". The Romans called a spiced wine "aperitivum" due to its appetising effect.
![]()
If I were to rate websites, you would deserve the highest rating. It is rare to come across websites that provide such a large amount of data and are still so intuitive to use. Respect for the lovingly researched and informatively prepared encyclopedia. Keep it up!
Lothar Lindner
Innsbruck