Wine and products made from grapes have been used in various forms internally and externally since ancient times to promote health and combat illness. Wealthy women used grape seed oil to keep their skin soft and supple. The Greek physician Hippocrates (460-377 BC) recommended wine as a remedy for many ailments and emphasised the positive aspects of drinking wine. He was followed by many others such as the mystic Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1179), who praised the positive effects of wine in many recipes.

The chemist Dr Friedrich Hoffmann (1660-1742) from Halle (Saxony-Anhalt in Germany) was one of the most famous physicians of his time. He not only invented the "Hoffmann's drops" named after him (3 parts alcohol, 1 part ether), but also developed a special wine cure. He wrote: "But of all the medicines, what better and more natural remedy do we have for refreshing and increasing the movement of the blood than wine - especially Rhine wine?"
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Roman Horvath MW
Domäne Wachau (Wachau)