Aging of wine that is aged is rarely aged for long; it is estimated that 90% of wine is meant to be consumed within a year of production, and 99% of wine within 5 years. The Ancient Greeks and Romans were aware of the potential of aged wines. In Greece, early examples of dried "straw wines" were noted for their ability to age due to their high sugar contents. These wines were stored in sealed earthenware amphorae and kept for many years. In Rome, the most sought after wines—Falernian and Surrentine—were prized for their ability to age for decades. In the Book of
Ancient Rome and wine also given impetus by the changing Roman diet. In the 2nd century BC, Romans began to shift from meals consisting of moist porridge and gruel to those more bread-based; wine aided in eating the drier food. Wine played a major role in ancient Roman religion and Roman funerary practices, and was the preferred libation for most deities. The invention of wine was usually credited to Liber and his Greek equivalents, Bacchus (later Romanised) and Dionysus, who promoted the fertility of human and animal semen, and the "soft seed" of the vine. Ordinary, everyday, mixed wines were under the protection of