Ancient Rome and wine Gaul. The Romans established lucrative trading relations with local tribes of Gaul, despite their potential to produce wine of their own. The Gallic tribes paid high prices for Roman wine, with a single amphora worth the value of a slave. From the Mediterranean coast, the Romans pushed further up the Rhone Valley, to areas where olives and figs were unable to grow but where oak trees were still found. As a result of their experience in what is now northeastern Italy, the Romans knew that regions where "Quercus ilex" were found had climates sufficiently warm enough to allow the full
Piquette Piquette Piquette is a French wine term which commonly refers to a vinous beverage produced by adding water to grape pomace but sometimes refers to a very simple wine or a wine substitute. If water is added to the pomace remaining after grapes intended for wine production have been pressed, it is possible to produce a thin, somewhat wine-like beverage. The Ancient Greeks and Romans used pomace in this way under the name "lora", and the product was used for slaves and common workers. After the wine grapes were pressed twice, the pomace was soaked in water for a day