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29-452: To many in the 1st century BC, Caecuban was the best of all wines, smoother than Falernian wine , fuller than Alban wine , strong and intoxicating. It was a white wine which turned fire-coloured as it aged. Dioscorides describes it as glykys "sweet". Athenaeus describes it as overpowering and strong, maturing only after many years time ( Deipnosophistae , I.27a). As a testament to its popularity, Caecuban wine makes several appearances in

58-503: A white wine with a relatively high alcohol content, possibly 30 proof , or 15% ABV . In describing Faustian Falernian, Pliny the Elder alluded to this as he noted "It is the only wine that takes light when a flame is applied to it". A flaming drink requires an ABV of at least 40% (typically >50%) which cannot be achieved by fermentation alone, likely requiring distillation . It was produced from late-harvested grapes exclusively as

87-611: A basic "burn-or-no-burn" test, in which an alcohol-containing liquid that would ignite was said to be "above proof", and one which would not was said to be "under proof". A liquid just alcoholic enough to maintain combustion was defined as 100 proof and was the basis for taxation. Because the flash point of alcohol is highly dependent on temperature, 100 proof defined this way ranges from 20% at 36 °C (97 °F) to 96% at 13 °C (55 °F) alcohol by weight (ABW) ; at 24 °C (75 °F) 100 proof would be 50% AB W . Another early method for testing liquor's alcohol content

116-483: A brief freeze or a series of frosts were said to improve the resulting wine's flavor. The wine was typically allowed to maderise , aging for 15–20 years in clay amphorae before drinking. The oxidation gave the wine a color of amber to dark brown. In 37 BCE, Varro wrote in Res Rusticae that Falernian increased in value as it matured, and Pliny recorded that Falernian from the famed Opimian vintage of 121 BCE

145-723: A price list on the wall of a bar establishment notes The Roman poet Catullus extolled the virtues of Falernian in one of his poems The Roman poet Horace mentions Falernian in Odes 2.3 : It was also the wine that Petronius , in the Satyricon , has Trimalchio serve at his dinner banquet. Quintus Dellius complained to Cleopatra that while he and other dignitaries were served sour wine by Mark Antony in Greece, Augustus's catamite were drinking Falernian in Rome. This refers to Sarmentus,

174-477: Is legally mandated to be specified as an ABV percentage. For bottled spirits over 100 ml (3.5 imp fl oz; 3.4 US fl oz) containing no solids, actual alcohol content is allowed to vary by up to 0.15% of the ABV stated on the label. By contrast, bottled spirits which are less than 100 ml (as well as those which otherwise contain solids) may vary by up to 0.25%. Proof (the term degrees proof

203-557: Is not used), defined as being twice the percentage of alcohol by volume, may be optionally stated in conjunction with the ABV. For example, whisky may be labeled as 50% ABV and as 100 proof; 86-proof whisky contains 43% ABV. The most typical bottling proof for spirits in the United States is 80 US proof, and there is special legal recognition of 100-proof spirits in the bottled in bond category defined since 1897. The Code of Federal Regulations requires that liquor labels state

232-494: Is now mostly linguistic and historical. Today, liquor is sold in most locations with labels that state its percentage alcohol by volume. The European Union (EU) follows recommendations of the International Organization of Legal Metrology (OIML). OIML's International Recommendation No. 22 (1973) provides standards for measuring alcohol strength by volume and by mass . A preference for one method over

261-609: Is the sweetest of all wines after the Falernian and is the most like honey-wine), took more sleep than it was their custom..." Alcoholic proof Alcohol proof (usually termed simply "proof" in relation to a beverage) is a measure of the content of ethanol (alcohol) in an alcoholic beverage . The term was originally used in England and from 1816 was equal to about 1.75 times the percentage of alcohol by volume (ABV). The United Kingdom today uses ABV instead of proof. In

290-461: Is very close to the fraction 4 ⁄ 7 ≈ 0.5714 . This led to the approximation that 100-proof spirit has an ABV of 4 ⁄ 7 . From this, it follows that to convert the ABV expressed as a percentage to degrees proof, it is only necessary to multiply the ABV by 7 ⁄ 4 . Thus pure 100% alcohol will have 100×( 7 ⁄ 4 ) = 175 proof, and a spirit containing 40% ABV will have 40×( 7 ⁄ 4 ) = 70 proof. The proof system in

319-601: The United States , alcohol proof is defined as twice the percentage of ABV. The definition of proof in terms of ABV varies from country to country. The measurement of alcohol content and the statement of content on bottles of alcoholic beverages is regulated by law in many countries. In 1972, Canada phased out the use of "proof"; in 1973, the European Union followed suit; and the United Kingdom, where

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348-450: The most famous, from land on the central slopes corresponding to the current hilly areas of the town of Falciano del Massico and Carinola di Casanova, owned by Faustus , son of the Roman dictator Sulla ; and wine from the lower slopes and plain that was simply called Falernian. The area is now occupied by the modern day vineyards of Rocca di Mondragone and Monte Massico . Falernian was

377-464: The United States was established around 1848 and was based on percent alcohol rather than specific gravity. Fifty percent alcohol by volume was defined as 100 proof. Note that this is different from 50% volume fraction (expressed as a percentage); the latter does not take into account change in volume on mixing, whereas the former does. To make 50% ABV from pure alcohol, one would take 50 parts of alcohol and dilute to 100 parts of solution with water, all

406-586: The ancient wine is the Abbuoto grape that is still grown in the Lazio region of central Italy today. However, wine experts and historians such as Jancis Robinson and Julia Harding cast doubt that the red Abbuoto grape was likely responsible for the ancient white wine. Falernian wine Falernian ( Latin : Falernum ) was a strong white wine popular in the classical Roman period , produced from Aglianico grapes (and quite possibly Greco as well) on

435-461: The ascension of Augustus to power, Setinum was declared the Imperial wine-namely (according to Pliny) because it did not cause him indigestion and it rose in popularity accordingly (Natural History XIV.61). Pliny noted that the vineyard was starting to fall into neglect when Nero tore up the area, under the pretence of a planned ship canal across the land, in order to undertake excavations to find

464-614: The concept originated, started using ABV instead in 1980. The United States Code mandates the use of ABV, but permits proof to be used also. The degree symbol (°) is sometimes used to indicate alcohol proof, either alone (e.g. 10°) or after a space and joined to the letter P as a unit name (e.g. 13 °P). The term proof dates back to 16th century England, when spirits were taxed at different rates depending on their alcohol content. Similar terminology and methodology spread to other nations as spirit distillation , and taxation , became common. In England, spirits were originally tested with

493-532: The former slave of Marcus Favonius , who was bought by Octavian and whom enemies of Octavian claimed to be a catamite, although historian Josiah Osgood dismisses this as nothing more than a slander "planted by supporters of Marc Anthony". Dionysius of Halicarnassus in Book XIV. 6, 6-9, 2, describing Gauls ravaging Alban district during their expedition on Rome writes: "...There, as all gorged themselves with much food, drank much unmixed wine (the wine produced there

522-445: The grain size of gunpowder and the time it sat in the spirit impact the dissolution of potassium nitrate and therefore what would be defined as 100 proof. However, the gunpowder method is significantly less variable than the burn-or-no-burn method, and 100 proof defined by it is traditionally defined as 57.15% ABV. By the end of the 17th century, England had introduced tests based on specific gravity for defining proof. However, it

551-503: The legendary treasure of Dido which was supposed to have been buried there. The destruction of Caecuban’s single vineyard extinguished the wine completely; but in Martial ’s time, if his words can be relied on, Caecuban wine was still maturing in cellars at Amyclae. Galen is the last person on record to have tasted Caecuban wine, nearly a century after it ceased to be made. Among the grape varieties that have been speculated to be behind

580-566: The odes of Horace . In Ode 1.20 , Horace gives Caecuban a greater stature than Falernian as he invites his prominent friend, Maecenas to drink with him. Horace mentions Caecuban often in connection with celebrating particularly momentous occasions, such as Octavian ’s defeat of Antony and Cleopatra .( Odes 1.37.5 ) and in Ode IX where he speaks again to Maecenas, The popularity of Caecuban seemed to have hit its apex in Horace’s time. Following

609-493: The other is not stated in the document, but if alcohol strength by volume is used, it must be expressed as a percentage of total volume, and the water/alcohol mixture must have a temperature of 20 °C (68 °F) when measurement is done. The document does not address alcohol proof or the labeling of bottles. On 1 January 1980, Britain adopted the ABV system of measurement prescribed by the European Union, of which it

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638-399: The slopes of Mount Falernus (now Monte Massico ) near the border of Latium and Campania . Falernian wine grew in popularity, becoming one of the most highly regarded wines accessible to and consumed by the ancient Romans. In an Epyllion written in c.92 CE, Silius Italicus , a prominent Roman senator, attributed its origin to a chance meeting between a mythic pauper named Falernus, who

667-418: The while mixing the solution. To make 50% alcohol by volume fraction, one would take 50 parts alcohol and 50 parts water, measured separately, and then mix them together. The resulting volume will not be 100 parts but between 96 and 97 parts, since the smaller water molecules can take up some of the space between the larger alcohol molecules (see volume change ). The use of proof as a measure of alcohol content

696-591: Was not until 1816 that a legal standard based on specific density was defined in England. 100 proof was defined as a spirit with 12 ⁄ 13 the specific gravity of pure water at the same temperature. From the 19th century until 1 January 1980, the UK officially measured alcohol content by proof spirit, defined as spirit with a gravity of 12 ⁄ 13 that of water, or 923 kg/m (1,556 lb/cu yd), and equivalent to 57.15% ABV. The value 57.15%

725-405: Was not. It was one of the first wines to be exported to Britain while it was a Roman settlement, but for whatever reason, Falernian must have gradually lost favour under the later Roman Empire, though it was still one of the seven named (and more expensive) wines whose maximum price for army purchase was laid down by the emperor Diocletian around 300 CE. As part of the ruins of ancient Pompeii ,

754-485: Was said to have lived on Mount Falernus in the late 3rd century BCE, and Liber , the Roman god of viticulture. Considered a " first growth " or " cult wine " for its time, it was often mentioned in Roman literature, but disappeared after the classical period. There were three vineyards (or appellations ) recognized by Romans: Caucinian Falernian from the vineyards on the highest slopes of Mount Falernus; Faustian Falernian,

783-568: Was served at a banquet in 60 BCE honoring Julius Caesar for his conquests in Spain. There were three notable varieties: Dry (Latin austerum ), Sweet ( dulce ), and Light ( tenue ). The physician and gourmet Galen , writing c. 180 CE, doubted that all the Falernian wine on sale in the Roman Empire could possibly be genuine. Pliny the Elder was an expert on Falernian wine, and wrote about friends claiming to be drinking it, when he could tell it

812-417: Was the "gunpowder method". Gunpowder was soaked in a spirit, and if the gunpowder could still burn, the spirit was rated above proof. This test relies on the fact that potassium nitrate (a chemical in gunpowder) is significantly more soluble in water than in alcohol. While less influenced by temperature than the simpler burn-or-no-burn test, gunpowder tests also lacked true reproducibility. Factors including

841-569: Was then a member. The OIML recommendation for ABV used by the EU states the alcohol by volume in a mixture containing alcohol as a percentage of the total volume of the mixture at a temperature of 293.15 K [20.00 °C; 68.00 °F]. It replaced the Sikes hydrometer method of measuring the proof of spirits, which had been used in Britain for over 160 years. In the United States, alcohol content

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