Falernian wine was the most famous in all of ancient Rome. Made from vines grown on Mount Falernus on the border of Latium and Camapania, Falernian is mentioned by Roman writers and poets from Horace to Varro, Galen and Pliny the Elder, the latter also mentioning that the 121 BC vintage was served to Julius Caesar in 60 BC and the grape behind it all was Falanghina.

Falernian wine was certainly among the most highly regarded wines available to the Romans and is mentioned by the great writers and was drunk by Caesar and co.

Falernian wine was most popular around the first century AD. At the height of its popularity, it was the sweetest and most expensive wine you could have in the Roman Empire. Falernian wine was so popular that people in Pompeii scrawled writing on pub walls about it. In one Pompeii watering hole, a price list on the wall states: “For one ‘as’ you can drink wine, for two you can drink the best, for four you can drink Falernian.” A soldier earned ten asses per day, so at four asses, Falernian wine would set a soldier back a good chunk of his daily earnings.