Anyone who knows wine knows that it has greatly impacted the history of our world. From Noah drinking it in the Old Testament, to legends of soldiers who used it as courage to fight during medieval times, wine has impacted conquests and wars. While this impact could have been more direct, with a very small glass of wine declaring itself Emperor of France, its subtlety was still felt; it is hard to refute the argument that, without wine, our world would be very different. History, as we know it, has always been under the influence.

A good part of wine’s impact on the world must be credited to the Roman Empire. While other societies have used wine and spirits to mold cultures, the Romans, because of their eventual vast expansion and reputation as being “the trendsetters of history,” had one of the biggest hands in the success of the grape: when it comes to wine, the Romans have earned the right to lift up their togas and curtsy.

Nearly synonymous with the word “power,” the Roman Empire was a time in Ancient Rome when rule fell under an autocratic form of government. As Civil War plagued the land, Octavian (known later as Augustus) defeated Mark Antony and organized the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire. Known for expansion and conquest, at its height the Roman Empire stretched from Britain and Germany to North Africa and the Persian Gulf.

As the Romans invaded lands, they also introduced their culture and refinement to those lands, as if packing up the ideas of Ancient Rome in a briefcase and carrying them along to every conquest. Wine, a huge part of the history of Ancient Rome (as demonstrated by the vast amounts of vineyards planted around Italy), was one of the ideals that transcended territories.

In Rome, wine was drank at every meal, making one to wonder if a modern day Roman would pour Chardonnay into his Cocoa Puffs. Even slaves, slaves who were thought to exist on the same spectrum as mongrel dogs, were allowed to drink wine. A life of servitude, to the Romans, seemed reasonable, but a life without wine was out of the question; it was simply preposterous.

Possessing an affinity for wines that could grow old, the Romans often sipped the spirits of wine aged ten or twenty years. Their wines were also, in keeping with the reputation of the excess known to mark their culture, high in alcohol content.