A BOOK, “ROMA CAPUT VINI. WHAT THE ITALIANS DO NOT KNOW AND THE FRENCH DO NOT WANT TO KNOW,” EXPLAINS THAT WITHOUT ”MADE IN SPQR” WINE, THE NECTAR OF BACCHUS, WOULD NEVER HAVE BECOME AN ICON

The title of the book is, “Roma caput vini (Rome, the wine capital). What the Italians do not know and the French do not want to know” and is the latest literary work by Giovanni Negri, writer and winemaker, published by Mondadori and in bookstores soon. The book is divided into two parts: the first, written by Negri, is historical and draws an analogy between the Roman Empire and the American Empire, summarized “Rome is to wine what Coca-Cola is to America: everything”. The second part, written by Elisabetta Petrini is an etymological reconstruction of grape variety names, but also some very famous production areas (Romanae > Romanée Conti; Muris Altis > Meursault; Vitis Biturica Burdigala > Cabernet Sauvignon, Bordeaux; Ellenium> Aglianico; Barbarica Silva > Barbaresco; Clante > Chianti), which shows how wine was, at least at the beginning of its history, a product only made in S.P.Q.R. (Roman Empire)”.
“The aim of the book”, explains Giovanni Negri, “is to restore a historical truth: that the Roman Empire had the same importance for wine as the U.S.A. has had for Coca-Cola.
Both empires share many similarities: social – they are both “melting pots” and multicultural - military and economic. They both transformed a product that initially met only the domestic market, into a true icon, a true legend. This happens precisely when the beverage, wine for the Romans, Coca-Cola for the Americans, becomes a reason to be exported. Coca-Cola became a myth when 64 packaging lines followed the U.S. Army in World War II, was bottled and became the drink of the Marines, as well as the image of America during and after the war. The same thing,” continues Negri, “happened to “vinum” which became a legend throughout Europe when Roman legionaries brought wine with them everywhere they went to fight for the Empire. After making the necessary comparisons, the conclusion is that”, Negri points out, “this is a phenomenon in which an army is advancing, a civilization is being established and an Empire is being built through agro-food imprinting- the beverage linked either to Ancient Rome or America got very precise feedback. In the case of “vinum”, concludes Negri, “this beverage, despite its Hellenic origin, is “Made in SPQR” and has remarkably improved its impact since Ancient Rome”.