Wine is a huge part of daily life in Italy, and it's basically been that way since ancient times. With Brita-filtered pitchers being thousands of years off, potable water wasn't always easy to come by for the Romans of yesteryear, at least until they improved on the design of aqueducts.

Therefore, everyone, from slaves to the elite, quenched their thirst with wine. Much as we might want to get Roman-tic about it, the vino they drank wasn't exactly what modern wine lovers would consider a good product. And to make their beverage of choice more palatable, the Romans added a number of flavorings and spices.