The Gutturnium plunges its story at the time of the Roman legionaries who, even before the invasion of Italy by Hannibal in 218 BC, at the end of the long military stop, got to found a colony in Piacenza, South of the River Po. The obvious purpose was to control the transit of hostile populations.
Because their traditional diet consisted of bread, oil and wine, they devoted themselves to the cultivation of the vine on the immediately surrounding hills. It must be said that the wine was then considered an important element in nutrition, and in fact the daily diet of a worker or a soldier consisted mainly of a liter of wine and more than a kilogram of bread.
Soon the product of these vineyards was acclaimed as one of the best wines that the peninsula produced. Certainly also the Roman aristocrat Lucius Calpurnius Piso, father in law, inter alia, of Gaius Julius Caesar, concurred in its reputation. Actually, his appreciation for this wine led him to some wildness in its consumption, which offered Cicero the opportunity to attack him in a famous speech delivered at the Senate in Rome.
The Gutturnium is properly the name of a particular species of amphora, found on the banks of the Po in 1878, which had a ritual function to make the wine taste to diners at the end of a meal, as a moment of friendship before parting.
This wine made out of Piacenza grapes, which takes its name from the amphora, derives from the Barbera and Croatina vines, in different proportions in the final composition. For these historical reasons, it seems reasonable to call it “Wine of the Legionaries”.
How to enjoy the Gutturnium?
Although it can certainly be appreciated for its aroma and intense scents, the Gutturnium is inspired by a period in which the wine was a source of pure energy, to be enjoyed without hesitation and excessive refinement.
So, as the ancient Romans saw it and as we understand it, the Gutturnium is a wine that lends itself to being drunk in a certain amount.