The Long, Winding Path of Wine as Medicine
“There’s one [recipe] that was put together by a king of Pontus in Turkey named Mithridates,” says McGovern. “There’s 73 ingredients that go into it.” To make this particular concoction, someone would need “flesh of vipers,” wine, opium, rhubarb, black pepper, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, among other herbs and spices. Purportedly, this mixture would relieve symptoms like stomach weakness, difficulty breathing and perhaps even the plague itself. “So, it was very important in the Middle Ages until it was finally shown to be not necessarily so effective,” says McGovern. Throug...
Source: winemag.com