Caecuban wine came from a small territory, ager Caecubus, at Amyclae in coastal Latium.. Varro, around 70 BC, already regarded this district as a place of legendary wealth. Strabo detailed the area's reputation for wine as he described the location "The Caecuban Plain borders on the Gulf of Caietas; and next to the plain comes Fundi, situated on the Appian Way. All these places produce exceedingly good wine; indeed, the Caecuban and the Fundanian and the Setinian belong to the class of wines that are widely famed, as is the case with the Falernian and the Alban and the Statanian.”
Characteristics
To many in the 1st century BC, Caecuban was the best of all wines, smoother than Falernian wine, fuller than Alban wine, strong and intoxicating. It was a white wine which turned fire-coloured as it aged. Dioscorides describes it as glykys "sweet". Athenaeus describes it as overpowering and strong, maturing only after many years time.
As a testament to its popularity, Caecuban wine makes several appearances in the odes of Horace. In Ode 1.20, Horace gives Caecuban a greater stature than Falernian as he invites his prominent friend, Maecenas to drink with him. Horace mentions Caecuban often in connection with celebrating particularly momentous occasions, such as Octavian’s defeat of Antony and Cleopatra. and in Ode IX where he speaks again to Maecenas,
Decline and disappearance
The popularity of Caecuban seemed to have hit its apex in Horace’s time. Following the ascension of Augustus to power, Setinum was declared the Imperial wine-namely because it did not cause him indigestion and it rose in popularity accordingly. Pliny noted that the vineyard was starting to fall into neglect when Nero tore up the area, under the pretence of a planned ship canal across the land, in order to undertake excavations to find the legendary treasure of Dido which was supposed to have been buried there. The destruction of Caecuban’s single vineyard extinguished the wine completely; but in Martial’s time, if his words can be relied on, Caecuban wine was still maturing in cellars at Amyclae. Galen is the last person on record to have tasted Caecuban wine, nearly a century after it ceased to be made.
