The vine was already being cultivated in the centuries prior to the birth of Rome
(the universally ascertained date is 753 B.C.), even if at that time populations were
mostly pastoral.
In the days of Romulus and Remus, wine, as well as being used in sacrificial offers,
began to be enjoyed by tribes. However, the Romans did not always love their wine;
until the first century of the Empire, the wines from the region of Lazio were
      not much appreciated, as the grapes would be harvested when they were
            too ripe and often mouldy. Therefore, with the exception of the wines
          of Albalonga, i.e. today's Albano wines, Romans especially preferred
         those produced in the region of Campania. The wines of Lazio were
         increasingly left to the people, while the wealthy preferred the more refined
      wines, including those from Gaul and Germany, which, after stopping in the
     port of Civitavecchia, would be carried by large barges along the Tiber to the
     stores of the Portus vinarius, thought to have been at the foot of the
Aventine hill.