20. In the Mediterranean regions wine was the preferred beverage
Beer was consumed across Europe, as were wines, but in the Mediterranean countries, wine was preferred over beer. Red wine was believed to improve the blood, another factor in balancing the humors of the body. For this reason, medicinal bleeding was nearly always followed by a dose of red wine mixed with water. Wine was also approved by the medical community when it was spiced and mulled, both made it more favorable to the bodily humors in their learned opinions. Then as now, the higher the quality of a wine generally meant it was more expensive and the best red wines usually were in the hands of the wealthy. Cheaper and less alcoholic wines could be found in the hands of the poor. Some could only afford vinegar.
Cooking guides from the 14th century included instructions on the best ways of preserving unused wines, and the means of making them palatable again when they began to go bad. The number of instructions which have survived indicates that it was a fairly common problem, which is readily understood when it is considered that the concept of sterilizing the vessels into which it was poured was still centuries away. Some cheaper wines were mixed with vinegar in order to lengthen their shelf life, but many still went bad before they were consumed, and required doctoring in order to drink them.
