Letter 12012: While I was dining with the lord of the realm [the king] at a formal banquet and the delicacies of various provinces...

From: Senator [Cassiodorus], Praetorian Prefect To: Anastasius, Chancellor of Lucania and Bruttium Date: ~533-537 AD Context: A delightful letter ordering cheese and wine from Cassiodorus's home region — containing what may be the most detailed ancient description of Italian cheesemaking and a connoisseur's tasting note on southern Italian wine. While I was dining with the lord of the realm [the king] at a formal banquet and the delicacies of various provinces were being praised, the conversation turned — as it tends to — to the wines of Bruttium and the sweetness of Silan cheese [from the Sila plateau in Calabria]. This cheese is produced there with such natural perfection, thanks to the quality of the grasses, that you would think it contained a taste of honey, though no honey is visibly mixed in. Milk flows there, gently drawn from the spongy teats, and as if collected into secondary stomachs by nature's abundance, it does not drip in drops but pours forth in sudden torrents. The sweet and varied fragrance of the grasses wafts from it — you can detect the animals' pasture through your nose, and its diverse aromatic power is perceived as something like incense. Such richness accompanies it that you would think olive oil was flowing alongside it, except that it is distinguished from that green-tinged liquid by its snowy whiteness. Then, when this marvelous abundance is received in wide vats by the overjoyed herdsman, and with the addition of rennet begins to harden into a firm tenderness, it is shaped into the most beautiful round form. Gathered for a time in underground cellars, it takes on the lasting substance of aged cheese. Ship this to me as quickly as possible, loaded aboard vessels, so that I may appear to have satisfied the royal desires with a modest gift. Also seek out the wine which antiquity, wishing to praise it, named Palmatian [a celebrated Bruttian wine]. Find it strong, rough, but pleasing in its sweetness. For though it may seem the least distinguished among Bruttian wines, general opinion has made it virtually preeminent. In that region one finds wine equal to Gazetum [from Gaza], similar to Sabine wine, and distinguished by its remarkable bouquet. But since that famous wine has already claimed the noblest reputation for itself, let this one too be sought out — equally fine in its own kind — lest the wisdom of our ancestors appear to have given it an undeserved name. For it is softly thick with a pleasant richness, supremely firm in its lasting power, forceful on the nose, and bright in its clarity. When you taste it, it gives off such a fragrance that it seems rightly named from palma [the palm of victory, i.e., the best]. It strengthens weakened stomachs, dries moist wounds, restores a weary chest — and what an artificially compounded potion can barely accomplish, this wine provides naturally without any adulteration. Make sure to send the above-mentioned products once they have been properly sourced, for I cannot be fooled — I know these things from personal, hometown experience. For the moment, I have supplied what was desired from my own cellars. But you proceed at your own risk if you send anything inferior, when you know I already have standards by which to judge.

XII. ANASTASIO CANCELLARIO LUCANIAE ET BRUTTIORUM SENATOR PPO. [1] Cum apud dominum rerum sollemni munere pranderemus et diversae provinciae de suis deliciis laudarentur, ad vina Bruttiorum et Silani casei suavitatem currente, ut assolet, sermone perventum est: quod herbarum beneficio tanta ibi naturae iucunditate conficitur, ut non credas deesse mellis gustum, quem nulla conspicis qualitate permixtum. manat illic leviter provocatum lac uberibus fistulosis et quasi in alios ventres naturae ubertate collectum non guttis impluit, sed quibusdam repentinis torrentibus influescit. redolet suavis et varius odor herbarum: naribus agnoscitur pecudum pastus, qui fragrans virtute diversa thuris sentitur inspirare similia. [2] Huic tanta pinguedo sociatur, ut arbitreris simul decurrere Palladium liquorem, nisi quod ab illa prasina viriditate niveo candore discernitur. tunc cadis late patentibus copia illa mirabilis laeto nimium pastore suscepta cum ammixtione coaguli in callosam coeperit teneritudinem condurari, ad pulcherrimum orbem forma perducitur, quae subterraneis horreis aliquantulum congregata diuturnam casei facit esse substantiam. hoc quantocius superimpositum navigiis destinabis, ut desideriis regalibus parvo munere satisfecisse videamur. [3] Vinum quoque, quod laudare cupiens Palmatianum nominavit antiquitas, nos stipsim, asperum, sed gratum suavitate perquire. nam licet inter vina Bruttia videatur extremum, factum tamen est paene generali opinione praecipuum. ibi enim reperitur et Gazeto par et Sabino simile et magnis odoribus singulare. [4] Sed quia illud famam sibi nobilissimam vindicavit, hoc et in suo genere nimis elegans perquiratur, ne prudentia maiorum aliquid appellasse videatur inproprium. est enim suavi pinguedine molliter crassum, vivacitate firmissimum, nare violentum, candore quoque perspicuum, quod ita redolet ore ructatum, ut merito illi a palma nomen videatur impositum. [5] Viscera defecta constringit, vulnera madida desiccat, lassum reficit pectus et quod vix praevalet implere potus arte compositus, hic naturaliter praestat infectus. sed provide ut supra dictas species exactas debeas destinare, quia falli non possumus, qui hoc patriotica veritate retinemus: ad praesens enim de cellariis nostris quae desiderabantur optulimus. tu autem tuo periculo dissimilia facis, quorum iam indicia teneri posse cognoscis.