(IndianExpres) - Where did the word 'alcohol' come from? Why is 750ml the standard size for wine bottles? Find out by signing up for a fun wine tasting workshop in Mumbai this week.

Imagine waking up to breakfast with your favourite wine to go with it. Up until the last century, beginning your day with a drink was the norm. Wine historian Luca Bernardini tells us that not only has the amount of wine and beer consumed changed over the years, but how it is drunk has also dramatically evolved. Did you ever imagine diluting your wine with water? That’s exactly how the Greeks and Romans drank it since drinking pure wine was considered to be barbaric. And while Greeks used to drink only at the end of their banquets when the food was finished, Romans drank wine before, during and after the main meal (which was dinner). Bernardini, who will also conduct a wine tasting workshop for the Italian Consulate in Mumbai this week, gave us some more facts to mull over our next glass of wine (or mug of beer).

Quota system

Monks in the Middle Ages were allowed to drink up to 8 pints of beer per day.

Wine and beer for breakfast

Till last century wine and beer were consumed more than water. This is because it was very difficult to find uncontaminated water. The alcohol in wine and beer has an antiseptic property that made those drinks safer than water. So people were used to drinking wine and beer during all meal times from breakfast to dinner.