[1177] Perhaps meaning “double-seeded.” We may here remark, that the wines of Tuscany, though held in little esteem in ancient times, are highly esteemed at the present day.
[1178] The leaves of most varieties turn red just before the fall.
[1179] And Baccius thinks that this is the kind from which the raisins of the sun, common in Italy, and more particularly in the Valley of Bevagna, the Mevania of Pliny, are made.
[1180] Perhaps from “pumilio,” a dwarf.
[1181] The “royal” vine, according to Poinsinet, who would derive it from the Sclavonic “ban.”
[1182] Previously mentioned, p. [228].
[1183] The residence of Horace, now Tivoli.
[1184] Baccius says that the wine of this grape was thin like water, and that the vine was trained on lofty trees, a mode of cultivation still followed in the vicinity of Rome. Laurentum was situate within a short distance of it, near Ostia.
[1185] See B. iii. c. 9.
[1186] So called from the smoky or intermediate colour of its grapes. Fée suggests that this may be the slow-ripening grape of France, called the “verjus,” or “rognon de coq.”