Stalactite Wine

Wine of the Silver Elves

A group of women, a Halfling, a Human, and a Dwarf, sit at a table, glasses in their hands as they talk and gossip. One swirls the red liquid in her glass, taking a deep breath of the heady scent of the wine before raising the glass to her lips for a small drink. The taste is potent and heady, bursting on her tongue with the flavors of Káto, something that is a delicacy on the surface.
The special wine made from the Serrace Berry is a normal sight on the tables of Silver Elves throughout Káto. The process to make this wine is almost considered a religious experience, a pilgrimage to the darkest parts of the caves where the horrors that the goddess Libra has sent them to hunt are found. Every drink with a meal or every sip had in reverence is a prayer and a honor to the goddess and the lives that the Silver Elves live.
Stalactite Wine is a specialty of the Silver Elves and Káto, a wine that only comes through the work of the Silver Elves in the name of their goddess. Tucked deep in the dangerous caverns and caves of Káto, in areas where little does not permeate nor the wind ever die down, one may find the deep reds, nearly black, of the Serrace Berry, but one may also find deadly horrors, the Eldritch beings hidden in the deepest parts of the world.
Made using the purified water that falls from the stalactites in many of the caverns and the heady Serrace Berry, the Silver Elves create a delicious wine that is known throughout Vóreios, both above and below ground, as a delicacy and a privilege. Those that live in Káto and trade throughout the Great Tunnel will gladly share their weapons and other wares, but rarely do they share the culture of their food and drink. For those of the surface that can partake in Stalactite Wine, it is something to be savored, an experience that may never again occur. But for those that are lucky enough to live in the cities of the Silver Elves, this wine flows like water, heavy and abundant for all.

Wine of the Caves

No one is quite sure when the Silver Elves began making this wine, but it is assumed that it is an ancient tradition that predates most meetings with races on the surface. Even though the fragrant wine has existed for centuries, it was only in the last two hundred years or so that denizens of the surface, specifically those that lived close to the entrances of the Great Tunnel, first tasted the drink. Since then, it has been a popular drink with those outside of Káto, often reaching extremely high prices for the few bottles that do make it up for trade and purchase.
The recipe for the wine is just one of many secrets that the Silver Elves keep, but it is by far one of the most closely guarded. It is said that the Silver Elves are willing to share the recipe amongst their own kin, but even that is up for debate. Stalactite Wine from the different northern provinces of Káto varies heavily in taste, although the same base ingredients are used. It is unknown whether different patches of the Serrace Berry have different tastes or potencies or whether there is another factor in the differences such as where the purified water is gathered from.

Stalactite Wine

Wine by Terry Vlisidis on Unsplash

The signature red color of Stalactite Wine comes from the special subterranean berry known as Serrace Berry. This berry grows in specific caverns of Káto and can only be harvested during certain times of year.

Item type

Consumable, Food / Drink

Related ethnicities

• Silver Elf Culture