Pharmacist makes wine-based elixir

SIENA, Italy, Sept. 10 (UPI) -- An Italian pharmacist has recreated a Chianti-based elixir from an 18th-century recipe found lodged behind a shelf in his apothecary shop.

Giovanni De Munari said the recipe was created by one of his Tuscan ancestors, the Italian news service ANSA reported Tuesday.

"'They may not have known the names of the chemicals back then, but they were sure red wine, and Chianti in particular, was a boon for old age," de Munari told ANSA.

He said he is working with a distillery to produce the elixir on a commercial scale.