1.1 History
Italy is one of the oldest wine regions in the world.
Of the many contributions the Roman Empire made to the world, both ancient and of those passed on to modern society, perhaps the most lasting was the art of wine making. Wild grapes, though now nearly extinct, grew in abundance throughout the Mediterranean and were cultivated in earnest throughout the region. Etruscans and Greek settlers produced wine long before the Romans started developing their own vineyards in the second century BC.
Carthage dominated the Mediterranean trade prior to the Romans. The Carthaginians were the wine connoisseurs of the time, and the earliest ancient references prior to Latin was provided in the Punic language.
As Rome expanded, and eventually defeated Carthage in the mid 2nd century BC, Roman vineyards began to spring up in earnest throughout Italy. No longer overwhelmingly dedicated to the art of warfare in Italy, local farms were able to flourish. The wild grapes that once formed the basic wine culture of Italy were cultivated and farmed in abundance. Prior to this, Italy was an agrarian culture based predominantly on sustenance farming, but as expansion into fertile lands such as Sicily and Africa occurred, the door was opened to other agrarian pursuits. Wine and grape production in Italy soared in the 2nd century BC, and large slave run vineyards dotted the coastlines. Wine production so replaced that of traditional food farming, that the Emperor Domitian was forced to destroy several vineyards in 92 AD, while putting a ban in place on the growth of new vines.
Several ancient authors dedicated lengthy documentation on the production, economics and cultural value of wine. Cato the Censor provided the first Latin work involving Roman wine, among other agricultural pursuits, 'De Agri Cultura'. Varro provided a rather cursory review of wine production in a greater work on overall farming in 'Res Rusticae' (Country Matters). Perhaps the best example of all Roman sources on wine production comes from one of the least known Latin sources. Columella, in his own 'De Re Rusticae' (On Country Matters), provided a highly detailed look at the Roman art of grape growing, wine production and consumption. Pliny the Elder, adding in his own great work, Historia Naturalis, that wine production in Italy by the mid 2nd century BC surpassed any other place in the world. The cultivation of wine and grapes was disallowed, at least by Roman farmers outside of Italy during this period, and wine became a great export commodity. While it would remain a treasured piece of Roman daily life, its export value would diminish as the Empire expanded. As Gaul and Hispania (essentially France and Spain) came under Roman influence, massive vineyards were established in these provinces, and Italy would eventually become a major import center for provincial wines.
The Romans drank wine as a staple part of their diet, preferred over anything else. In fact, the quality of drinking water was such that, wine was a typical drink at any time in the day. However, unlike today, ancient wine was almost always consumed mixed in with large percentages of water. The ancient wines were stronger, both in alcohol content and perhaps in flavor, making the watering down of their drinks necessary. In so doing, not only was the longevity of a serving secured, but the alcoholic effects also slowed. They enjoyed wines of many varieties and flavors, and mixed the original grape product with an exhaustive list of flavor changing properties.
From honey to salt water, herbs and/or spices of all sorts, the Romans seemed willing to try anything. Even chalk was added to reduce acidity. The flavor of the wine was even altered through its storage method. The typical method of storage was in the classic Roman amphorae (a handled jug with a cylindrical container area, and small long neck and spout). In these, they might coat the inside with resin, not only for preservation, but to effect the taste of the final product. The boiling procedures too affected the taste, and the Romans were well aware of the various taste properties gained by using lead, iron, copper, etc. cooking pots.
Roman wine-growing was prolific and well-organised, pioneering large-scale production and storage techniques like barrel-making and bottling. Wine production varied, of course, depending on the quality of the product intended. For any wines, grapes were gathered and trodden with feet, but generally pressed sent to a press for further refinement. The Torculum or the Roman press could sometimes be a sophisticated piece of machine driven parts, but was most commonly a heavy wooden beam. The juices were strained generally through colander like object called a Colum to separate any thick skins or other undesirable objects. To ferment, the juices were poured into amphorae or similar pots called dolia, under varying conditions. Some amphorae were buried in sand, others in dirt, and some were allowed to rest in bodies of water.
Some juices were boiled before being poured into amphorae for fermentation. High quality vintage wines could be left for considerable lengths of times in this storage process. Though the required length of time seems to have been anywhere from nine days to a couple of months, depending on the desired final product, vintage wines were preferred to be aged anywhere from 10 to 25 years. In fact, the Emperor Caligula was once presented with a 160 year old vintage that was considered a supreme treat. Unfortunately, as the Empire began to collapse, both vineyards and the wine industry as a whole fell into a similar state during the so called "Dark Ages." Though wine production continued, it didn't regain its immense popularity until the resurgence of classical culture in the European Renaissance.
Centuries later, Italy remains one of the world's foremost producers, responsible for approximately one-fifth of world wine production in 2005.
Wine is a popular drink in Italy. Many Italians drink it with every meal and in-between, and offer it to guests as soon as they arrive. Grapes are grown in almost every part of Italy, with more than 1 million vineyards under cultivation. Each region is proud of its carefully tended, neatly pruned vines. In some places the vines are trained along low supports. In others they climb as slender saplings. The people of each region are also proud of the wine they make from their own grapes.
Although wines had been elaborated from the wild Vitis vinifera grape for millennia, it wasn't until the Greek colonization that wine-making flourished. Viticulture was introduced into Sicily and southern Italy by the Mycenaean Greeks, and was well established when the extensive Greek colonization transpired around 800 BC. During the Roman defeat of the Carthaginians (acknowledged masters of wine-making) in the second century BC that Italian wine production began to further flourish. Large-scale, slave-run plantations sprang up in many coastal areas and spread to such an extent that, in AD92, emperor Domitian was forced to destroy a great number of vinyards in order to free up fertile land for food production.
During this time, viticulture outside of Italy was prohibited under Roman law. Exports to the provinces were reciprocated in exchange for more slaves, especially from Gaul where trade was intense, according to Pliny, due to the inhabitants being besotted with Italian wine, drinking it unmixed and without. restraint. Roman wines contained more alcohol and were generally more powerful than modern fine wines. It was customary to mix wine with a good proportion of water which may otherwise have been unpalatable, making wine drinking a fundamental part of early Italian life.
As the laws on provincial viticulture were relaxed, vast vineyards began to flourish in the rest of Europe, especially Gaul (present day France) and Hispania. This coincided with the cultivation of new vines, like biturica (ancestor of the Cabernets). These vineyards became hugely successful, to the point that Italy ultimately became an import centre for provincial wines.
1.2 Big producer of wine
Depending on the vintage, modern Italy is the world's largest or second largest wine producer. In 2005, production was about 20% of the global total, second only to France, which produced 22%.
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