Italian Wine History

Italian history is dominated by the Roman Empire which began around 2500 years ago. The influence of the Romans was immense across Europe and the Middle East for nearly 1000 years. An advanced culture that invented many modern-day necessities, humanity has much to thank them for. From language and mathematics to plumbing and sanitary waste management, concrete, arch construction to newspapers, postal services and even roads. To this day, many of the main roads in Europe still follow the ancient tracks laid down by the Roman Empire and many words are derived from the original Roman language of Latin. The empire grew across Europe and the middle east but was spread too thinly, eventually leading to its downfall as it could no longer protect its borders. The empire eventually fell but not before spreading vines and advanced Roman winemaking, using amphorae, and vine growing techniques we might recognise today. Without central government, Italy fell into a collection of separate kingdoms that were constantly at war. These were poor kingdoms with few goods made on a large enough scale to trade with other countries. Wine was produced that went well with local food but was not sold beyond the borders of the local community. Progress was slow in Italy for the gradual move from amphorae to wooden barrel. Initially, barrels were used to transport wine but over time, producers began to ferment and age their wines in wooden casks leading to improvements in quality. The kingdoms of Italy eventually became unified in 1861 and the modern country of Italy was born. The northern parts of the country quickly industrialised but many of the poorer regions remained localised agricultural communities. Phylloxera arrived in 1879 but made slow progress across Italy due in part to the localised culture that prevented transfer of the louse from region to region. Others believe that the widely practiced method of trellising vines in trees also helped to prevent the louse from establishing itself. Export markets slowly developed for the most popular wines due to the increase of Italian emigration during the early 20th century. Other parts of Europe, Australia and particularly the USA saw an influx of Italians seeking a more prosperous lifestyle away from the impoverished, agricultural south. With them came the foods and wines of Italy that are so integral to Italian culture. Pizza and pasta using tomato-based sauces are now part of virtually every food culture with around 9 billion pizzas consumed each year across the world. Knowledge and investment in wine hadn’t progressed much since Roman times leading to the introduction of the DOC (Denominazione di Origine Controllata) system to improve quality. While this has helped some of the key regions to improve and opened international trade, the vast majority of wine is still bought and consumed close to where it was made.