History of wine in Italy

Italy is one of the major worldwide producers of wines, not only in terms of quantity but also in terms of high quality and large variety.

Winemaking began 4,000 BC pre-historic people crushing wild grapes and the juice magically intoxicated them. Greeks colonized Southern Italy and called it “Oenotria”, land of the vine.

In Italy, wines which the viticulture dates from the Roman period, both domestic species and grapes obtained from international wine grapes are being produced.

The first grapevine in Italy were known to have been raised during the Etruscan civilization. Etruscans were subtle and serene practitioners of the art of winemaking in the hills of central Italy, as attested by the art and artifacts left in their spacious tombs.

In the era of Romans, this effort, which has become more organized and ordinated, has become an important commercial value. The Romans propagated the cult of Bacchus to all corners of the empire, developing a flourishing trade in wine throughout Mediterranean lands and beyond.

The great empire helped make the wines from their regions the world’s most extensive. Over the centuries, independent kingdoms and states within the peninsula created their own wines from indigenous varietals and popularized them with names of their locations.

Roman wine production was fertile and well organized, large scale production and various storage methods such as barrel bottling were improved.

19th Century brought advancements in storage, such as the cork and allowed Italian wines to be household names in other parts of Europe.
History of wine in Italy