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Italy's treasures : the wine

Italy's treasures : the wine

“In Italy, wine is food… wine and bread are as essential to an Italian dinner as a fork and knife (probably more so)

17 February 2015 / Welcome and Tourism

it was the Greeks who first recognized Italy’s potential for wine. After settling in present-day Sicily and southern Italy, the Greeks were so impressed with the fertile land that they decided to import vines and give the land the name Oenotria

The Etruscans were ages ahead of them, though their techniques obviously differed. After crushing the grapes, the must was poured into clay containers which were buried deep in the ground

As the Roman Empire expanded, demand for wine increased. Wine production kept up with this demand, and wine became an intricate part of Roman society.

The wine of the Roman times was very different than our typical wines, they was often mixed with water to decrease the wine’s incredibly high alcohol content, Romans often drank sweet white Falernian coming from a region near Neaples.

Romans  realized that to effectively age wines, they needed airtight containers, and thus invented the wooden barrel.

With the fall of the Roman Empire, demand for wine decreased until the Renaissance.

In the recent past Italian wine was criticized for its poor quality but today the quality and the reputation of the wine improved and we can say that things that made famous  Italy are still embraced  in Italian culture : good food and good wine