The Story of Italian Wines

ITALY

• Italy is the leading wine producer in the world, manufacturing some of the most desirable wines in the market;

• In 2018, Italy produced 19% of the world’s wine, a 29% increase from the previous year;

• The Italian wine industry provides more than 1.3 million jobs, directly and indirectly. 1900 million litres of wine….

• the United States is the largest consumer of Italian wine, followed by Germany and the United Kingdom;

• Italian Wines Are of Exceptional Quality 2/3 of Italian wines are classified as DOC (39%) or IGT (30%);

• Italy Has Thousands of Grape Varieties

• Italians Love Drinking Wine - the average Italian consumes 54 liters of wine each year, which is about one bottle per week;

• Many Italians claim to enjoy health benefits from indulging in antioxidant-rich Italian wines regularly.

Lots of Love

• In 2016 Chianti Classico territory to be considered for inclusion in UNESCO’s World Heritage List;

• In 2019 the hills of Conegliano and Valdobbiadene – home to the country’s renowned Prosecco – were also added;

Ancient roots

• The Romans were great at wine - often stronger and sweeter than today (Mixed with seawater to dilute, like a punch and sweetened with honey);

• I’ve told you before that the Romans brought wine to the rest of Europe, however;

• In the 8th century BC, Mycenaean Greeks brought viticulture to Sicily and southern Italy;

• bought with them a true art of winemaking, and the techniques to help it flourish;

• So impressed were they by Italy’s mild climate that they called the country Oenotria, or ‘the land of trained vines’;

• Later, following the Roman defeat of the Carthaginians 146BC, large-scale, slave-run plantations began appearing in coastal areas, complementing the winemaking work the Etruscans were already doing in central Italy;

• Wine was very popular amongst all Romans and in fact a famous maxim was made in 79AD by Pliny, the Elder famously said, "There's truth in wine."….in vino veritas;

• AD 92 Emperor Domitian was forced to destroy a large number of vineyards in order to free up land for food production;

• They used props and trellises, for example, and Greek presses for extracting juice;

• They discovered that aged wines tasted better and were the first to store it in wooden barrels;

• They also forged the foundations of generally-accepted winemaking wisdom, taking the time to classify their grapes and learn more about climate and terroir;

• Viticulture outside of Italy was prohibited under Roman law during this time, and exports to other areas were made in exchange for slaves;

• Once these laws were relaxed, vineyards began to flourish throughout the rest of Europe, although Italy remained a vital import centre for wines and vines;

• Romans refined the winemaking process with innovative techniques, some of which we still use;

• Pompeii was an epicenter for winemaking in ancient Rome;

• Pompeians worshipped Bacchus, the god of wine, and they were highly revered for their winemaking abilities. The Vesuvius eruption destroyed Pompeii’s vineyards and caused the price of wine to skyrocket.

Adversity and triumph

• The popularity of Italian wine rose and fell with the Roman Empire;

• Christian monks during the Dark Ages;

• Come the Renaissance, however, its popularity once again skyrocketed – until the nineteenth century when phylloxera hit;

• A great number of prestigious vineyards were destroyed, and their replacements were planted with quantity rather than quality in mind;

• As such, the early- to mid-20th century saw Italy become a global source of inexpensive table wine;

• It was in 1716 when the Grand Duke of Tuscany, Cosimo III, set the boundaries of the area of production of the Chianti wine, that is an area closed between the cities of Florence and Siena.

• In 1932, the suffix "Classico" was added to "Chianti" in order to discern the Chianti produced in the above mentioned area of origin from all the other wines;

• The 1960s saw officials finally take action to restore the country’s once-grand winemaking reputation, and introduced a series of laws to control quality and labelling;

• The first Italian system of classification of wines was launched in 1963, and Italy’s modern wine landscape was born;

• In 1984, the Chianti Classico obtained the D.O.C.G. (Denomination of Controlled and Guaranteed Origin), that is the highest acknowledgment in Italy for quality wines;

• Several modifications and additions have been made to legislation since its inception, but the system now includes four basic categories, ranging from;

• Vini (so-called ‘generic wines’) to Vini DOP (wines with protected designation of Origin).

• Within the DOP category exists a number of further subcategories, each with stringent rules and regulations that are commonly taken to denote status and quality.

That said, however, looser rules for ‘lower’ categories do not always indicate lower quality. Talented winemakers will sometimes create wines using varietals or varietal percentages that do not match DOC or DOCG requirements. ‘Super Tuscans’ are a good example, and while renowned labels such as Sassicaia, Tignanello, Masseto and Ornellaia may not meet the rigid requirements of some classification levels, there is no doubt they are some of the most sought-after wines in the world – with price tags to match!

• Today, Italy is known for noble reds such as Chianti, Barbaresco and Brunello, as well as zesty whites and, of course, ever-popular sparkling wines such as Asti and Prosecco;

• The country’s vast range of wines encompasses a flavour profile to suit every taste – and every match is one born of quality and passion. It’s not hard to see why Italian wines continue to take the world by storm.

Wine in Modern Italy

In the 19th and 20th centuries, the quality of Italian wine began to diminish slightly, so the government started regulating the industry to preserve its reputation. A series of labels were used to tell the public that winemakers met specific requirements regarding taste,

quality and production standards. There are five basic categories:

• Denomination of Controlled and Guaranteed Origin (DOCG): This is the highest degree of quality. To receive this label, winemakers must adhere to strict guidelines on production, quantity, alcohol content, aging and taste;

• Denomination of Controlled Origin (DOC): Wines with a DOC label are the next highest quality level of Italian wines. This category includes sparkling wines such as prosecco;

• Typical Geographical Indication (IGT): This is the broadest category. These wines are guaranteed to use grapes from their region but do not need to adhere to strict guidelines otherwise. Some high-end wineries release IGT wines to avoid conforming to rigid DOC or DOCG restrictions;

• Tavolo - Table wine (VDT): Wines that use grapes from anywhere in Italy without a direct geographical indication are called table wines. These wines are rarely of high-enough quality to be exported to the United States or bottled for the European market.

Italian Wine Regions

• Region is an essential determining factor of Italian wines. While every region in Italy produces wine, some are more prolific and desirable than others;

• Italian wines are specific to their regions and cannot be produced in any other place in the world;

• Each area has a distinct terroir that can not be reproduced to create a wine that exactly matches a specific region’s qualities. The terroir is the complete natural environment of a region. It includes rainfall, soil conditions, air quality, sunlight exposure and any other components that influence a wine’s flavor and quality;

• Knowing an Italian wine’s region is a great way to understand and appreciate the wine more thoroughly.

How to Read an Italian Wine Label

While memorizing Italy’s regional map and knowing the wines that each region produces is

helpful, you don’t have to spend hours studying to have a basic understanding of where an Italian wine came from and how it was made.

Most of the information you need to know about a wine is listed on the label. There are several key components of an Italian wine label that can help you discern its qualities:

• Wine type: The wine type is identified in one of three ways in Italy — the grape variety, name or region;

• Region: The wine’s region or subregion is always listed next to the wine’s classification level;

• Classification: The classification will tell you whether the wine is a DOC, DOCG or another rating;

• Wine name: The name of a wine often indicates it was made with a blend of grapes. It will never be next to its classification on the label;

• Producer name: The name of the producer can tell you more about where the grapes came from and how the specific wine was made;

• Additional descriptions: Words such as riserva, superiore or annata on a label can indicate further details about the wine.

Essential Italian Wine Regions

Covering all the information about each Italian wine region could fill a book. Each region is worthy of further study and has wines of value with unique character and strong qualities.

That said, here are a few of the essential Italian wine regions to recognize:

• Veneto: As the largest wine region in Italy, Veneto produces a variety of grapes and wines, including pinot grigio and prosecco;

• Piedmont: Situated in northwestern Italy at the foot of the western Alps, Piedmont is revered for producing some of Italy’s most refined wines, including Barolo DOCG and Gavi DOCG;

• Lazio: Lazio is home to Rome and has a reputation for producing easy-drinking, youthful white wines such as the Frascati DOC;

• Sicily: Sicily’s dry, sunny climate is ideal for producing fruity, medium-bodied red wines from nero d’avola, an important red wine grape.

• Umbria: This small, central region is best known for its tannic, age-worthy red wines such as Sargentino de Montefalco DOCG;

• Tuscany: Tuscany grows sangiovese grapes and is known for producing wines such as the famous Chianti red wine;

• Sardinia: This small Italian island is a popular vacation destination and produces wines such as Cannonau and Carignano.

The Black Rooster's legend

Chianti Classico’s bottles have always been distinguished by a brand picturing the image of a Black Rooster, that is an historical symbol of the "Ancient Military Chianti Legion" dating back to Medieval times. A depiction of this ancient symbol by the painter Giorgio Vasari can be found on the ceiling of the "Salone dei Cinquecento" in Palazzo Vecchio in Florence.

The history of this symbol also includes a singular legend set in Medieval times that is explaining how the geographical boundaries of the Chianti territory were decided. And the protagonist of this story is indeed a black rooster.

In the XIII Century, the Republics of Florence and of Siena were fighting bitterly to prevail over each other on the Chianti region, a land placed in between the two cities. In order to decide once and for all which part of the Chianti land should belong to Siena and which part to Florence, the two cities decided to resort to quite a bizarre method.

It was agreed that a knight on horseback would have to depart at sunrise from each city and then the boundary belonging to each city would be set at their meeting point. It was agreed to leave at dawn and the signal for departure would be the song of a rooster.

Therefore, for the success of the mission, was decisive the choice of the rooster, rather than the rider or the horse.

Siena chose a white rooster, while Florence opted for a black one, which they kept closed in a small and dark chicken coop for many days.

So, on the day of the challenge, as soon as the Florentine people opened the chicken coop, the black rooster began to sing madly, even if the sunrise was still far away. Its singing allowed the knight of Florence to start with hours of advantage over his opponent, who

instead had to wait for the first lights of the day to start his own race. In the end, the knight from Siena rode for 12 kilometers only before meeting the knight from Florence: they met in the small village of Fonterutoli.

It was thus that practically the entire Chianti region passed under the rule of Florence: thanks

to a black rooster!

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