History

Question 1

How far back have fossils of Vitis vinifera vinces been dated?

Answer 1

Dating back to the Quaternary Period (2.5 mya) in several parts of Italy.

Question 2

Who cultivated the vines throughout Italy prior to 1000BC?

Answer 2

Indigenous populations; among these grape-loving tribes were:
-the Rhaeti (nw)
-the Salassi (nw)
-the Liguri in the northwest
-the Veneti in the northeast
-the Piceni in central Italy
-the Samnites in the south
-the Nuragic people of Sardegna

Question 3

Before the Etruscans expanded their territory and before the arrival of the Greeks, what did the Phoenicians accomplish?

Answer 3

Phoenicians promoted the development of viticulture and wine trade in the entire western Mediterranean, including their Italian colonies in Sicilia and Sardegna.

Question 4

When and where did the Etruscan civilization develop?

Answer 4

In the territories of modern-day Toscana and Umbria prior to the 8th century BC.

At the peak of their power (6th century BC), the Etruscans occupied a large part of central and southern Italy as well as a large area in the northern part of Italy along the Po River (corresponding to modern-day parts of Lombardia, Veneto, Piemonte and Emilia-Romagna).

Question 5

What did the Etruscans contribute to viticulture and winemaking?

Answer 5

The Etruscans were the most advanced civilization of their time within the Italian territory. Wine was a central part of their society and culture. Their advanced know-how of viticulture and winemaking was critical in the development of wine production in northern and central Italy. -They taught the northern/central indigenous tribes how to grow vines, how to make wine and the methods to preserve it.
-domesticated wild vines and trained them high above the ground using trees as natural supports (alberata or vite maritata all’albero).

Question 6

What is alberata (vite maritata all’albero)?

Answer 6

An ancient vine-training system used bed the Etruscans. Vines were trained high above the ground using trees as natural supports. This system remained widespread, particularly in central Italy, until the first half of the 20th century.

Question 7

Where is the alberata or vite maritata all’albero vine-training system still in use today?

Answer 7

In Campania’s Aversa DOC, where Asprinio grapes are trained very high using poplar and elm trees as support.

Question 8

When did the Etruscans develop a flourishing commercial trade for their wines?

Answer 8

As early as the 7th century BC and even exported them to the southern coast of France and Spain.

Question 9

When did Greek settlers arrive on the coasts of southern Italy?

Answer 9

Between the 8th and 6th centuries. They founded colonies with towns that grew into important cities in the modern-day southern regions of Sicilia, Campania, Calabria, Basilicata and Puglia.

Question 10

What is Magna Gaecia?

Answer 10

Meaning Great Greece, it was the name given by the Romans to the southern Italian territories occupied by the Greek settlers.

Question 11

How did the Greek colonies influence the local populations?

Answer 11

Politically and culturally, setting the foundation for the future Roman culture. They also became instrumental in the advancement of viticulure and winemaking in the south (assuming the role of the Etruscans in the north and central Italy.)

Question 12

What did the Greeks call the south of Italy?

Answer 12

“Oenotria”, the land of vines.

They realized the immense potential of southern Italy as a wine producing region very early on, thanks to the ideal climate conditions and variety of suitable soils.

Question 13

How did the Greeks contribute to the development of viticulture in southern Italy?

Answer 13

-They brought grape varieties from Greece
- Introduced innovative viticultural and winemaking techniques unknown by most of the local populations, such as the low head-training method for grapevines.

Question 14

What was the importance of wine for the Greek economy and culture?

Answer 14

They were able to turn wine into an essential commodity for their economy.

Wine acquired cult status; it was linked to the Gods by the figure of Dionysus, who was later adopted by the Romans and given the name Bacchus.

Question 15

When did the Etruscans lose control over northern Italy and to who?

Answer 15

Between the 6th and 5th centuries BC, Celtic tribes occupied and conquered northern Italy.

Question 16

When did the Roman Republic become the major political and military power in the Italian peninsula?

Answer 16

Beginning in the 4th century BC, they gradually gained power. By the 3rd century BC, Rome dominated almost all of it. In 42 BC, the entire Italian territory was granted Roman citizenship and for the first time in its history, the Italian territory was united.

Question 17

How did the Romans improve viticulture and winemaking?

Answer 17

By adopting the best techniques of both the Etruscans and the Greeks.
They refined vine training and pruning methods to such a level that some systems remained in used for centuries all over Europe.

Question 18

Name the Roman authors who contributed important texts. What was important about these texts?

Answer 18

-Columella
-Cato the Elder
-Horace
-Virgilius
-Pliny the Elder

These authors provided important descriptions of the viticultural practices, grape varieties and wines produced at that time. This knowledge formed the basis of viticultural practices adopted all over Europe up to the 17th century.

Question 19

Which of the Roman authors recommended the ideal soils and winegrowing areas for each grape variety in his fundamental work, “De re rustica”?

Answer 19

Columella

Question 20

As Rome grew in power and influence southern Italy saw tremendous increases in wine production in order to satisfy Rome’s growing vinous thirst. Which white wines were particularly renowned and considered the first grand crus of Roman Italy?

Answer 20

1) Caecubum (Lazio)
2) Falernum (Campania)
3) Mamertinum (Sicilia)

Question 21

What style of wine did the Romans drink?

Answer 21

The wines drunk by the Romans followed Greek habits and were often sweet and alcoholic. The wines were diluted with water and were usually flavoured and stabilized with a mixture of sea water, resin, herbs, spices and honey.

Question 22

When did the rule of the Roman Republic end?

Answer 22

In 49BC, when Julius Caesar assumed power as a dictator, ending the almost 500-year rule of the Roman Republic.

Question 23

Who was the first Emperor of the Roman Empire?

Answer 23

Octavius, the great-nephew of Julius Caesar, succeeded him, and with the name of Augustus, became the first Emperor of the Roman Empire in 27 BC.

Question 24

When was Rome the largest city in the world?

Answer 24

In 27 BC, under the rule of Augustus.

Question 25

When did the Roman Empire maximize their occupation of outside territories and what regions did they control?

Answer 25

117AD

-entirety of Western Europe (including Britain)
-large part of Central & Eastern Europ
-large territories around the Mediterranean Sea in Europe
-Northern Europe
-Middle East

These territories were organized into large provinces. However, though formally part of the Empire, the foreign provinces did not enjoy Roman citizenship -that was reserved for the territories of Italy.

Question 26

How did the wines of Northern Italy fair under the rule of Augustus?

Answer 26

They began to acquire respect and esteem, particularly:
-Rhaeticum (Retico); produced in Veneto around Verona (modern-day Valpolicella)
-Pucinuum; a prestigious wine made in Friuli Venezia Giulia

Italy became a major center for the production/trade of wine.

Question 27

What was the Roman road network?

Answer 27

A system that made it easier to transport wine across the entire Empire.

Question 28

How did the Romans influence viticulture and winemaking outside of Italy?

Answer 28

Everywhere the Romans invaded, they brought vines, viticultural know-how and winemaking techniques along with them. They were instrumental in spreading the culture of wine and the cultivation of vines in European regions such as:
-Spain
-Rhone Valley
-Burgundy
-Bordeaux
-Mosel and Rhine Rivers

Consequently, a successful wine trade developed between the provinces.

Question 29

What detrimental effect did the flourishment of wine have on agriculture?

Answer 29

By the end of the 1st century AD, vineyards were gradually replacing wheat fields, causing an overproduction of wine and a scarcity of wheat.
The Roman Emperor Domitian was forced to issue an edict in 92 AD forbidding the planting of any new vines in Italy.

Question 30

When was Roman citizenship finally granted to all of the empire’s provinces?

Answer 30

In 212 AD, Roman citizenship was granted to all within the empire’s provinces by the Roman Emperor Caracalla.

Question 31

When did the Roman Empire begin to lose power?

Answer 31

Over time, the city of Rome gradually lost its central role in the empire’s administration. The city definitively lost its political supremacy as the capital of the Roman Empire in 330AD, when the Emperor Constantinople established the new capital city of Constantinople (previously Byzantium, now modern-day Istanbul) in current Turkey. The decline of Rome’s importance and the shift of political and military power to Constantinople left Italy weakened and vulnerable.

Question 32

When did the Roman Empire split?

Answer 32

In 395AD, after the death of the Emperor Theodosius, the Roman Empire was split into two parts, each ruled by one of his sons:
-Western Roman Empire; Constantinople remained the capital
-Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantium Empire); capital was transferred to Milano, then later to Ravenna (important city port on Romagna’s Adriatic coast).

Question 33

What caused the fall of the Western Roman Empire and when?

Answer 33

Beginning in the 5th century AD, Germanic tribes such as the Goths and the Vandals invaded the Italian peninsula from the north at different times, causing an irreversible crisis that ended with the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476AD.

Question 34

What occurred during the fall of the Western Roman Empire that had a detrimental effect on viticulture and wine production?

Answer 34

The barbarian invasions were responsible for a complete economic collapse during which viticulture and wine production entered a period of profound regression as well.

Question 35

What period followed the fall of the Western Roman Empire?

Answer 35

The fall marked the beginning of the Dark Ages (a period of littler historical record equating to the early Middle Ages or roughly 6-13th centuries AD). Italy experienced more than 13 centuries of civil instability - a period extending until the 19th century.

Little documentation about viticulture and wine exist from the fall up to the 11th century. It is likely the quality of wine deteriorated during the early Middle Ages.

Question 36

What happened to wine culture in the Middle ages?

Answer 36

Although wine production didn’t stop completely, the need for distinctive and qualitatively superior wines faded with the disappearance of Roman society. The transportation of goods such as wine became more dangerous.
Wine culture and viticulture were saved because monasteries carried on with wine production - though mainly for religious and medical purposes.

Question 37

What method has historically been used to store wine?

Answer 37

The Romans transported and preserved wine in sealed terracotta amphorae.
The use of wooden barrels became widespread during the Middle Ages. They were not airtight and contributed to the poor quality and short life of the wines of this era.

Question 38

When did the Germanic Ostrogoth tribe descend from the north and what areas did they conquer?

Answer 38

They conquered most of the Italian territory between the end of the 5th century and 6th century AD.

Eastern Roman Emperor Justinian wanted to reform the Roman Empire and reacted to the invasion with force. The Ostrogoths were eventually defeated in 533AD, but the wars left the country completely devastated and plagued by resulting famines and epidemics.

Question 39

When did the Lombard enter Italy and where did they take control?

Answer 39

The Lombards, a German tribe, exploited the weakness of the Eastern Roman Empire following the wars with the Ostrogoths and settle in Italy in 568AD. Within a few years, they took control of the majority of northern Italy, as well as large parts of central and southern Italy. The territory of the Eastern Roman Empire was drastically reduced.

Question 40

During the takeover of the Lombards, which areas was the Eastern Roman Empire able to maintain control over?

Answer 40

-Veneto’s Adriatic coast
-parts of central & southern Italy
-Sicilia
-Sardegna
-Roma

The area of Roma (the region of modern-day Lazio) became the Duchy of Roma. Though formally part of the Empire, the Duchy maintained a certain autonomy under the government of the Pope.

Question 41

What did the Lombards do to maintain military supremacy over their territories.

Answer 41

King Alboino divided the kingdom into several duchies that were clustered around focal cities.

These duchies became more independent over time, eventually representing a major point of weakness and instability for the Lombard Kingdom.