The vine has a long history in Southern Italy. Oenotria, the land of vines, is what the Greeks affectionately called the modern-day ‘Mezzogiorno,’ the southern part of the Italian boot, in addition to Sicily. (It is important to know that) Southern Italy was effectively a Greek colony in the centuries before Christ, so much so, that the south was known as ‘Magna Graecia,’ literally ‘Greater Greece.’ When they colonized Southern Italy they brought with them one of the markers of civilization, the vine. Technically, the Phoenicians were the first to bring the vine, but it was the Greeks who brought both viticulture and viniculture, essentially a wine-making culture. From that point on wine became established there, and its wines were admired by Roman leaders throughout the Roman Empire, even Julius Caesar, himself, sung praises of these wines. Southern Italian wine was a well-respected product before Barolo or Chianti had been created. However, throughout the centuries, wine in the south became less well-regarded, and more infamous as it became the primary source of Italian jug wine. Wines from Apulia, Calabria, Campania, Sicily, and Sardinia were used to strengthen weak vintages from Northern and Central Italy. They were even used in some Southern French wines for the very same reasons as their Northern Italian counterparts. What a fall from grace! Continue reading Oenotria Part 1
