Italian Wine and Culture

Italian wine is not as well known as its French counterparts and is not as aggressively diffused as those coming from California, Australia, and Chile, but Italian wine is a love affair all of its own.

The origins of Italian wine making are lost in history, but we do know that approximately 4,000 years ago, wine was present in the south of modern day Italy.Later, the Greeks brought in their own vines, developed them in the Italian countryside, and were shortly followed by the Romans. In fact, many wines today are descendants of ancient varieties.

Wines were considered to be a bit on the primitive side for many centuries, as each region developed their own special grapes and even mixed grapes together to get something all together new (see Chianti). Italian wine therefore slowly grew and evolved over the years until it arrived to the stage it is today. In time, the whole Italian wine making process changed and became more efficient. In the nineteenth century in fact, Italian wine makers learned to process the grapes more efficiently allowing the production of better wines and the ability to bottle the wines in mass.

It was the historically recent bottling of Italian wines that made shipping easier and leading to a worldwide following and fervor for certain Italian wines. In approximately 150 years, Italy went from negligible exportation of its wines to having them shipped all over the world in rivalry with better known French productions.

Italian wines should always be understood in terms of great variety stemming from local conditions. The wines truly vary from region to region. While the more refined wines may be found in Northern and Central Italy, there are great and elegant varieties that are found in the South of the country that directly stem from the labors of the ancient Greek and Romans.

Wine tasting has evolved too over the last few decades for white, red, and rose types. While wine tasting can be enjoyed anywhere in the country, a few of the regions that are prepared for visitors on a large scale include the regions of Veneto, Tuscany, Umbria, Lazio, and Campania.

If you are interested in knowing more about Italian wines, or a specific wine, or maybe enjoy a wine tasting tour of Italy, contact Italy Revealed at reservations@walkertravels.com. Wine tasting programs can be daily, weekly, or designed to meet your specific needs.