Archives: Region

The history of viticulture in Italy dates back to Phoenician and Etruscan settlements of the 8th century BC. To the ancient Greeks, Italy was part of an area called Enotria – land of wine. Roman legions are credited with the diffusion of vitis vinifera, the grape vine, throughout the Empire. Planting of vines was considered… Read more »

Friuli (from Forum Iulii) is the territory assigned by Julius Caesar to his soldiers to plant vines. It was also the first line of defence against the numerous invasions from the East. Today Friuli Venezia Giulia is considered one of Italy’s prestigious winemaking regions, especially for white wines. The most important vineyards are found in… Read more »

In Lazio, the region of Rome, winemaking has ebbed and flowed over the centuries, but is currently enjoying a revival. The Etruscans were the first to produce wine in this region, followed by the ancient Romans – the emergence of Rome as Imperial capital obviously providing significant impetus. The hills in Lazio are of volcanic… Read more »

A symbiosis between the generosity of the land and passionate human endeavour going back centuries, has crafted Piedmont’s reputation for quality wine (and food) around the world. The region’s name, derived from ad pedem montium (at the foot of the mountains), recognises the place of this vast hilly area between mountains of the Alps to… Read more »

Vines and wine have been present in Sardinia for around 5,000 years, based on findings of amphorae (traditional wine vessels) in the area of the Nuraghi, a people on the island at the time. In the province of Nuoro, a Phoenician ‘oenological laboratory’ was discovered, complete with vats and tanks for fermentation and conservation of… Read more »

Winemaking here was first documented around the 6th century BC, when Etruscans began to systematically cultivate grapes to make wine. In the Middle Ages, merchants from Siena made wine to be sold in  Florence, where in 1282 the Arte dei Vinattieri (winemakers’ guild) was founded. During the Renaissance, wine of quality started to emerge, from… Read more »

Known as the green heart of Italy, the small interior region of Umbria has a climate and geography similar to neighbouring Tuscany, with cold rainy winters and dry sun-filled summers. It is named after a people known as the Umbri, contemporaries and rivals of the Etruscans and also among the first in the world to… Read more »