Origin, Characteristics and Production of Food and Beverages
Wine Growing Italy
Wine Growing History Italy f Exercise: Read the following text and highlight the most important statements. Research the meaning of any foreign words. Create a short list of events in chronological order (for example, 1000bc. Etruscans settled in central Italy) Italy is one of the oldest wine-producing countries in the world, the origins go back at least to 1000 BC. At that time, the Etruscans settled in central Italy in sub-regions of today‘s Abruzzo, Lazio, Tuscany and Umbria. The Italian wine culture originated mostly during the time of the Greek colonisation, which was as early as 1000 BC. Viticulture was practiced on the island of Sicily and in the region of today‘s Campania and Calabria. The Greeks brought many of their grape varieties with them and gave the perfect name "Oinotria" to this wine producing country. An influence was also felt from the Phoenicians (Carthaginians), later a major enemy, who built strategic bases both on Sicily and in the Mediterranean. From the 6th Century BC an active trade with the Celts in Gaul (France), who imported considerable quantities of wine from upper and central Italy. Of all these people, it was the Romans who learned about wine-making and made it in to a fine art. In the 3rd Century BC, the grapevine was common across the whole of the Italian Peninsula. In the 1st Century BC wine culture reached a climax. The city of Pompeii, until its destruction by the Mount Vesuvius eruption in 79 BC, was the wine trade centre and the main wine supplier of the capital, Rome. The most famous ancient wines at that time were Caecuber, Falernian and Surrentinum. In the period 50 BC to 20 AD the Romans planted vineyards in the newly acquired provinces; in today‘s countries, France, Spain, Portugal, Germany and England. Wine became an import and export item and the Romans manufactured wooden barrels for this purpose, whereby they had learned this skill from the Celts. A number of Roman authors wrote about viticulture and wine culture, some very extensively, which enabled the reader to have a very accurate picture. The spectrum ranged from purely scientific and didactic writings and poetic descriptions, right up to descriptions about the drinking and dining culture. Wine became a cultural medium of the first rank, in continuation with the Greek Dionysus-Cult the wine god Bacchus had great adoration. In regard to viticulture techniques the Romans were very creative, a specialty was aromatising the wines to make them tastier and to preserve them. Sparkling wine was already being produced by storing the amphorae in cold spring water to stop the fermentation. In the first Century AD there was intensive work on culturing the right type of grape varieties for the particular soil to create the most suitable vine. Many of today‘s indigenous grapes are descended from the ancient grape varieties cultivated at that time. With the collapse of the Roman Empire in the 5th Century there was confusion owing to the great migration; wine culture sank into obscurity and was maintained only by the various monasteries of the Roman Catholic Church for the production of Communion wine. There was a great boom at the beginning of the Renaissance in the 14th Century. In order to revive wine growing, Pope Paul III. (1468-1549) denounced French wine and had detailed documents drawn up on the Italian wines of the past. In 1716, under the rule of the Grand Duke Cosimo III. (1642-1723), wine zones were set for Chianti which were taken from the Medici Dynasty in Tuscany. Italy was one of the first countries with origin of designation. But it was not until the 19th Century with the help of the French that wines such as Barolo, Brunello and Chianti were created, and a new start was initiated. Possible approaches to solutions: 1000 BC In central Italy, the Etruscans settled 10 Century BC Greek viticulture in Sicily, Campania and Calabria regions 6 Century BC Trade with the Celts 3 Century BC The vine was now spreading all over the Italian Peninsula 1 Century BC Climax of the then wine cultivation 79 BC Until the eruption of Vesuvius Pompeii was the centre for wine and supplier of Rome 50 BC-20 AD The Romans planted vines in various countries of Europe and experimented with creative vine growing techniques 1 Century AD Cultivation of vines 5 Century AD Collapse of the Roman Empire, monasteries continued to cultivate wine 14 Century AD, Pope Paul III. had detailed overviews of Italian wine created 17 Century AD Grand Duke Cosimo III, had wine zones for Chianti created 19 Century AD With French help various wines received worldwide fame
Manufacture, Food and Beverages
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