|
|
| EDITORIAL |
| |
| The Godfather’s of Wine-Making |
| |
Perhaps no other country has influenced the history of wine as much as Italy. Certainly no other people have shown such remarkable expertise in growing wines in the most diverse climates and soils, adapting foreign varieties and nurturing the local ones. As a wine producing country, Italy has no equal. Its tradition is 4,000 years old (the ancient Greeks called Italy Enotria (the land of wines). Today, Italy counts the most diverse array of grape varieties available anywhere in the world. Variety indeed seems to be a national phenomenon in Italy. Each city, town and “Paese” is an ideal mix of history, architectural and artistic heritage, friendly people, tasty food and wine. Red, white, still, sparkling – in plenty and there for you to choose for every occasion.
|
|
Yet no two towns are similar just as no two wines are. Climatic conditions have a lot to do with the variety of wines available. Situated in the middle of a temperate zone, Italy nevertheless has variable climatic characteristics. This is due to the Mediterranean Sea, whose warm waters mitigate thermal extremes, and the alpine arc, which forms a barrier against the cold northern winds. Besides, Italy is subject to both wet and moderate atmospheric currents from the Atlantic Ocean and dry, cold ones from Eastern Europe. The Apennine chain too confronts the wet winds from the Tyrrhenian to cause considerable climatic differences between the opposite sides of the peninsula. In a country whose climate is largely ideal for the cultivation of citrus fruits, the micro climates vary a great deal from one place to the other, from sub-Arctic in the Alps to sub-tropical in Sicily. Eighty percent of Italy¹s terrain is mountainous and altitude has a great influence on the intensity of sunshine, heat and rainfall in vineyards, giving the grapes greatly differing characteristics.
Add to this the one million growers in Italy, almost two-thirds of whom cultivate an area of less than one hectare. 30,000 wineries who bottle wines under 5 different labels on an average, for a total of over 150,000 different labels. All this gives rise to a mind-boggling array of wine and grape varieties. Italian wines have made their mark at the international level over the last two decades including Asia where until recently, apart from Japan, Italian wines were not well known.
The success of Italian wines abroad dates to the 1960's, when some wines were well received in Britain, Germany, the US and Japan. Sales of Lambrusco (a naturally sparkling, easy red), Soave (a dry white), Prosecco (a sparkling white, popular as an aperitif) and Chianti, the well known red from Tuscany, boomed and set new trends among wine drinkers in Europe and America.
As we allow Vinitaly delegates to take us through their famed wine fables it is time to love your wine like the Romans do!
|
