Vino Italiano

Italy is one of those European countries which (for now) sit entirely in the grape growing sweet zone. Its location allows them to have wine regions up and down the Apennine Peninsula and out into its surrounding islands. As a result, it has a wine culture as diverse as its internal cultures.

Italian wine history is a mix of the ancient and the modern.

When the Mycenaean Greeks first hit Sicily and southern Italy in the 8th Century BCE, Italians were already making wine. Of course, being classical Greeks, they said, “Oh cool. Do you know about this … and this … and this?” Italian winemaking began to blossom through the centuries, so much so that by 92 ACE the Roman Emperor Domitian had to order the ripping up of vineyards to make room for food production. That’s how great the demand for wine in the Roman Empire was.

Understandably, Italian wine production declined as Rome did but, centuries later, its rebirth was a part of the Renaissance’s rebirth. Still (rocketing forward), it wasn’t until 1963 that the Italians launched their system of wine classification — almost 30 years after France and Spain.

This Friday, join guest pourer Geoff Bell from distributor Robins Cellars for a selection of Italian wines. We look forward to seeing you at this free walk-up tasting. Please stop by any time in the hour and a half.