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(The prohibition to indicate the geographical origin is instead maintained. Vini Varietali (Varietal Wines): generic wines that are made either mostly (at least 85%) from one kind of authorized 'international' grape variety (Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Merlot, Sauvignon Blanc, Syrah) or entirely from two or more of them, grape variety or varieties and vintage may be indicated on the label.(The label only reports the colour of the wine.) Vini (Wines - informally called 'generic wines'): wines can be produced anywhere in the territory of the EU, the label includes no indication of geographical origin of the grape varieties used or the vintage.The categories, from the bottom to the top level, are: The last modification, which occurred in 2010, established four basic categories which are consistent with the latest European Union wine regulations (2008–09). Since then, several modifications and additions to the legislation have been made, including a major modification in 1992. In 1963, the first official Italian system of classification of wines was launched. Along with Australia, Italy's market share has rapidly increased in recent years. was 32%, Australia's was 24%, and France's was 20%. In the same year, Italy's share in dollar value of table wine imports into the U.S. In 2005, production was about 20% of the global total, second only to France, which produced 26%. ĭepending on the vintage, modern Italy is the world's largest or second-largest wine producer. These vineyards became so successful that Italy ultimately became an import centre for provincial wines. This coincided with the cultivation of new vines, such as biturica, an ancestor of the Cabernets.
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Although unpalatable to adults, it was customary, at the time, for young people to drink wine mixed with a good proportion of water.Īs the laws on provincial viticulture were relaxed, vast vineyards began to flourish in the rest of Europe, especially Gaul (present-day France) and Hispania.
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Trade was intense with Gaul, according to Pliny, because the inhabitants tended to drink Italian wine unmixed and without restraint. Exports to the provinces were reciprocated in exchange for more slaves, especially from Gaul.
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Italian wines free#
Under Ancient Rome large-scale, slave-run plantations sprang up in many coastal areas of Italy and spread to such an extent that, in AD 92, emperor Domitian was forced to destroy a great number of vineyards in order to free up fertile land for food production.ĭuring this time, viticulture outside of Italy was prohibited under Roman law. However, archeological discoveries on Monte Kronio in 2017 revealed that viticulture in Sicily flourished at least as far back as 4000 BC - some 3,000 years earlier than previously thought. It was previously believed that viticulture had been introduced into Sicily and southern Italy by the Mycenaeans, as winemaking traditions are known to have already been well-established in Italy by the time the first Greek colonists arrived on Italy's shores around 800 BC. Vines have been cultivated from the wild Vitis vinifera grape for millennia in Italy. A typical Italian vineyard scene, with vines growing together with olive trees.
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