The vine has a long history in Southern Italy. Oenotria, the land of vines, is what the Greeks affectionately dubbed the modern-day ‘Mezzogiorno,’ the southern portion of the Italian boot along with Sicily. Southern Italy was effectively a Greek colony in the centuries before Christ, so much so, the South was known as ‘Magna Graecia,’ literally ‘Greater Greece.’ When the Greeks colonised Southern Italy they brought with them one of the tell-tale signs of civilization: the vine.
Technically, the Phoenicians were first to bring the vine to Southern Italy, but it was the Greeks who brought both viticulture and viniculture, essentially a wine-making culture. From this point on wine has been grown in Southern Italy, and its wines were loved by Roman leaders throughout the Roman Empire, even Julius Caesar himself sung praises of these wines. Southern Italian wine was a well respected wine well before Barolo or Chianti had been created.
However, across the centuries, wine in the South became less admired and more infamous as it became the primary source of Italian box wine. Wines from Apulia, Calabria, Campania, Sicily, and Sardinia, were used to bolster feeble vintages from Northern and Central Italy. They were even employed in several Southern French wines for the same reasons as their Northern Italian counterparts. What a fall from grace!
At the time, Southern Italian wine receives the attention and approval of the market, especially in the States, where Italian wine is gaining rare recognition, at least compared with French wine. The renaissance of the Mezzogiorno’s wines is thanks to a number of factors all springing from the modernization of the South’s manufacturing industry. Grape production has been restructured commencing with massive investments made in the vineyard, thus making lower-yielding crops the standard instead of the aberration, which is rather a step away from box wine production.
In wine production, technology has improved from the middle ages to the modern age in a brief period of time. Refrigeration technology has permitted producers to provide quality white wine, in addition to red. The appearance of wine specialists and major Italian Groups, such as Gruppo Italiano Vini, Zonin, Antinori, Avignonesi, and Mezza Corona, have contributed to the modernisation of both viniculture and viticulture in Southern Italy. In spite of these changes, or rather because of them, Southern Italy is faced with a wine identity crisis as producers decide whether to modernise or remain true to the region’s roots.
Nic Haegeli still considers himself rather new to the wine business, but he currently has many years of experience as a wine manager at Colonial Spirits, an Acton liquor store. With a BA in History and a Master of Public Policy in International Relations, Nic never envisioned himself working with wine. But he did grow up in Alsace, France… So, it makes sense when you know where he comes from.
Colonial Spirits of Acton would like to invite you to come by our store for one of our many wine tastings. If you are unable to stop by the physical store, then please consider our online wine store. Colonial Spirits Delivers throughout Eastern Massachusetts!