History of Wine in Frascati
Ok, we all know that the oldest-known winery was discovered in the "Areni-1" cave in Vayots Dzor, Armenia. Dated to c. 4100 BC, and that the earliest archaeological evidence of wine production yet found has been at sites in Georgia (c. 6000BC) and Iran (c. 5000 BC) and then that production spread to other sites in Greater Iran and Grecian Macedonia by c. 4500 BC. etc.... But The Roman Empire had the largest impact on the development of viticulture and oenology. Wine was an integral part of the Roman diet and winemaking became a precise business. Virtually all of the major wine producing regions of Western Europe today were established during the Roman Imperial era. Though wild grapevines have grown on the Italian peninsula since Prehistory, historians are unable to determine precisely when domestic viticulture and winemaking first occurred. It is possible that the Mycenaen Greeks had some influences through early settlements in southern Italy, but the earliest recorded evidence of Greek influence dates to 800 BC. Viticulture was widely entrenched in Etruscan civilization, which was centered around the modern winemaking region of Tuscany.
Because the ancient Greeks saw wine as a staple of domestic life and a viable economic trade commodity, their settlements were encouraged to plant vineyards for local use and trade with the Greek city-states. Southern Italy's abundance of indigenous vines provided an ideal opportunity for wine production, giving rise to the Greek name for Italy: Oenotria ("land of vines").
Viniculture expanded so much that by AD c. 92 the Emperor Domitian was forced to pass the first wine laws on record, banning the planting of any new vineyards in Italy and uprooting half of the vineyards in the Provinces in order to increase the production of the necessary but less profitable grain. The rise of the Roman Empire saw both technological advances in and burgeoning awareness of winemaking, which spread to all parts of the empire. Rome's influence has had a profound effect on the histories of today's major winemaking regions in France, Germany, Italy, Portugal and Spain
The Roman belief that wine was a daily necessity made the drink "democratic" and ubiquitous: wine was available to slaves, peasants, women and aristocrats alike. Wine was safer than water in some cases. To ensure the steady supply of wine to Roman soldiers and colonists, viticulture and wine production spread to every part of the empire. The economic opportunities presented by trading in wine drew merchants to do business with tribes native to Gaul and Germania, bringing Roman influences to these regions even before the arrival of the Roman military.
The works of Roman writers—most notably Cato, Columella, Horace, Palladius, Pliny, Varro and Virgil—have provided insight into the role played by wine in Roman culture as well as contemporary understanding of winemaking and viticultural practices. Many of the techniques and principles first developed in ancient Roman times can be found in modern winemaking.
The above mentioned Cato, Marcus Porcius Cato the Elder, was born in Tusculum (Old Frascati), Marcus Porcius Cato was a Roman statesman raised in an agricultural family and gave his name to Monte Porzio Catone, (Frascati's neighbour, part of the Frascati DOC wine territory). He wrote extensively on a variety of subject matters in De Agri cultura (Concerning the Cultivation of the Land), the oldest surviving work of Latin prose. The author commented in detail on viticulture and winemaking, e.g. the management of a vineyard and calculations concerning the amount of labour a slave could perform before dropping dead. He believed that grapes produce the best wine when they receive the maximum amount of sunshine. To this extent, he recommended that vines be trained in trees (elms) as high as possible and then be severely pruned of all leaves once the grapes began to ripen. He also advised winemakers to wait until the grapes are fully ripe before the harvest to ensure high quality in the wine and thus maintain the reputation of the wine estate. Cato was an early advocate for the importance of hygiene in winemaking, recommending, for example, that wine jars be wiped clean twice a day with a new broom every time; thoroughly sealing the jars after fermentation to prevent the wine from spoiling and turning into vinegar; and not filling the amphoras to the top to leave some head space, leading to a small amount of oxidization Cato's manual was fervently followed, becoming the standard textbook of Roman winemaking for centuries.
You might not be surprised to know that Rome itself was supplied with wine from vineyards to the South, more precisely what is now the Frascati area. This continued to be the case through the Middle Ages, Renaissance, Baroque period, 17th and 18th Centuries, Dolce Vita (1960's), right up to the present. Frascati is famous for the denomination -in both DOC and DOCG versions- of the same name, made from the grapes: Malvasia Puntinata, Malvasia di Candia, Greco, grechetto, Bombino and Trebbiano according to the Consortium's disciplinary, which sets the quantities accepted of each grape, but not necessarily all of them. However, the estates here also produce excellent (and prized) red IGT wines, and a sweet white called Cannellino DOCG. Learn more about the grapes here.
This is where you can find the only vineyards in the World with a view over a capital city (Rome of course!).
Because the ancient Greeks saw wine as a staple of domestic life and a viable economic trade commodity, their settlements were encouraged to plant vineyards for local use and trade with the Greek city-states. Southern Italy's abundance of indigenous vines provided an ideal opportunity for wine production, giving rise to the Greek name for Italy: Oenotria ("land of vines").
Viniculture expanded so much that by AD c. 92 the Emperor Domitian was forced to pass the first wine laws on record, banning the planting of any new vineyards in Italy and uprooting half of the vineyards in the Provinces in order to increase the production of the necessary but less profitable grain. The rise of the Roman Empire saw both technological advances in and burgeoning awareness of winemaking, which spread to all parts of the empire. Rome's influence has had a profound effect on the histories of today's major winemaking regions in France, Germany, Italy, Portugal and Spain
The Roman belief that wine was a daily necessity made the drink "democratic" and ubiquitous: wine was available to slaves, peasants, women and aristocrats alike. Wine was safer than water in some cases. To ensure the steady supply of wine to Roman soldiers and colonists, viticulture and wine production spread to every part of the empire. The economic opportunities presented by trading in wine drew merchants to do business with tribes native to Gaul and Germania, bringing Roman influences to these regions even before the arrival of the Roman military.
The works of Roman writers—most notably Cato, Columella, Horace, Palladius, Pliny, Varro and Virgil—have provided insight into the role played by wine in Roman culture as well as contemporary understanding of winemaking and viticultural practices. Many of the techniques and principles first developed in ancient Roman times can be found in modern winemaking.
The above mentioned Cato, Marcus Porcius Cato the Elder, was born in Tusculum (Old Frascati), Marcus Porcius Cato was a Roman statesman raised in an agricultural family and gave his name to Monte Porzio Catone, (Frascati's neighbour, part of the Frascati DOC wine territory). He wrote extensively on a variety of subject matters in De Agri cultura (Concerning the Cultivation of the Land), the oldest surviving work of Latin prose. The author commented in detail on viticulture and winemaking, e.g. the management of a vineyard and calculations concerning the amount of labour a slave could perform before dropping dead. He believed that grapes produce the best wine when they receive the maximum amount of sunshine. To this extent, he recommended that vines be trained in trees (elms) as high as possible and then be severely pruned of all leaves once the grapes began to ripen. He also advised winemakers to wait until the grapes are fully ripe before the harvest to ensure high quality in the wine and thus maintain the reputation of the wine estate. Cato was an early advocate for the importance of hygiene in winemaking, recommending, for example, that wine jars be wiped clean twice a day with a new broom every time; thoroughly sealing the jars after fermentation to prevent the wine from spoiling and turning into vinegar; and not filling the amphoras to the top to leave some head space, leading to a small amount of oxidization Cato's manual was fervently followed, becoming the standard textbook of Roman winemaking for centuries.
You might not be surprised to know that Rome itself was supplied with wine from vineyards to the South, more precisely what is now the Frascati area. This continued to be the case through the Middle Ages, Renaissance, Baroque period, 17th and 18th Centuries, Dolce Vita (1960's), right up to the present. Frascati is famous for the denomination -in both DOC and DOCG versions- of the same name, made from the grapes: Malvasia Puntinata, Malvasia di Candia, Greco, grechetto, Bombino and Trebbiano according to the Consortium's disciplinary, which sets the quantities accepted of each grape, but not necessarily all of them. However, the estates here also produce excellent (and prized) red IGT wines, and a sweet white called Cannellino DOCG. Learn more about the grapes here.
This is where you can find the only vineyards in the World with a view over a capital city (Rome of course!).
