The history of wine

Several millenniums have passed since vines started taking roots in the red, clayey and calcareous soil of Salento, and during that time men learnt how to cultivate this plant; so they started spreading this cultivation all over the territory of the Greek colonies. Since that period, in this region called “Enotria” (land of wine) by the Greeks, the evolution in vine-growing and the art of wine-making have continuously grown and progressed thanks to the men who lived here in the past. Salento is a very large territory, rather homogeneous from the climatic point of view, but very complex from the historical point of view. It is composed of three different provinces: Brindisi , terminal city of the Appia road, with its white landscapes and its opening towards the eastern countries since the times of ancient Rome ; Lecce , elegant town with its baroque architecture and art, and finally Taranto with its navy tradition. Salento is between two seas ( the Ionian sea and the Adriatic sea ) and is whipped by endless winds. Its central position in the Mediterranean sea was disputed by Greek and Oriental civilizations, and has been for millenniums the crossroad of many peoples, cultures, religions and commercial interests. As a consequence, even the Gods' sacred drink has been necessarily influenced by this cultural ferment, by this combination of different populations. The first historical evidences report that the existence of vine cultivation began in the 8th century . B.C .in the south of the Salento peninsula. Vine was originally imported by the Greek colonies on our land, and it found here its natural position, the ideal place to express and develop itself at its best.

In this regard, it is interesting to note that we imported from ancient Greece even this quality-oriented vine-growing technique, known as “alberello” , i.e. bush vine. This technique was already described in Senofonte's works, and was a progress if compared to the creeping vine of the Caucasian culture. The legend says that most of the ancient cities of the Greek colonies were founded thanks to Dionysus, god of wine .

Later, after the arrival of the Etruscans from oriental Asia , about in 1000 B.C., the cultivation of vine expanded towards the northern regions of the Italian boot. After them, the Romans continued spreading the culture of vines in the provinces of their empire.

As their Hellenic predecessors, the Romans held a direct link to wine, its sacredness and the cult of Dionysus, renamed Bacco , god of harvest, wine, inebriation and sensuality. In ancient times, Apulia was the winery of the Roman Empire . The legend says, in addition, that in Brindisi , during the period of the roman military expeditions and the crusades , leaving soldiers were farewelled with an auspicious meal so that they would come back victorious. That's why when you do a “ brindisi ” in Italy it is to say “good luck”.

In those years, the wine-making techniques went through remarkable changes and a deep progress. Compared to the Greeks who still kept their wines in terracotta amphoras, the Romans started using wooden barrels (the first barriques ) and glass bottles; they also introduced the concepts of “vintage”, of “ageing” and of “ cru ”, i.e. a specific area whose climate allows the production of quality wine.

With the fall of the Roman Empire, the political decay and the barbaric raids, the culture of wine-growing, which implicated a steadier control of the territory and a deeper specialization of the human labour, was almost abandoned and substituted by the culture of beer and cider. Farmers abandoned their devastated and ravaged fields . Vine-growing became an exclusive prerogative of the Benedictine monks; in their monasteries, they kept and cultivated with care this old art. Protected by high stone walls in their oases of peace, these monks continued tenaciously to produce the nectar of the Gods. They started by studying accurately the geological component of the soil, in order to detect all the features that made a certain area more suitable than another one for vine-growing.

One of the first varieties of vines whose history is linked to that of Salento, is Primitivo . It was discovered at the end of 700, on the strip of land that goes from Gioia del Colle to Manduria, and since then it has been preserved. Soon this species of vine seemed to be at its ease in the red earth of the area of Gioia. and it gave a very structured wine, vigorous and of early ripening (hence the name “ Primitivo ”). Since then, Primitivo has become an oenological emblem of this land. The last centuries of our era witnessed an amazing development in the wine-making techniques. The arrival of new products, chocolate from America , tea from China , coffee from the Arabic countries and the diffusion of beer and spirits in the 17th century limited the undisputed predominance of wine, which lost, as a consequence, its primacy as the only kind of safe and storable drink. All of this had negative effects and obliged producers to look for a path towards a better quality, in order to face the arrival of the new rivals. Furthermore, the technological evolution in glass processing, gave the opportunity to make more suitable bottles and the discovery of cork allowed the wines to be preserved in better conditions.

During the 19th century the hard work aiming at reaching the best level of quality in wine-growing and producing obtained its best results; but later, towards the end of the century, the terrible scourge of “phylloxera”(a parasite that hit the roots of European vines) arrived with its destructive power. Most of the vines were destroyed or considerably damaged. The only, not very easy ,solution to that problem was to graft American vines, immune to phylloxera, on to the old European stocks.

In the last twenties in Apulia there was a real renaissance in wine growing and producing. Many new wineries were set up and the old historical trademarks invested in order to follow the market rhythms. In this variegated and dynamic scene the work and the enthusiasm of Feudi di San Marzano represent a landmark that in a few years has become the leader in our territory.