The
origin of the vine
The
Greeks
The Romans
The
Byzantines
Modern
Times
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Viticolture
in Roman Italy
Vines
were considered to be sacred by Romans as for the Greeks, and
in south Italy vineculture and oenology continued to flourish.
Subsequent to the dominion of the Mediterranean territories
between the V & III century BC, the rural economy, and especially
vineculture went under profound transformation.
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- The
affluence of wheat arriving from the newly conquisted lands lowered
significantly the value of products on the mainland and the land
proprietors need for money meant they began to re-adress agricultural
practices, and the vine became one of the most financially rewarding
cultivation of all.
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- Decline
of the Roman empire
- Decline
and crisis in the roman empire began in 2AD. Civil wars, military
anarchy, fiscal burdens, indifference of the landowners, abandonment
of the estates and countryside brought about a reduction in vineculture,
so much so that with the fall of the empire it appears that vineculture
was to vanish with it.
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Vineculture
and Oenological practices we're perfectioned by the Roman
through the help of Asian and Greek slaves. The goodness
and the fame of Italian wines became well known, and alongside
began the exportation of wine and oenological products.
In this era the empire held a true wine monopoly. This high
point for vine culture was between 2BC and 1AD, and it is
characterised many important writings on vineculture and
oenology.
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