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The history of grapevine cultivation in Italy, much like the aging of a fine wine, spans millennia and unfolds gradually. Evidence of domesticated grapes in the region goes back to the Bronze Age, approximately between 1400 and 1200 BCE, as detailed in recent research published in the journal PLOS One.
Seeds of discovery
Currently, grape production in Italy yields around 80 million tons of grapes each year, contributing significantly to the global wine market. However, the historical trajectory of viticulture in the western Mediterranean remains less understood compared to other regions in Europe and Asia.
“The cultural impact of winemaking is immense, both in religious contexts and in various traditions,” states Mariano Ucchesu, the study’s co-author and an archaeobotanist. “Furthermore, grapes represent one of the most cultivated fruits internationally, with a staggering production of over 260 million hectolitres of wine annually.”
In a pivotal 2008 discovery on the Italian island of Sardinia, Ucchesu and his research team unearthed a wealth of plant remains from a Bronze Age well. The unique preservation conditions of the well allowed for the recovery of thousands of grape seeds. These findings revealed that some of these seeds belonged to domesticated grape varieties, altering the previously held belief that domesticated grapes in Italy were primarily spread by the Phoenicians and later the Romans. Ucchesu emphasized the importance of these findings, fostering investigations into whether other areas in continental Italy exhibited similar historical evidence.
An image of ancient vineyards located in Pompeii, with Mount Vesuvius in the backdrop, during the harvest season in October 2009. These vineyards continue to produce wines made from traditional grapes used over two millennia ago.
A new wine timeline
This recent study involved analyzing over 1,700 grape seeds from 25 archaeological sites across Italy, covering a span of 7,000 years—from the Neolithic period to the Medieval era.
Seeds dating back to before 1000 BCE closely matched the characteristics of modern wild grapevines, indicating these grapes were likely gathered from wild sources. However, from around 1000 BCE through 600 CE, the seeds increasingly resembled contemporary domesticated varieties, though significant variability in seed size and shapes persisted across different sites. By the Medieval period, around 700 CE, domestic grape seeds had become more prevalent and closely aligned with today’s cultivated types, suggesting that the domestication process began in the Late Bronze Age and evolved over centuries through interactions between wild and cultivated grape varieties.
[ Related: Trojans of all classes enjoyed a nice jug of wine. ]
Key regions such as Campania and Sardinia revealed significant traces of early grape cultivation. In Campania, domesticated grape seeds were found within the Grotta di Pertosa caves, while Sardinia’s archaeological site of Sa Osa yielded numerous grape seeds.
Ucchesu pointed out that the evolutionary trajectory of grape seeds over time presented one of the most remarkable discoveries of the study. The sharp changes in seed morphology observed during the Sixth Millennium BCE indicated a burgeoning interest in grape cultivation among early communities.
“The evolution of seed shape did not cease with this shift; it continued up to the Roman era, a time of increased grape cultivation and the creation of new varieties through hybridization between wild and cultivated grapes,” he added.
‘Echoes of a thousand-year journey’
Although these findings align with some existing research, further studies at additional archaeological sites will help to enhance our understanding of Mediterranean grape cultivation. The research team is currently strategizing to extract ancient DNA from these archaeological materials to trace the lineage of modern grape varieties.
For wine aficionados, Ucchesu emphasizes the narrative behind each sip of wine: it carries the essence of a millennium-long journey, encapsulating a rich story distilled through time to reach contemporary palates.
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