The Burgundification of Barolo and Barbaresco
After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, Italy inherited its physical and cultural remains, but authority fractured among city-states, bishoprics, Lombards, Byzantines, and later communes. This fragmentation endured for more than a millennium until unification in 1861, during which time, the country experienced repeated incursions and changing rule by Germanic, Byzantine, Islamic, Norman, imperial, papal, and dynastic […]
The stupefaction of sugar in champagne
For most of history, Champagne’s climate has been unambiguously marginal, characterised by low average temperatures, frequent frosts, and markedly variable vintage conditions. These conditions make ripening challenging, typically resulting in fruit with higher total acidity, lower pH, and modest potential alcohol. Challenging climatic conditions are further complicated by yields, which are commonly extremely high, making […]
The redundification of appellations
Since Virgil praised Falernian in his epic poem, the Aeneid, certain regions in varying nations have been revered for producing fine wines. The reasons why those places have excelled are broad, ranging from geographic factors to cultural and political influences on trade and economic opportunity. Long before Virgil, winemakers and bureaucrats in ancient Mesopotamia had […]
Timorasso: origin, viticulture, winemaking, and more
Between 1489 and 1493, famed Italian polymath Leonardo da Vinci occasionally worked as a wedding planner, organising lavish, eccentric weddings and operetta for wealthy Italian nobility. At the marriage of Duke Giovanni Galeazzo to Isabella of Aragon in Naples, Da Vinci gifted the couple a large wheel of montebore, an ancient cheese of Val Curone, […]