Vine, as we all know, is the plant from which we take grapes, its fruit, which in all cellars are processed to make one of the most popular alcoholic drinks, that is wine. Let’s learn more about this amazing plant!
Where was the first vine born?
The common grapevine, or Vitis Vinifera, belongs to the Vitaceae family, which includes more than 40 species of climbing plants, born millions of years ago.
Our Vinifera has two subspecies: Vitis Vinifera Sativa and Vitis Vinifera Sylvestris.
The Sylvestris, or Wild Vine, was already present in South Asia and Armenia even before the birth of mankind.
The Sativa, on the other hand, is the one we know best because it is grown specifically for producing wine, therefore the grape variety.
The spread of viticulture over time
Most likely, viticulture originated in the area known as the Fertile Crescent, the region that extends from Egypt to the Persian Gulf, including the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.
However, the Greeks exported vine cultivation to Europe. There is, indeed, a large number of references to the vine and the production of wine in works by great Greek authors, such as Hesiod and Homer.
The Greeks spread their knowledge on vines in their colonies in Italy – Magna Graecia – where the cultivation of the common grapevine found ideal conditions for growing.
Subsequently, viticulture techniques were perfected by the Etruscans who exported wine, a symbol of economic wealth, well beyond the Mediterranean.
Biological concepts and cultivation techniques, still in use today, owe their origin to the ancient Romans, great wine consumers.
In the following centuries, the diffusion area of viticulture and wine consumption expanded to reach America, Mexico, South America – thanks to Christopher Columbus – and Australia.
From the second half of the 19th century, modern viticulture took its first steps following the birth of microbiology, chemistry, and the discipline which studies, identifies, and classifies vine varieties or ampelography.
Currently, the main grapevines in the world are located in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Chile, China, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Romania, Spain, the United States of America, South Africa, and Hungary.
Fun fact: what is an autochthonous grape variety?
A grape variety is defined as autochthonous, from the Greek autòs (= same) and chtòn (= land), when it is grown in its geographical area of origin and is not, therefore, transplanted to other areas.
Our country – Italy – with its 350 officially registered native grape varieties, boasts the greatest number of indigenous grape varieties!
Grechetto, our white wine, and Sagrantino, which is exactly native to the Montefalco area, are indigenous grape varieties of Umbria.
And for this reason, we, the Azienda Agricola Montioni, are very proud to produce Montioni Umbria Grechetto I.G.T. and the precious Montioni Montefalco Sagrantino D.O.C.G.
IGT and DOCG certifications indicate to the consumer which wines have the Typical Geographical Indication (IGT) and the Controlled and Guaranteed Denomination of Origin (DOCG).
Moreover, our Sagrantino and Grechetto, are monocultivar wines, which means they derive from a single grape variety: the former from Sagrantino red grape, whereas the latter from Grechetto white grapes, both typical of our region.
However, unlike them, Montioni Montefalco Rosso DOCG and Montioni Umbria Rosso IGT are wines produced from different grapes.
Indeed, Montioni Montefalco Rosso,is composed of 65% Sangiovese, 15% Sagrantino, and 20% Merlot, while our Montioni Umbria Rosso Montioni consists of 50% Sangiovese and 50% Merlot.
We look forward to seeing you in the next article of our new column Words of Wine.
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2) Aggiungere un cucchiaino di lievito per dolci, quindi amalgamare.
3) Foderare una teglia con carta da forno
4) Fare con l’impasto dei rotolini e poi unire i due estremi di ciascun rotolino per formare una ciambellina.
5) Ripassare la ciambellina nello zucchero, avanti e dietro, poi disporre sulla teglia.
6) Infornare le ciambelline a 190° per 7 minuti
Ed ecco pronte le nostre ciambelline al Sagrantino Passito Montioni!
L’abbinamento che vi consigliamo? Ovviamente un calice di Sagrantino Passito Montioni o, in alternativa, il nostro vino più amato ovvero il Sagrantino di Montefalco DOCG Montioni!
Alla prossima ricetta del blog dell’Azienda Agricola Montioni, Tra Cucina e Cantina!
On occasion, the winemaker may decide to leave them in if the grapes themselves contain less tannin than desired. This is more acceptable if the stems have ‘ripened’ and started to turn brown. If increased skin extraction is desired, a winemaker might choose to crush the grapes after destemming.
Wine is one of the most civilized things in the world and one of the most natural things of the world that has been brought to the greatest perfection, and it offers a greater range for enjoyment and appreciation than, possibly, any other purely sensory thing.
Removal of stems first means no stem tannin can be extracted. In these cases the grapes pass between two rollers which squeeze the grapes enough to separate the skin and pulp, but not so much as to cause excessive shearing or tearing of the skin tissues. In some cases, notably with “delicate” red varietals such as Pinot noir or Syrah, all or part of the grapes might be left uncrushed (called “whole berry”) to encourage the retention of fruity aromas through partial carbonic maceration.
The Grapes
The quality of the grapes determines the quality of the wine more than any other factor. Grape quality is affected by variety as well as weather during the growing season, soil minerals and acidity, time of harvest, and pruning method. The combination of these effects is often referred to as the grape’s terroir.
Grapes are usually harvested from the vineyard from early September until early November in the northern hemisphere, and mid February until early March in the southern hemisphere.
In some cool areas in the southern hemisphere, for example Tasmania, harvesting extends into May. The most common species of wine grape is Vitis Vinifera, which includes nearly all varieties of European origin. The most common species of wine grape is Vitis Vinifera, which includes nearly all varieties of European origin.
Manual harvesting is the hand-picking of grape clusters from the grapevines. In the United States, some grapes are picked into one- or two-ton bins for transport back to the winery. Manual harvesting has the advantage of using knowledgeable labor to not only pick the ripe clusters but also to leave behind the clusters that are not ripe or contain bunch rot or other defects. This can be an effective first line of defense to prevent inferior quality fruit from contaminating a lot or tank of wine.
Destemming is the process of separating stems from the grapes. Depending on the winemaking procedure, this process may be undertaken before crushing with the purpose of lowering the development of tannins and vegetal flavors in the resulting wine. Single berry harvesting, as is done with some German Trockenbeerenauslese, avoids this step altogether with the grapes being individually selected.
Crushing is the process when gently squeezing the berries and breaking the skins to start to liberate the contents of the berries. Destemming is the process of removing the grapes from the rachis (the stem which holds the grapes).
In traditional and smaller-scale wine making, the harvested grapes are sometimes crushed by trampling them barefoot or by the use of inexpensive small scale crushers. These can also destem at the same time. However, in larger wineries, a mechanical crusher/destemmer is used. The decision about destemming is different for red and white wine making. Generally when making white wine the fruit is only crushed, the stems are then placed in the press with the berries. The presence of stems in the mix facilitates pressing by allowing juice to flow past flattened skins.
Katerina Monroe
@katerinam • More Posts by Katerina
Congratulations on the award, it's well deserved! You guys definitely know what you're doing. Looking forward to my next visit to the winery!
