BY MICHELINA ANDREUCCI
Wine-making in Rome prospered under the auspices of the Catholic Church which held widespread influence over Christian Europe.
The demand for wine however, decreased with the fall of the Roman Empire. Roman Catholic monks continued to produce wine during the Dark Ages and the decline of the Roman Empire (c.300-700BC), until wine became popular again during the Italian Renaissance.
When during the Plague of 1348, a Franciscan friar attempted to sooth the victim’s agony with sweet wine, it soon got the name of “vin santo” – holy wine.
Tuscany’s Vin Santo is still produced in Italy today as an after-dinner libations; a distilled grape product that ranges from dry to sweet. Benedictine monks, who were proven agriculturists, wrote precious manuscripts on the cultivation of the grape. Wine was even accredited with special powers such as rejuvenation! Today many hold the belief that a glass of wine a day will keep the doctor away!
Christian monks of Northern Italy and France kept exacting records of their winemaking practices and grape cultivation; these helped the various regions match the best grape variety to their soils.
Consequently, today, Italian and French wines are amongst the best in the world. France and Italyvtogether with Turkey are among the major viticulturalists, and have 8 640 km², 8 270 km² and 8,120 km²vof land respectively, for viticulture and the wine industry. Wine was forbidden under Islamic Code;vconsequently wine-making ceased in areas under Muslim control of Southern Spain to North Africa to North India. Spain today however, is the largest producer of wine-making grapes with 11,750 km² of viticulture.
During the 19th and 20th Centuries, the Italian Government sense world competition in wine production introduced a standard quality regulation known as DOCG to ensure high quality wine production and currently Italy is the largest producer of wines in the world.
The scheme not only protected the wines of origin but certain basic principles were taken into consideration. For example, it was necessary to comply with EU regulations and Principles such as honesty in business, factual terms – i.e.: wines made from a specific cultivar or vintage, titles, adaptability, local marketing truths and free participation were addressed.
Today wine cognoscenti considered Italian wines to be amongst the best in the world; with 20 different wine regions to choose from and each with different varieties, it is not difficult to find a fine Italian wine!
In Zimbabwe wine production is an untapped agricultural sector of the economy. However, shortly after Independence in 1980, the viticultural industry in Zimbabwe was a significant, albeit small, foreign exchange earner.
More than any other factor the quality of the grapes determines the quality of the wine. Grape quality is affected by variety as well as weather during the growing season, soil minerals and acidity, time of harvest, and pruning method, as discovered by the Romans.
The combination of these effects is referred to as the grapes terroir. This refers to the geophysical features of land which inter-relate to create unique conditions that in turn give specific characteristics to the wines produced. Key factors include topography, climate, geology and soil which form the foundation of many geographical indication systems; choosing the site according to the cultivars to be planted is therefore important.
Though Zimbabwe is not considered ideally suited climatically for wine production by some, radiant sunlight and the right soil are the soul of wine; both of which Zimbabwe has in abundance. Zimbabwe usually enjoys summer rains from November to April, (with February being the wettest), grape harvesting time is from November to January.
Whilst moisture can be a problem especially during grape-harvesting time, the combination of high-altitude, hot summers and cool nights make land-locked Zimbabwe an ideal location for wine growing. With the right viti-vinicoles almost the whole of Zimbabwe could be ideal for growing grapes. To counter the effects of high humidity and consistently high temperatures, acidification is common in local wineries.
The Pioneers brought vines to Rhodesia (c. 1890). In 1899 Harold Christian hewed a vineyard out of virgin bush to become known as Meadows Estate.
There are 44 indigenous species of Vitaceae – the grape family, in the country. Cabernet, Clairette Blanche, Colombard, red and white Hanepoort, Hermitage (Cinsaut, a high-yielding grape variety), Servan Blanc, Muscatel red and white, Muscat Hambro, Pinotage, Riesling, Seneca and Chenin Blanc (known as Steen), were the names of the growing range of wine grape varietals produced in Zimbabwe.
Vitis is a genus of about 60 species of grapevine plants in the Vitaceae family. It is economically important as the source of grapes for the production of wine and for the direct consumption of the fruit. Most of the species are found in the temperate regions with a few in the tropics. Vitis vinifera provides the wine grapes, resins, sultanas and currents and belongs to the same botanical family. The fruit of several Vitis species are grown commercially for consumption as fresh grapes and for fermentation into wine.
The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), estimates 75,866km 2 of the world is currently dedicated to viticulture, and is increasing by about 2% annually. Approximately 71% of world grape production is used for wine production, 27% as fresh fruit, and 2% as dried fruit.
Although variations of this species are found in the tropics, the wine grape is said to have originated from South-west Asia and Southern Europe and is now grown in all countries for which suitable cultivars have been grafted and bred with a great diversity of form.
Vitis vinifera is the most common species of European grapevine which includes nearly all varieties native to the Mediterranean and Central Asia and are the most important such species.
South Africa’s 350-year history of winemaking has dominated the Sub-Saharan wine business. With approximately 99, 463 hectares of wine producing grapes vines under cultivation in the Western Cape region; an area approximating over 800km in length, South Africa is currently the world’s eighth largest wine producer, contributing US$2.4Billion to the country’s economy (2014), with exports increasing overtime.
Michelina Andreucci is a Zimbabwean-Italian researcher. She is a published author in her field. For comments E-mail: linamanucci@gmail.com
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