The Etruscans cultivated vines in the same manner they saw these plants grow wild in the woods. So, from the 6th century B.C., began also the overseas trade (which we will discuss later). Thanks to these influences, the primitive Etruscan viticulture grew and grew over the centuries, and wine production increased in quantity and quality. These new vines were cultivated and crossed with local varieties too. New oriental vine varieties were also imported (whose process of domestication began in a much more remote era in the Caucasus area). This allowed them to refine production techniques, to import new tools and new practices of working. Later, with the development of civilization, being great navigators and merchants, they had increasingly intense contacts with the peoples of the eastern Mediterranean (especially with the Greeks), where culture and viticulture techniques were already more evolved. Returning to the Etruscans, scholars hypothesize that they cultivated the vine since the Bronze Age, however at least from the twelfth century B.C. The varieties we cultivate today derive from the wild vine, modified through millennia by selections and crossings carried out by man. Even today, it is possible to find wild vines in our woods (even if you have to make attention to distinguish them from vines became wild, from old abandoned vineyards). The wild vine (Vitis vinifera sylvestris) is a native species of the Mediterranean area and, above all, in Italy, it finds its ideal conditions. In the more ancient times, people began to gather its fruits in the woods. The wild grapevine is a local plant in the Mediterranean area. “The Etruscans were the first winegrowers in Italy, beginning from the wild varieties. Like growing grape vines on trees! Growing Grape Vines on Trees with the “Married Vine” MethodĪndrew Wallace emailed me a fascinating article yesterday covering the “married vine” method of growing grapes, as practiced in ancient Italy: It may not even be the best method, even though it’s common and easy to construct. It’s the “proper” single-row system often used in Florida muscadine production.īut it’s by no means the only method. At my last property I built a small vineyard with power poles and wire. Something that strikes me repeatedly as I practice gardening is how very many ways there are to grow food and cultivate plants.Īs soon as you think you’ve found “the right method,” you find another one that seems better. Not exactly what you wanted for the grocery rows, but fun to know about!” They grow grapes at bush size, growing in a border and as something between a cordon and an espalier at close spacing. “Following your recent thoughts on grape vines, here’s a couple of photos I took at the Eden Project in Cornwall. Today we continue looking at alternate methods of growing grapes with a special focus on the “married vine.”įirst, however, Hilary shares some photos from the Eden Project in Cornwall: In my last post I looked at growing grapevines on individual posts.
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