Wine regions of Italy: Umbria
History
Umbria’s wine industry has a long history. The Etruscans, the Romans and the Greeks all planted vines in the region. Monasteries played an important role in early viticulture, especially during the Dark Ages when much of Europe was forced to abandon wine production. Between 1520 and 1860 wine production in Umbria fell by 80 percent as it was diverted to other crops such as olives, corn and wheat.
In 1880 a phylloxera epidemic devastated vineyards all over Europe, but growers were slow to take measures to protect their vines because they thought it would be costly. As a result… Read more