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The history of the Piave lands and the road to Quality
The history
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The history of the Piave lands and the road to Quality It feels as if wine has always been with us. Its origins are clouded in myths and legends where it worked its effects on both gods and mortals. It is the blood of the Son of God, the inspiration of poets, the consolation of the dispossessed - the relief and infinite pleasure of an entire species. A leading figure in the history of the Spirit, therefore, in every sense. Of this history each land holds its own charming part, the story of the unique landscape and culture of the region. And so our Piave wines taste of classic antiquities and the splendours of the Venetian Serenissima whose soul was forged by war; they express the vigour of re-birth and a sincere love for the land. The Land of the Piave.
Ancient History. The army of the farmer soldiers
The true history of the cultivation of the vines, with its central characters the mythical first Veneti or Paleoveneti, starts around the year 181 AD. The long and ancient path that still crosses the region now, in the Province of Treviso and eastern Veneto, carried the Roman army of farmer soldiers led by Publio Scipione Nasica. In the year 148 AD on this historic route the Postumia road was built, linking Genoa and Aquilea, and then Lubiana. With the land divisions of the area came the Roman columns who started to grow the vines that they brought with them from home, the first step in the link between the wild native vines and the beginning of the intensive cultivation of the vitis vinifera. With the birth of Christianity wine took on the spiritual significance of transubstantiation. The cultivation of vines became a popular subject in religious iconography and wine-making was given new impetus.
The Venetian Serenissima and the 'Vinum Terranum'
After a stormy interval of barbaric invasions the history of Veneto wine was renewed during the rise of the Venetians. Although at first the Venetian Serenissima did not hold home-grown wines in high regard, preferring to import wine from Greece, Cyprus, Puglia and Dalmazia. Indeed up until after the 15th Century the most popular wines among rich Venetians were: 1st Greek, 2nd Ribolle from the Friulana Istria area, 3rd Adriatic, 4th from the Marches, 5th Abruzzo, 6th from Puglia, 7th from Emilio-Romagna, and last of all were the wines from the local area given the generic name Vinum Terranum. Later, with the discovery of America and the beginning of the decline of the Venetian Serenissima the interest in local wines increased. And so a genuine wine revolution started. Wines such as Raboso started to arrive in Venice and the city made new regulations for wine growing and trade. Wine became an essential part of every diet. 1709, with its great frosts, saw the beginning of the crisis that was to characterise the Serenissima. History changed: Napoleon, the Hapsburg Empire and eventually the Empire of Italy were created. Unfortunately all of this coincided with infestations of powdery mildew, downy mildew and grape louse. The founding of the Scuola Enologica di Conegliano (the Conegliano Wine School) in 1856 provided enormous support and became a solid base and innovative force for the coming rebirth, following each of the World Wars.
The Foreign Vines
Between the late 19th and early 20th Centuries there was a lot of production but with low alcohol content. Quality was low due to grape louse. Then, at the beginning of the last century, foreign vines were imported to try and improve the quality of the grapes. The areas around the Piave were ideal for experimentation and testing. The agriculturalists of the Conti Papadopoli from San Polo di Piave deserve special credit for their pioneering work at that time.
The First World War. The Piave, Italy's Sacred River
The First World War made the Piave and its banks famously evocative of a heroic moment in Italian history. And rightly so. The legendary Battle of the Solstice is a story of almost inhuman resistance, of massive effort, fear and courage. It is a story of heroes. Lined up along the banks of the Piave on the 15th of June 1918, having held off countless enemy attacks, the Italians finally forced the Austro-German army into retreat. The bitter defeat of the Austro-Germans signalled the end of all hostilities on the Italian Front and Italian revenge after the humiliation of the Caporetto retreat. The victory was celebrated on the evening of June 23rd by General Diaz with the words 'From the Montello to the sea, the enemy, beaten and pursued by our brave troops, re-crossed the Piave in disorder'. The battle cost the lives of 250,000 people, and made famous a new section of the Italian army, the Arditi (or Brave)
Since then the Piave has been a symbol of extreme patriotic sacrifice, of a country saved by the courage and determination of tens of thousands of loyal Italians, among whom stand out the 'children' born in 1899, who stepped up to fill the gaps made by the three years of war. Which brings us to an odd and unexpected culinary creation of the war - El formajo Inbriago (in Veneto dialect, Drunk Cheese). The cheese was first made 'drunk' by accident during the Caporetto retreat. Hiding their cheeses from the hungry advancing Austro-German forces, the farmers covered them with the marc (grape skins) which was considered waste. Once the danger had passed the cheese was recovered but the rind had become a deep violet and had a rich aroma of new wine. This unusual maturing process was, however, surprisingly successful, giving a very pleasant taste of spicy fruit, so much so in fact that the technique has been popular ever since.
Between the wars
As the First World War ended wine producers faced the problem of how to rebuild the battle-ravaged vines and a pressing need for a more carefully chosen varietal was acknowledged. 1923 is an important date: in Conegliano a research and development facility dedicated to wine-growing was created, aimed at resolving the problems of the local wine growers. In the 1930s (bellussera) the spur-pruned vine cultivation system became common, a system which has become iconic of local vineyards.
Rebirth after the Second World War
The Second World War also created a series of issues that needed to be resolved. First of these was the problem of the producers cultivating vine hybrids. In 1944 it was clearly stipulated in the Il Coltivatore and the Giornale Vinicolo Italiano that it was necessary that the country follow two main directives: the production of local wines for internal consumption and of special, fine wines which could also be sold abroad. For these last there was no doubt that classic and noble vines should be used. But for internal consumption the hybrid vines were perfect as they required little maintenance and less copper sulphate to protect them from parasites. This is why at the time these vines were often referred to as the vines of the future. There were two schools of thought at the time - those who believed that the hybrids were the perfect solution to the problems that had plagued the vines for a long time - and those who, in line with other European wine producers, wanted to protect their native traditional vines. In the end a controlled use of the hybrids was chosen. In 1963 the Doc and Docg certifications were officially created (Law 930). At the same time the local wine consortiums were created, with the Consorzio di Tutela Vini Piave (Piave Wine Protection Consortium) starting in 1959 and the Docg Piave in 1971 (Law 11.08.1971).
The 1970s saw a revolution in wine production as a new a generation of specially trained wine experts pioneered new ideas and innovative technologies, promoting a steady increase in the quality of the wines. Alongside the widespread development of the local co-operative wineries, Cantine Sociali, it was also decided that assistance to the private sector should be provided. At the same time the concept of uniting the two essential phases of wine production - the grape growing and processing phases - in order to guarantee greater overall quality, was gaining ground. The results of this increased attention to every phase of the process being certified were rapid. In 1983 Veneto Doc production accounted for 21% of the total wine producing hectares in Italy. This made the Veneto the foremost region in the country for the production of Doc wines. The positive trend continues today as increased consumer awareness means that buyers are more careful and demanding.
Piave Doc wines lead they way into a future where quality is becoming, not a choice, but an inescapable necessity. And the dedicated wine growers of the Piave can now proudly add the number of varieties to the number of centuries that form the basis of this tradition.