Rosso Toscana IGT Oro Etrusco 2020 - The Dragon and the Furnace

The Etruscans are credited with initiating wine production in Italy. They developed a winemaking system that produced a beverage with unique organoleptic characteristics: aromatic and fragrant. They worked and vinified in the cool of cellars built on three levels, where the grapes were pressed at ground level and the must, through earthenware pipes, flowed into vats located in the rooms below where it fermented. After racking, the wine was transferred to an even deeper level, suitable for maturation and long-term storage. The Etruscans harvested the perfectly ripe grapes, transported them to the cellars in wooden crates loaded by pack animals, and stored the entire contents in a truncated cone-shaped vat. Once the vat was full, a barefoot man would climb atop it and press it until the grapes were crushed. He would then add water, obtaining a must that, after fermenting, was drawn off and transferred to a barrel where it was pressed again to obtain a quality wine. Etruscan winemaking is a fascinating yet little-known topic. These people certainly taught the Romans, who then introduced it to the rest of the ancient world, how to make wine from the vine. Millennia ago, they lived where we do today and were already doing our job.