Wine in Tuscia

The Tuscia of Viterbo is the territory north of the Lazio region, bordered to the south by the province of Rome, to the east by Umbria, to the west by the Tyrrhenian Sea and to the north by Tuscany. It is an area that has boasted a winemaking tradition for millennia: homeland of the Etruscans, winemakers themselves and lovers of good wine, never absent from their legendary banquets, of which he was often the absolute protagonist.

Tuscia, from the Latin 𝘵𝘶𝘴𝘤𝘶𝘴, contraction of Etruscus - inhabitant of ancient Etruria.

Although the cultivation of vines in this area dates back to the Bronze Age, around the 11th century. BC, it was precisely with the Etruscans, who imported better vines from Greece, that it developed.

The Etruscans were among the first to realize that this land, Tuscia, is an extraordinary area that gives strength and vigor to any plant essence.

Obviously the cultivation of vines in Etruria was not specialized, just as it will remain predominantly in Italy for centuries: there was no real vineyard as we understand it today. In fact, the wild vine, Vitis vinifera sylvestris , is a native species of the Mediterranean area and, especially in Italy, finds its ideal conditions. Even today it is possible to find wild vines in our woods (the varieties we grow today derive from wild vines, modified through millennia of selections and crosses carried out by man).

The Etruscans therefore cultivated vines as they saw them growing spontaneously in the woods. The vine is a climbing shrub, a kind of liana. In a forest, its natural environment in our latitudes, it tends to climb a tree to reach as much light as possible (it is very heliophilous). However, it is not a parasitic species: the vine does not interfere with the tree on which it clings. This Etruscan cultivation method was called vine maritata for centuries. The vine is as if "married" to the tree to which it clings. This definition is not from the Etruscan era but was born later, in Roman times. The Etruscans seem to have indicated it with the term àitason (probably read “aitasun”).

The screws were grown mainly on field maples, but also poplars, elms, olive trees and fruit trees. The vine therefore tended to grow a lot and to have very long shoots. The grape harvest was carried out by hand or with sickles, with ladders leaning against trees, or using tools with very long handles.

Already perfect winemakers, good wine was never lacking in the famous Etruscan banquets, it was a fundamental element of their daily life. But how did they do it?

They worked and made wine in the cool of some cellars built on three floors. The grapes were pressed at ground level (first level) and the must, through special earthenware pipes, flowed into the vats placed in the rooms below (second level) where it fermented. After racking, the wine was transferred to an even deeper level (third level), suitable for maturation and long storage.

The trade of wine was extensive, documented by the discovery of Etruscan wine amphorae in many regions: as well as in Lazio, in Campania, in the Greek colonies of eastern Sicily, in Calabria, in Sardinia, in Corsica, in southern France and in the peninsula Iberian, both on the Mediterranean and South Atlantic coasts.

The most important market of all was that of the Celto-Ligurian settlements of Southern France. In the archaeological remains of more than 70 sites in the region, large quantities of Etruscan bucchero vases and wine amphorae have been found. From Etruria, merchants followed the islands of the Tuscan archipelago and passed through Corsica. Etruscan ships have been found on the seabed with entire loads of wine amphorae and fine tableware.

There was also minor overland trade, both internally and towards the territories of transalpine central Europe, where numerous objects from the Etruscan symposium have been found.

The wine was transported in terracotta amphorae , also used for conservation, ancestors of the best-known Roman amphorae. Inside they were coated with resin and closed with corks sealed with pitch. The shape was different depending on the place of production and evolved over time towards increasingly elongated shapes, to facilitate stowage in ships.

The name of our cellar is a tribute to our land and the Etruscan people. THE LASE are wonderful figures of Etruscan mythology: large family of winged female spirits, semi-divine creatures, who embody the meaning of genius and ingenuity (similar to nymphs of the Aegean-Mediterranean culture and much later to the Christian angels ).

Even the names of our wines are inspired by Etruscan history and "religion". Cautha, Thesan, Satres, Semia, Evan are the names of deities of the Etruscan pantheon.

The Romans themselves, after having conquered Etruria, continued the winemaking tradition by learning all the most advanced techniques from the Etruscans.

In the Middle Ages, wine production in Tuscia slowed down completely due to the barbarian invasions and long periods of famine but it was certainly not lacking for the powerful feudal lords and the papal court.

The legend of the Est Est Est wine of Montefiascone, a splendid village in Tuscia, is famous, proving the fact that excellent wine has always been produced in this land. The year was 1111, when Henry V of Germany headed to Rome to be crowned Holy Roman Emperor. In his wake, here comes also Johannes Defuk , bishop and great wine lover. The prelate had ordered the servant Martino to precede him along the way, to identify the taverns with the best wine and mark them with the writing "Est" (or "There is", referring to the good wine). And so he did.

When he arrived in Montefiascone he found an excellent product: the wine was so good that it obtained the maximum rating. In fact, he repeated the established signal three times and next to the first tavern, he wrote in large letters “Est! East!! East!!!" with six exclamation points. The cardinal shared his opinion and loved the drink so much that he stayed in the town for three days.

“City of the Popes” is the name by which Viterbo - the capital of Tuscia - is mainly known, due to the period in which, between 1257 and 1281, it was the papal seat in place of Rome . The city hosted over 40 popes and their court for more or less long periods throughout the Middle Ages and the Renaissance.

In the Renaissance, when the popes and the Roman aristocracy enjoyed the immense beauty of Tuscia and its great flavours, wine once again became the protagonist. On the table of the Farnese family, undisputed lords of Tuscia , and of Pope Paul III Farnese , good wine was never lacking. Paul III entrusted the care and choice of the wine to his bottler Sante Lancerio .
And it is Lancerio himself who left us an important account of the wines that embellished Renaissance banquets.

This "bottle-keeper" carried out his task with skill and passion, tasting, sipping, observing and noting reviews on 53 wines, and then transferring all these experiences into a letter , addressed to Cardinal Guido Ascanio Sforza.

The most interesting aspect is the complex and detailed approach to tasting. Sante Lancerio analyzes and reports information about the color and visual appearance of the wines, notes related to the territory and the vineyard, detailed descriptions of the taste of the wine, using a series of adjectives that have become part of the semantic baggage of the modern Sommelier .

For color, for example, he uses terms like “waxed, rich, verdant, golden”; to define the taste he uses words such as "round, fat, dry, smoky, powerful, strong, ripe" and so on. Another very interesting aspect concerns the references to the order of service of the wines and their pairing with the dishes.

In 1890, professor Giuseppe Ferraro published Sante Lancerio's manuscript for the first time with the title The wines of Italy judged by Pope Paul III (Farnese) and his bottler Sante Lancerio.

Sante Lancerio can therefore, with good reason, be considered the first "sommelier" in modern history and his letter the first ''Guide to Italian Wines''.

Coming to the present day, if for a long time (too long!), the wine production of the area did not enjoy particular importance, in the last thirty years a new spring has begun for Tuscia. The wines and cellars of have grown in number, knowledge, experience, quality and official recognition. This is the watchword for Tuscia wines, quality, but also respect for the product, for the consumer, for the connoisseur and last but not least the environment.

A true pride for those who live and love Tuscia.

Cheers!!