A History of Wine in Europe, 19th to 20th Centuries, Volume I by Silvia A. Conca Messina & Stéphane Le Bras & Paolo Tedeschi & Manuel Vaquero Piñeiro

Author:Silvia A. Conca Messina & Stéphane Le Bras & Paolo Tedeschi & Manuel Vaquero Piñeiro
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9783030277727
Publisher: Springer International Publishing

Dignity and Identity

The wine congress, organized during the 10th wine fair in Buttrio (5–6 May 1947) and reported in detail by “L’Agricoltura friulana”, offered the opportunity to Giovanni Dalmasso to draw a picture of the post-war situation and to discuss “Orientamenti della viticoltura friulana e miglioramento della tecnica enologica” (“Guidelines of the Friulian wine industry and improved winemaking techniques”).31 There were several critical aspects for the industry. Despite Friuli which did not lack fields that could produce wines with high alcohol content and good preservation, production levels in the province were still low: more than 700,000 hectolitres were consumed per year compared with an average annual production of 300,000. Cuttings were missing, although the Friulian plant nursery industry was, perhaps, one of the most productive and well-equipped in Italy .32 It was necessary to improve the grapevine guidelines and conduct a rigorous check of grafts. The Consortium for winemaking in Udine should become active again, as it was obvious that, not only in Friuli , there were many more good vine growers than winemakers. According to Dalmasso, the solution to these problems was two-pronged: improving education and multiplying the wine cooperatives.

Dalmasso explained these ideas, translating his intentions into action, in January 1948 in the first issue of “Rivista di viticoltura e di enologia” (“Journal of vine growing and Oenology”), a monthly magazine issued by the School of Conegliano and the Experimental Station of Vine Growing and Oenology, edited by Italo Cosmo and Luigi Manzoni (Dalmasso 1948, pp. 5–6). It is no coincidence that the introductory note, entrusted to Arturo Marescalchi, ends with the following warning: “The need to educate the masses who are dedicated to vine growing and winemaking is always pressing.” The magazine, which filled a 30-year gap as only 12 volumes of “L’Annuario” were published between 1923 and 1945, made use of the most qualified experts on the subject. Their aim was to ensure Italy a top place among the winemaking nations, in the wake of the 1876 work by Antonio Carpenè and Giovanni Battista Cerletti.

The influence of the School of Conegliano is clearly detectable in “Terra friulana” (“Friuli land”), a bimonthly magazine about economics and agricultural techniques, founded in 1956 and edited by Domenico Feruglio, Guido Poggi and Gino Rojatti. The magazine, of which unfortunately we do not have the complete series, featured articles ranging from agriculture to economics, from history to local traditions, never exceeding in technicalities and with a good iconographic impact, often entrusted to promising young artists. There are numerous contributions dedicated to wine and vine. Dalmasso himself dealt with “Nobiltà dei vini friulani” (“Friulian wines nobility”),33 recording “a gradual shift of the whole wine production ”, which resulted in the reduction of the number “of elite types and brands” and in the simultaneous increased production of good mass-consumer wines. A significant contribution was also given by Italo Cosmo, director of the Conegliano Experimental Station, who discussed “Luci e ombre della viticoltura e dell’enologia friulana” (“Lights and shadows of vine growing and oenology of

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.