Indigenous Italy

Up until the late 1960s, the wines of Italy were a truly homespun lot, made in massive quantity — and at low quality — for the country's domestic market. At that time, well-traveled Italians discovered the better wines of, among other places, the U.S. and France. Then, they and others midwifed a Risorgimento in Italian winemaking, a paradigm shift that has lasted to this day.

By Bill St. John, Special to Tribune Newspapers

September 12, 2012