The knowlege of vine cultivation and wine making most likely arrived in Italy with the Greeks and Etruscans. In fact, many of the varietals used today are descended from the original stock which came from Thrace. Names like Greco (the foundation for the delicious white Greco di Tufo) and Ellenico, now called Aglianico (the name means Hellenic. This grape is the basis for Aglianico del Vulture, Taurasi and many more of Campania's top red wines.) reflect the Greek origin of the varietals. In fact, it is Pompeii which gives us one of our great clues as to the cultivation of Greco on the slopes of Vesuvius. A mural, likely painted by a jilted lover, was found dating to the 1st c. BC reading "You are cold Bytis, truly made of ice, if tonight not even Greco wine can warm you up." The paintings were a common form of decoration and expression. Murals of Bacchus (shown left) also grace many of the homes in Pompeii confirming the city's fascination with wine.

  

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