Wine and lemons Amber 01/25/24

     Hello, all as you know Rome is notoriously known for its wine and more specifically in the coastal areas its lemons. 

Throughout our Italy trip, there has never been a shortage of wine. From the shops to our dinner tables there have been white, red, and desert wines that we have tasted and drank from. my favorite wine was from an olive oil mill that we had a lunch tasting at.


Wine grapes are said to have originated in China and throughout the years different origin stories are told. Ranging from Noah's arch where the mountain that he docked on was where the first vineyard was planted. The accidental fermentation of grapes in the Egypt area (where the grapes were left in a bottle and thus led to them bursting creating wine. Wine has been used in various ways in various cultures. In Iran, wine is used to get drunk although in the present day, it has both the purpose of being drunken to become drunk as well as simply used as a sipping drink during meals or throughout the day.

in the past and even today some individual people create their own wine. Our guide on this trip Alessio is a prime example of that. In his cellar in Fontecchio Italy, he has fermented grapes, which sadly I did not try but I heard was good. However, that was and is not always the case for others.




Lemons



We mainly saw lemons along the Amalfi coast but I've come to learn that lemons were brought to Europe by the Arabs. in this photo to the left, you'll see lemons almost the size of a baby's head they are organic and they are huge. In the USA, if we were to go to the grocery store they would not be that size. Sadly the terraces where these lemons grow are slowly becoming abandoned. 


    We as a civilization in the present day rely on lemons to make so many things. Such as lemon flavor foods, citrus scents, medicine sometimes, etc. However, lemons were purposely grown only for their citrus peel extract so that perfume could be made. No, we have jams and ice cream. One of my favorite lemon-flavored experiences I've had in Italy was the gelato.


-Amber

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