Debating the yield potential of vineyards in Roman Italy

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This paper aims to reinvigorate the debate on ancient wine yields in Italy by on the one hand reassessing the available ancient textual evidence, and on the other hand carrying out an in-depth comparative study of wine yields in Italy from the late 19th to early 20th century. This period offers a historical scenario in which farming conditions approximated those of the Greco-Roman era, as they were characterized by low-technology and labor-based farming practices, while at the same time still approaching the expertise of ancient farming that is reflected in the ancient textual sources. Focusing on this era of Italian agriculture is thus the most productive strategy to try and retrieve ancient yield possibilities. In doing so, I argue for the occurring of much lower annual average yields than those commonly assumed for Roman vineyards in Italy, and so reframe the debate on the nature and the performance of the ancient wine economy.