Rare Italian wine could become extinct

PANTELLERIA, Italy -- An ancient Italian wine made from grapes grown on the steep slopes of a single island could be dying out because of the hard work involved.

Passito di Pantelleria, a sweet golden wine, has origins wrapped in myth and history. By one account the wine was first made by Magone, a top lieutenant of the Carthaginian leader Hannibal who attacked Rome in the third century B.C. In another version, a goddess, Tanit, used it to woo the Greek god Apollo.

But the grape harvest on Pantelleria has fallen precipitously, to 2,500 tons this year, The Telegraph reported. In 1990, 24,000 tons were harvested -- down from 45,000 tons in 1973.

Pantelleria, south of Sicily, is so remote it was used in Roman times as an open prison for banished members of the emperor's family. Its volcanic slopes
are steep.

"It is so windy on the island that the entire harvest has to be done on your hands and knees," said Filippo Bartolotta, editor of L'Espresso Italian Wine Guide.

Giuseppe Lo Re, head of the island's wine grower's association, predicts that Passito could vanish in the next decade unless machinery is developed to make the harvest easier and young people develop a taste for the wine.

Copyright 2007 by United Press International.