The Process of Appassimento is as old as the ancient Romans.

Legend accounts that the Roman army, en route to Continental Europe, would fill amphorae and barrels with wine produced in the border villages in northern Italy. 

On one expedition the wine soured, most likely due to its weak alcohol content. Upon their return the army ferociously attacked the villages and threatened total destruction should the wine sour again. 

Fear and self-preservation are powerful motivators. The villagers sought ways to strengthen the wine and came upon an ingenious solution - the partial drying of grapes prior to vinification - and thus the process called Appassimento was born.