Italians know their wines, and soon, their children will too. Dario Stefàno, a senator with the group Sinistra Ecologia Libertà (Left Ecology Freedom) has drafted a bill to do just that.
The bill, if passed, will add wine culture and history to the curriculum in primary schools, for children aged six to 13, reports Quartz.
Italy is the world’s largest producer of wine, and produced nearly five billion liters in 2015. Stefàno adds, “We have more vines than churches,” and makes the point that winemaking is “an integral cultural part of Mediterranean cultures” and provides 1.25 million jobs.
Educating children about wine might also get more students interested in careers in gastronomy or tourism. Tourism, which gives Italy more than €35 billion (about $39 billion USD), is “hardly encouraged among students.” Stefàno says, “Italy is now the biggest wine producer in the world, it is our history, and we should be happy and proud to teach our children about it,” quotes The Daily Mail.