Corsica wine rule, many Algerian "Pieds-Noirs" immigrated to Corsica and began planting vineyards. Between 1960 and 1976 the vineyard area in Corsica increased fourfold. In 1968, Patrimonio was established as Corsica's first "Appellation d'origine contrôlée" (AOC). Today, Corsica has nine AOC regions including the island-wide designation Vin de Corse AOC. The majority of the wine exported from Corsica falls under the Vin de pays designation "Vin de Pays de l'Île de Beauté" (Country wine from the Island of Beauty). The three leading grape varieties of the region are Nielluccio, known as the spice wine of France, Sciacarello and Vermentino. The island of
Medieval Corsica Medieval Corsica The history of Corsica in the medieval period begins with the collapse of the Western Roman Empire and the invasions of various Germanic peoples in the fifth century AD, and ends with the complete subjection of the island to the authority of the Bank of San Giorgio in 1511. In the early decades of the fifth century, effective Roman authority all but vanished from Corsica. The island became disputed between the Ostrogoths, Roman "foederati" who were settled in the lands along the Riviera, and the Vandals, who had established a kingdom in Tunisia. Both groups were sometimes allies,