Wine for the Greeks was not only one of the five basic elements of nutrition together with water, salt, oil and grain but was also closely connected with culture, religion.
Nevertheless, not all periods of Greek wine history were good. It went through many adventures until it reached its current position.
In the years of the ancient Greeks
In Greece, the favorable soil and climatic conditions allowed the widespread cultivation of grapes very early. The beginnings of viticulture in Greece start in the depths of the Neolithic period, but its greatest development takes place between the 13th and 11th centuries.
The relationship of the ancients with wine is well known. They cultivated vines and produced famous wines. Homer in the "Iliad" and the "Odyssey", Plato and Xenophon in their "Symposiums", Atheneos in the "Sophists" often refer to the famous wines of antiquity. The sweet and mellow wines of Thira and Crete, the finest of Cyprus and Rhodes, the fragrant ones of Lesvos, Corfu, the hypnotic Thasios, the famous Ariousios of Chios and many other coveted wines are mentioned in the texts of the time.
Let us not forget that the ancient Greeks knew very well the value of their trade and the export trade was very well organized at that time. In exchange for wine and oil, the Greeks imported grain and gold from Egypt and the regions of the Black Sea, copper from Syria and Cyprus, ivory from Africa.
The wines exported at that time were many, but the most famous were those of the Aegean islands. Chios, Lesvios and Thasios were the most expensive wines in the 4th century BC. To protect them from imitations and counterfeits, the wines of Thassos had to be sold in amphorae to guarantee their shelf life. The wine laws of Thassos, dating back to the 5th century BC, are one of the oldest legal texts for the protection of wines, in the context of a more general wine policy aimed at ensuring the quality of the product and protecting the wine trade. The similarities that exist between the legislation of Ancient Greece for quality wines from certain regions and the legislation of the EU are astonishing.
The ancient Greeks loved wine and passionately served its god Dionysus, an intelligent, lively and erotic deity. According to legend, Dionysus was kidnapped by Etruscan pirates on his way to Italy. However, he revealed his divine nature by planting a vine that rose from the mast and transformed the pirates into dolphins. Ariadne, daughter of Minos, king of Crete and wife of Dionysus, gave him two sons, Stafylos and Oinopion, and a daughter, Evanthi. The rich iconography of Attic pottery attests to the extent of Dionysian worship. Drama, the leading form of expression of the time, was born out of the Dionysian dithyramb. The numerous festivals had a strong Dionysian character, especially the "Great Dionysia" celebrations dedicated to Dionysus, in which theatrical contests were held. Also the Symposiums, which were an opportunity for intellectual discussions and exchange of ideas, had as main part the ceremonially established drinking of wine.
From the study of Bacchic poetry we deduce the very specific ritual of drinking, i.e. wine consumption. The common citizen of antiquity dipped his bread in wine every morning, and this was the only moment of the day when he drank his wine without diluting it with water. For in the symposiums, which was a social institution with rules, wine was diluted with water. Thus the composers, without getting drunk, continued the stimulating discussions recorded by the pen of the poets. The condemnation of drunkenness is ancient, going back to the time of Homer, and drunken Cyclopes are examples to be avoided. Women never took part in these gatherings, except of course the singers, the dancers, or even the Hetairas who entertained those present.
The Byzantine period
During the Hellenistic years and the early Byzantine era, which was an extension of the ancient world, a change took place in people's relationship with Dionysus and his gift. This god collided, and in the years of Justinian was defeated by another god. The God of the Christians, the only true Savior and Redeemer, called the true vine. The vine and the wine are, after all, the most sacred symbols Christianity borrowed from ancient religions. The Old and New Testaments are full of references.
In Byzantium, wine unites the biblical and Greek traditions. Its ancient god, Dionysus, is always alive, though in disguise. He has lent almost all his symbols to Christ, but also to the emperor, who appears in the icons as a vine, and the Apostles and the faithful as vines and grapes.
Byzantine society now presented two aspects: the formal, glorious Byzantium and the Byzantium of the peasant, the tavern-keeper, the poet. In the former, the Byzantine gentlemen recount their exploits at banquets, around the marble slab, with their golden cups full of wine, just like the Homeric heroes. The harvest ceremony in the Royal Court is presented to us in the works of the Emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus and testifies to the importance that both the kings and the church attached to the harvest and the pressing of the grapes. Indeed, Constantinople, where all the wines of the empire arrived, was called by the Anglo-Saxons, Winburg, which means Inopolis, the city of wine. And the common people continued to have wine on the table in the taverns.
Middle Ages and Ottoman rule
The spread of Christianity in medieval Europe proved crucial to the preservation of viticulture and winemaking. Wine occupies an important place in the Eucharist. But beyond that, it is also presented as a supremely valuable commodity, a medicine of souls and bodies, because of its healing properties (especially in areas where the water was polluted). It is a gift from God, "it gladdens the heart of man." When used in moderation, it helps to invigorate and strengthen the organism, but its abuse is a distraction and contempt. This is basically the view prevalent in the circles of monks who took over the care and development of the vineyards while equally attending to the religious, educational and medical needs of the people. The monasteries now have extensive vineyards, and in the ordinances governing their organization there are repeated references to the production, storage and use of wine.
In the 13th century, Saint Tryphon was established as the saint of the vine and wine and is still the saint of the winegrowers and is honored on February 1, the time of pruning, especially in the region of Thrace and Macedonia. .
And while the monasteries produced vineyards and wines, the believers of Muhammad destroyed them wherever they found them. The Prophet of Islam forbids idolatry, gambling and alcohol. The destruction of the vineyards of the Middle East and Greece was complete.
Note that in those years, with the advent of the Crusaders and the Turks, wine and vines were used in the symbolic language of the prophecies of that time. The vine, in addition to the church, symbolizes the Byzantine Empire itself, which is in danger, and the wine symbolizes the blood.
The Newer Times
And the new times dawned, the National Revolution, the liberation from the Turks and the development of the new state with aspirations for Europe. The Greek viticulture, as it developed until the eve of the World War II, was not developed in a planned way within the wine policy of the temporary governments of the country. On the contrary, it formed under conditions directly related to the history of the genus. It was ignored every time the country people took up arms for the freedom of the place. It was largely destroyed when the conquerors wanted revenge. It began small and gradually increased in size each time new enslaved lands found their freedom, with the result that when Greece gained its present borders the Greek vineyard was the sum of several departmental vineyards, the development of which was dictated by different conditions for each flat.
But even within the free Greek state, the vineyard continued to grow unplanned, sometimes to the advantage and sometimes to the disadvantage of the wine world, since any concept of wine policy was unknown and the then newly established state had other needs and promoted other crops.
After the World War II, things got even worse. To the already existing problems were added the Civil War and immigration. The Greek vineyard was constantly degraded, varieties were abandoned, the high quality mountain vineyards were lost. The market was dominated by bulk wine, with the exception of a few wineries that dared to enter the bottled market. On the international markets, Greek wine did not have a particularly good name. It was considered "Mediterranean", i.e. without acidity, without aroma, oxidized. With the exception of the sweet muscat of Samos, no other Greek wine entered the market with a geographical indication of origin.
The rebirth of Greek wine
The story of modern Greek wine production and the development of bottled wine in Greece begins in the last fifty years, in the 1960s. It was then that the first serious investments in plant and mechanical equipment began, leading to a spectacular improvement of Greek wines in terms of technology. At the same time there is a partial reconstruction of the vineyards with the planting of high quality grape varieties based on evaluations carried out by the Wine Institute, while since the first decade the areas for the production of wines with Denomination of Origin are established by the Ministry of Agriculture.
Of course, the human factor also played a very important role, the Greek oenologists who transferred their scientific knowledge to production, but also the winemakers themselves who became aware of the new realities that were emerging. The fact that the boom took place in so few years shows all the dynamism of the wine sector as a branch of the agricultural economy.
