Page 2 - Greek Wine HistoryEng

Greek Wine History

Greek wine history follows the course of Greek history itself since very few nations of the world have the
vineyard and wine ‘in their blood’ as the Greeks do, from prehistoric times until today (based on
documents, findings, records etc). Therefore the recording of Greek wine and viticulture history, is
probably the longest history in the world, and would require whole books to be narrated.
So Greek wine history is inevitably associated with the culture, the economy, the religion, the social and
everyday life, but also the places where viticulture, wine production and wine consumption developed,
from prehistoric times until today that we are talking about Greece’s modern wines and their
“regeneration”- “revolution”.

Greek wine history begins in prehistoric times, with wild grape residues having been found in many parts
of Greece and domesticated vines being cultivated since the second half of the fifth millennium BC.
In the Neolithic period, viticulture is introduced to Greece from other countries as well. In the Bronze
Age, in the Minoan as well as the Mycenaean civilization, the vineyard and wine already played an
important role in everyday life, but also in trade, something that, despite stopping at some points in
time, continued later, in the early historic years.

During the Archaic period (7 century BC) viticulture had spread throughout Greece while
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wineproducing techniques were developing. In the Classical period (480-323 BC) the famous Greek
wines of antiquity meet with wine trade at its best flourishing in those times.

It was then that wine was basically connected to civilization (eg with Greek symposiums) while many
things concerning wine, even today, were established: designations of origin, placename, selected
vineyards, terms concerning wine, tasting, sommelier as profession, responsible consumption etc.

The Classical period ends with the death of Great Alexander, who basically did wine colonization since
his campaigns were always accompanied by vine and wine. In the Hellenistic years that followed, up to
146 BC, the islands of the Aegean became big wine production and trade centers of the
Mediterranean for the whole of Alexander the Great’s empire. Since then and until 324 AD, the Romans
adopted the Greek wine culture, amongst others, which had also been adopted by the colonies of
Magna Grecia.
So Greek wines remained at the top and had great demand as it is recorded in many Roman
manuscripts while they penetrated to the North of Europe as well.