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Greek WineGreek Wine: Plutarch, 46-120 A.D Greek wine has been produced at least since 1700 B.C, but it’s only recently that Greeks have started commercial wine production in larger quantities – and – not at least – of a quality that more than matches other Mediterranean wines. Despite a wine making history of almost 4000 years and the fabulous natural climate and topography for growing wine grapes, Greek wine is hardly known outside Greece. (Most people have heard about retsina, which is kind of wine with added resin, but the Greeks themselves separate between retsina and wine). Around 1900 the phylloxera killed vineyards in the entire Europe. While the other wine producers in Europe soon started growing wine again, the Greeks replanted their fields with mainly tobacco. The destruction of fields during the Balkan wars, the Second World War and the Civil War that ravaged Greece until 1949 kept Greece far behind in commercial production of any agricultural products, including wine – though most Greek farmers have always made wine for themselves and their families. The major change started in the 1980s, when oenologists educated abroad, returned to Greece to start production of Greek quality wines. While some farmers earlier produced wine and sold locally at the vegetable markets or to tavernas in the district, younger, educated family members are now taking over the production and both commercializing it, but also improving the quality of the wine. More than 300 varieties of grapes are known in Greece, some has been cultivated since ancient Greece. Some of the popular Greek grapes that are used today are Assyrtiko, which is a grape that origins from Santorini and gives a hint of lemon to the wine; Roditis, a rosé coloured grape that gives a light, fruity wine and Moscofilero which has a floral aroma of roses and violets. Moschofilero is actually a red grape that gives white wine. Within the borders of Greece the difference in topography creates different conditions. Here in northern-Greece the climate is more like in the rest of the Balkans, with higher variation, than in the rest of Greece, which has a milder and more stable climate. The coast here is characterized by long, sandy dunes, unlike the more rocky coastline of the islands and southern Greece. The classification of Greek wine was legislated in 1971 and 1972 and basically follows the same rules as the rest of Europe. Return from Greek Wine to KAIROS homepage Do you want to taste our great local wines? The Greek Wine God Dionysus
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