Greece Flashcards
When does wine production date back to in Greece?
At least 5,000 years. Some claim even longer.
It was not the first wine producing country, but it greatly advanced grape-growing and production techniques.
Wine was an integral part of everyday life in Ancient Greece and a central feature of the symposium, which brought together art, philosophy, food and wine.
What period was considered the height of Greek wine culture? What does evidence show was established during this period?
During the Golden Age (500-300 BCE). The Greek empire spread around a majority of the Mediterranean, taking its wines, considered the best in the world at the time, and wine culture with it.
Some of the earliest wine-writing comes from this period and shows an understanding of how and why wines from different locations can vary in style and quality.
The Greeks also introduced some of the first wine laws to protect certain wines from particular locations, prevent fraud and raise taxes.
What style of wine was produced in Ancient Greece?
A wide variety of substances, including herbs, spices, flowers, honey and oils were added to protect the wine from oxidation and to mask off-flavours.
One common additive was pine resin and although the use of other substances has long disappeared, it continues to this day be used in the production of Retsina.
When did Greece become part of the Roman empire? What effect did this have on the wine industry?
2nd century BCE.
This introduced wines from elsewhere in the empire and effectively prevented Greece from exporting its own produce.
The decline then continued under first the Byzantine Empire, then the Ottoman Empire to the point wine was only produced for consumption in and around the village where the grapes were grown.
When was the Modern Greek state established? What affected the wine industry following this date?
1830, following the revolution of 1821.
The retreating Ottomans destroyed most of Greeks agricultural land, then two Balkan wars, two World Wars and a civil war prevented the recovery of the Greek wine industry.
In addition, many of the vineyards that survived at the end of the 19th century were destroyed by phylloxera, which appeared in Macedonia in 1898.
How was Greek wine viewed in the beginning of the 20th century?
Despite efforts to revitalise the industry, Greece was seen as a source of cheap, often poorly made wine, in particular Retsina, produced mainly by co-operatives and the handful of large companies that began to emerge.
How was Greek wine viewed towards the end of the 20th century?
By the 70s, some producers were bottling their own wines and selling them outside their local area.
The 80s saw a rapid rise in the number of small quality-minded producers. Some had previously worked for the larger companies, but many were people who had benefitted from the growth of the Greek economy and now wanted to make wine, leading to the creation of a modern culture of estate-produced, higher quality wines.
When did Greek wine start to make an appearance on export markets?
Initially, it was just a small impression and still most is consumed domestically, but the financial crash of 2008 led to a significant drop in consumption forcing producers to focus on export markets.
Wine exports have started to increase significantly in the last decade, although from a low starting point, as consumers are beginning to discover the wide array of indigenous varieties.
