Greek Wine

Wine, one of the most famous and popular indulgences of all time has known to inspire many artists, musicians, entrepreneurs as well as many cultures around the world. The breath taking ensemble of aromas and extracts of fruits and flowers can stir up even the most boring of conversations. Throughout history, wine has affected many different civilizations and continues to flourish across the entire world. The very first encounter with wine has been traced all the way back to The Stone Age according to archaeologists (National Geographic). There’s no physical evidence to prove this to be one hundred percent accurate, although, to think of hunter gatherers in their environment, this could all be possible for this early civilization of humans
to accidentally stumble upon a few fermented grapes and consume them without even knowing the effects or what would be to come in the near future from that one little grape. When thinking of wine, the very first place that comes to mind is Ancient Greece. Greece has known to be one of the oldest wine producing areas in the world. Ancient Greece’s wine production was extremely popular and can be traced all the way back to the Island of Crete. On this island, some of the main production, distribution and consumption of wine took place and began to slowly make the shift to the mainland of Greece. Encountering this special drink, the Greeks mainly considered wine to be religious. The Greek civilization thought of wine more on a religious level and believing that wine was embodied in the deity of Dionysus, which whom the Greeks worshipped heavily. Throughout history, gods and grapes went hand in hand and together often in religious ceremonies. The transformation of grapes into wine has always been considered a gift from the gods. Wine was also tied in with the festivals that the Greeks had yearly. The celebration of wine, “Anthestina”, also known as the “Festival of Flowers”, was a huge festival held once a year in honor of celebrating the God of wine, Dionysus. The Greeks would, in advance, have prepared fermented jars of wine that were only to be opened during this time of the festival. Greeks would also make use of the rewarding effects of wine to help encourage a higher understanding of intellectual clarity as well as on the spiritual side. Wine was constantly diluted with water which is also known as, “Krasis”, water and wine, and was often accentuated with honey and spices. The Greeks not only did this because water was extremely scarce but also because it was delicious and kept them hydrated in a sense. Ancient Greek wines were extremely dark and thick, therefore the wine was needed to be cut down with water.
Sometimes the Greeks would even use sea water instead of water because it would help weaken the sweet taste. The grapes were mainly harvested in the early autumn season, which the Greeks would eventually use their bare feet and stomp on the grapes to extract all the juices. The methods of wine cultivation slowly improved after time. Herbs and spices were used to preserve and flavor the wines. Wine was also consumed by both young and old Greeks, even infants were known to be given wine with their meals. Basically everyone was getting a taste of the delicious concoctions and was seen to be completely
normal. The Ancient Greeks were very protective of their wines. There would be times of looters and Roman soldiers who would take wine from the Greeks for their own keeping. Come to find out from that very first sip that a bitter taste was left in their mouths so they would assume that the wine was spoiled. However, the wine wasn’t spoiled, it was actually Pine Resin that the Greeks put into their wines. Greeks began sealing the wine barrels with pine resin to keep them air tight for aging. This method gave off a pine aroma to the wine. This method still exists today and there are mainly pine aromas in white wines called “Restina”. The Greeks had marked and influenced the ancient cultures of the Romans with their wine making productions.
The Romans carried out the tradition of grape growing, vineyards and wine making. They also perfected the fermentation process of wine and stored the wine in glass bottles to limit the exposure of air so that they wine would age more properly. Just as the Greeks, the Romans would dilute their wine with water and sometimes sea water to cut down the sweetness. Wine played a huge role in the Roman diet. Although the main intention of consuming this drink was to enjoy the wine and yet also to get a little intoxicated, just enough to loosen up the mind and indulge into deep conversations more easily. The Romans were also to believe that wine was of medicinal use for healing. They thought that wine could heal the mind, body and soul from many heath issues. If sick, the Romans were advised to consume wine for healing. Some of the health issues that wine was seen to help included memory loss, depression, while also being used as a laxative and for treating animal bites, tapeworms and gout among many others. Wine also was used to show off wealth before the Golden Age. Entering the Golden Age, wine was seen normal to be used every day as a necessity rather than just a luxury, as viewed
earlier. Today in the modern world, wine is still and may even be more popular than ever. Wine still remains a huge part of the human social culture. Many people of all cultures love to meet up, lounge and drink wine while having long conversations that last for hours upon hours. This is seen to be most enjoyable. It is very common now a days to have wine served in restaurants and wine bars have become a very popular commodity in this age of time. Wine stimulates the mind and body allowing us to relax and enjoy ourselves even in uncomfortable situations. Wine still continues to play a large role in religious ceremonies as it did in the ancient times. Also, wine is so popular that it is served almost anywhere such as weddings, paint and wine studios, bars, festivals, and wineries are very popular as well.