Wine making in Ancient Greece

     Wines are part of the Ancient Greek culture and lifestyle.  Dionysus, the god of wine is one of the Greek gods which is being worshipped in Greece. She represents the intoxicating effect of wine and its social and cultural interactions.

     There is no concrete evidence of wine making in ancient Greece, it is more likely to be known that Greeks learn wine making when they travel and traded with other countries like Egypt. The earliest source of wine making in Greek is a stone foot press at Vathipetro, a Minoan villa. It has carbon dating of about 1600 BC. It is believed that this stone foot press is being used for wine making at that time. Evidence of wine seeds, cups and amphorae near the site further prove that wine making is present at that time.

     Homer, a Greek poet further proves the wine culture in Greek where he wrote a poem about wine:

“Earth Is Bounteous
And For My People
Too, It Brings Forth
Grapes That Thrive
On The Rain of Zeus
And That Make Good Wine, But This
Is Distilled Into
Nectar And Ambrosia” -- - Homer The Odyssey

     The name Enotria which means the land of vines was give to the land in southern Italy due to the trading between the Greek countries