As we continue on our Greek wine journey, we begin to see how important the grapevine was to their culture. But it’s important to keep in mind that everything we know about ancient Greek wine culture is based on archaeological evidence and poetry. We simply don’t — and can’t — know everything.
What we do know about ancient Greece, however, is that the people were huge fans of Dionysus, the Greek god of winemaking, agriculture, fertility, pleasure, festivity, and theater. They loved him so much that they frequently hosted Dionysus-themed festivals where they’d drink heavily and parade through the streets, partying until the wee hours of the morning.
But why don’t we seeing any of this in Greece today? Well, that brings us forward to the 15th century when the Ottoman Turks came in and took over the Greek coast. It wasn’t until the 1960s that Greek wine culture really started to pick up again.
On this episode of “Wine 101,” Keith talks about Dionysus, Homer, and the overall trajectory of Greek wine from ancient times to the 1900s. Tune in for more.
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“Wine 101” was produced, recorded, and edited by yours truly, Keith Beavers, at the VinePair headquarters in New York City. I want to give a big old shout-out to co-founders Adam Teeter and Josh Malin for creating VinePair. Big shout-out to Danielle Grinberg, the art director of VinePair, for creating the most awesome logo for this podcast. Also, Darby Cicci for the theme song. And I want to thank the entire VinePair staff for helping me learn something new every day. See you next week.
*Image retrieved from vkilikov via stock.adobe.com