The vine, the grape, the harvest
The symbols of joy and life Humans have been cultivating grapes since the Stone Age.The vine roots on the Mediterranean coast and gives a wide range of wines with exceptional aromas and flavors. Greece, with a tradition of 3000 years in wine production, today is able to offer very special varieties of flavor combinations so the Greek wines to travel and get awarded worldwide. The Peloponnese, which Homer called "Ampeloessa" and "polystafylos" which both mean with a lot of vineyards in Greek, is the place where a variety of different wines are produced. They are celebrated since the ancient times in the writings of Pausanias, Thucydides and lyric poets like Alcaeus. The color combined with the aroma, taste and body of wine is the reason it exists in everyday meals enhancing people's health and mood.
THE MYTH
The god Dionysus, has been part of Greek culture since the ancient times. He is the god of the game and the feast ,an ever growing kid. He wanders across the land and spreads the wine culture. Satyrs follow Dionysus dancing and playing the flute and guitar, together they go to harvest grapes, drink wine and love girls. All those words are the personification of joy of life and fertility in Ancient Greece.
Stafylos, according to the myth, was the shepherd of King Oeneus. Stafylos noticed that every evening, when he lead the flocks back in the premises there was a goat delayed eating some unknown fruits while being a lot more lively. Stafylos then narrated the incident to Oeneus and he advised him to pick up these fruits and take their juice. When God Dionysus visited Oeneus, the king served him this juice. Dionysus suggested that the drink be named oinos (wine in Greek) after Oeneus, and the grapes staphyli (grape in Greek) after the shepherd Staphylus.
In Greece, the first vine cultivation dates back to 1000B.C. in Crete which is the largest island of the Aegean, the Peloponnese and Thrace. The Mediterranean climate favors the cultivation of the vine and so this plant with its large,broad leaves and full of juice fruit covers large areas in these countries. In Greek tradition, the wine is associated with joy, enthusiasm and great family celebrations. The Mediterranean diet, as is now generally accepted, is an example of balanced diet that fortifies the body against disease. Wine is what accompanies Greek meals daily.
Today, after 3000 years of tradition, the Greek wine production is spreading around the world carrying the aromas and flavors of Greek landscape and the splendor of the Mediterranean sky.
History