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The god of wine. |
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| Ancient Greeks worshiped Dionysus (or Bacchus as he is also known) as the God of Wine and Theatre. Son of Zeus and a mortal woman, Semele, he was worshiped as one of the immortals. As with other illegitimate sons of Zeus, Dionysus was pursued by Hera, |
Grape Agiorgitiko Assyrtiko Athiri Debina |
Region Nemea Drama Epanomi Halkidiki Pangeo Peloponnese Aegean Halkidik Zistai |
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| which probably accounted for him spending much of his life wandering Greece, and going as far as Egypt and Syria. His role was to teach how to use his gifts wisely, and punish those who rejected him or went beyond the permitted limits. Many relics depict the God and his followers in various stages of intoxication, and also show his wanderings and spreading the knowledge of viticulture (the culture of vines). One of the more famous shows him giving the gift of a vine to King Oeneas in exchange for his hospitality. The wine, now known to us as Oinos, is one of the most widely seen in Greece. Today many different grapes are cultivated in a wide variety of areas to produce Greek wines. Roditis and Savatiano being the main white grape used in the production of “Retsina” which is a more popular wine with the older generation. In the final stages of brewing Retsina, Pine resin, collected |
Kotsifali Liatiko Limnio Malagouzia Mantilaria Mavrodaphe Moschato Moschofilero Robolla |
Crete Crete Halkidiki Limnos General Crete Paros Rhodes Kefalonia Patra General Mantinia Kefalonia |
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| from the local trees, is added to aid the clearing of the wine after fermentation. More modern processes involve using chemicals or finnings to speed up the clearing of the wine before bottling. Apart from the major breweries many of the tavernas and hotels have their own local supplier or produce wine themselves, and why not in the land of the “God of Wine”. |  |
Roditis Savatiano Vilana Xinomavro |
Halkidik iMisimvria Patra (Macedonia) Pella Thessaly Vertiskos Attica Central Greece Crete Northern and Central Greece |
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