In its infancy, wine was produced in regions where the vine grew wild. From its origins in the Near East, cultivation of the grapevine spread to the Old Kingdom of Egypt, and, around 2500 BCE, the vine was brought, via trade, to the Minoan Bronze Age civilization of Crete.
Despite Crete’s latitude, the island’s moderate climate proved suitable for the vine, and in viticulture the Minoans surpassed all their contemporaries. (They also developed indoor plumbing—clearly a civilization ahead of the times.) The practice was passed to their successors, the Mycenaeans, to other islands in the Aegean, and to the mainland of Greece. The Greeks spread cultivation of the vine throughout much of Europe. The first vineyards in France were in Massalia, a Greek colony at modern-day Marseilles, and Southern Italy’s modern varieties Greco and Aglianico may be Greek in origin. The Greeks took viticulture northward as well, to the banks of the Danube and the coastline of the Black Sea. Ultimately, the Greeks were responsible for not only spreading the vine geographically but also democratizing the consumption of wine. In ancient Egypt, wine was regarded as the sweat of the sun god Ra; the Greeks drank wine at religious and ceremonial events, but they also drank socially. As wine consumption in Greece spread to new social classes, additional vineyards were needed. The Romans carried the Greeks’ vines even farther, but the tradition of many modern-day European wine regions extends back to ancient Greece.
While preeminent in the ancient world, Greek wines languished until a late 20th-century surge in interest and quality. Greece’s vinous reputation had long been rooted in retsina, an aromatized wine flavored with Aleppo pine resin. Wine was transported through ancient Greece in amphorae, often sealed
The section on Georgia includes the following text: ‘The former republic of Georgia has one of the world’s oldest winemaking traditions’. Minor typo: ‘former republic of Georgia’ should read ‘former Soviet republic of Georgia’.
The section on Ukraine includes the following text: ‘Rkatsiteli continues to be a significant variety, and while Vitis vinifiera has always been preferred (with popular varieties including Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, Welchriesling, and Furmint)’. Minor typo: ‘Welchriesling’ should read ‘Welschriesling’.
The section on Russia includes the following text: ‘Neighboring Dagestan and Stavropol, where many grapes are distilled into brandy, are notable regions, although each experience extreme cold’. Minor typo: ‘each experience’ should read ‘each experiences’.
The section on Romania includes the following text: ‘In Transylvania, the the Jidvei DOC nested in Târnave DOC is one of Romania’s coolest and most important wine regions’. Minor typo: extra ‘the’.
The section on Bulgaria includes the following text: ‘Foreign investment from quality-minded wine and spirits companies was more difficult to achieve than in neighboring Hungary.’ The use of ‘neighboring’ would suggest (to me) that Hungary and Bulgaria share a border, but, of course, the two countries are not adjacent as a good chunk of Serbia and Romania lie in between them.