Tours: Wine

Visit the island of Thasos, and learn about ancient winemaking techniques.

Opening RemarksHarvestDrying the GrapesPressingFermentation and ConservationBottling and Shipping

• Markos: Ah, my friend! How fortuitous to run into you in this most intoxicating place. I'd offer you a drink, but for some reason the workers won't let me borrow any of their wine. Cheapskates.

("Who are you?")

• Markos: Why, I'm Markos, of course! Only one of the most successful merchants in all of Greece. You really haven't heard of me? My name is known from Kephallonia to Kos! If you've ever paid money for something, I probably received a percentage. But enough about me. Let's go back to what you're doing here.

("What do you think of this place?")

• Markos: You know, I once started my own wine business on Kos. It hit a bit of a snag when my investors, three brothers calling themselves "The Cerberos", suddenly lost faith in me. But after they had a tragic run-in with a bloodthirsty misthios, I was able to land on my feet. From then on, the streets of Kos overflowed with wine, and my purse overflowed with drachmae! Very sad about the Cerberos, though. Couldn't have happened to nicer people.

("Let's begin the tour.")

• Markos: As you can probably tell by all the grapes, this is one of Greece's many vineyards. Wine was an essential part of Greek culture, and this tour will take you through how it was made. In addition to being delicious, not to mention lucrative, wine was an important part of Greek economy. I promise I'll meet you at the end of your visit, my friend. See you soon!

Grape harvesting scene from black-figure amphora / 540-530 BCE (Archaic Greece)

Winemaking dates back to the 4th or 3rd millennium BCE.

It became widespread in Greece during the Bronze Age, and within centuries the Greeks had refined it further.

The first step in the process was always harvesting, where grapes grown on rows of vines were collected by vineyard workers.

According to Homer, harvesting was often accompanied by music to give it a more festive atmosphere.

Ancient Greek wine mainly came in three different varieties: austeros, glukazon, and autokratos. It could be flavoured with spices, herbs, resin, and even perfume.

It was also much stronger than modern wine, with an alcohol percentage of approximately sixteen percent.

Because of this, the drink was mixed with water to make it more palatable.

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The god Dionysos was believed to have introduced wine to mortals. As a result, there were many celebrations and festivals dedicated to Dionysos, including the Anthesteria, an Athenian festival that marked the broaching of new wine from the previous autumn.

The Athesteria took place over 3 days. The first day was called Pithoigia ("jar opening"). As its name implied, it was dedicated to opening new wine jars and offering libations to Dionysos.

The second day, Choes (jugs), included jovial events like drinking contests, but also a solemn ceremony where the wife of the archon would be wedded to Dionysos.

The third day was called Chytroi (pots), in reference to the pots that contained the day's meal.

The Anthesteria was mostly lighthearted, but it had a dark side as well. The Choes in particular was viewed as a day of ill omen, where ghosts from the underworld would appear to haunt the living. On this day, people allegedly chewed leaves of whitethorn and smeared tar on their doors to protect themselves from the wrath of the dead.

Satyrs harvesting grapes / 460-440 BCE (Classical Greece)

Grapes were dried to maximize the wine's sweetness and prevent it from turning into vinegar.

In most vineyards, the dying process involved laying the grapes out on the ground under the heat of the sun – then covering them at night to prevent them from accumulating dew.

According to Hesiod's poem "Works and Days", the ideal time to dry grapes was "ten days and ten nights".

When they were finally completely dry, the grapes were collected in jars, just as they are today.

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The Greeks used different types of grapes to produce different kinds of wine. According to Julius Pollux in his "Onomastikon", there were 28 varieties of grapes, and they were often named after their place of origin or the method of their production.

The Byblia variety of grapes produced a wine called the Byblinos. The Byblinos enjoyed a great reputation among wine lovers, and even appears in Euripides' tragedy Ion during a scene set a luxurious symposium.

The dark-colored Pramnia grape variety, meanwhile, was used for the Pramnios wine, an appreciated black vintage produced in Icaria and Smyrna. The Pramnios was prestigious enough to have been drunk by the heroes of The Iliad and The Odyssey.

On the other end of the spectrum were the Psythias or Psythia, white grapes from Ionia that produced a very sweet wine known today as Liasto.

Tapetum from a farm in Argilos / 2004

The Greeks had many methods for crushing the harvested grapes.

The most common technique was to use a lenos, a large "treading vat" where workers stomped on grapes with their feet.

Alternatively, the Greeks sometimes crushed the grapes by hand using a strainer, mashed them with a mortar and pestle, or squeezed them using a tool called a sack press.

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Wine had many uses in Greek culture.

The liquid was very important for symposia, communal drinking parties reserved exclusively for men. During a symposium, a krater (mixing bowl) at the center of the room was used to mix water and wine together. Once diluted, it was shared amongst the party's guests, who drank it from individual cups.

Wine played a part in libations to the gods and at funerals. Furthermore, it could be mixed with certain aphrodisiac or hypnotic properties to induce feelings like arousal or sleepiness.

Surprisingly, wine was also used as a medical treatment for the sick, and women suffering gynecological problems were sometimes prescribed the drink. Dioskorides even described two types of wine that could supposedly abort fetuses.

Rhodian terracotta transport amphora with stamps on the upper part of the handles that give the maker's name and the date of manufacture

After the grapes were pressed, the resulting juice was poured into large containers called pithoi, where it fermented.

Once fully fermented, the wine was filtered through an ethmos or sack, which separated it from the residual yeast called "lees".

The wine was then placed in a special storage room.

The room was dry, and the wine pithoi within were half-buried in the ground to ensure they maintained a consistent of fifteen degrees Celsius.

These measures ensured the wine wouldn't lose any of its quality before being shipped to market.

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Wine from Thasos was considered to be one of the highest quality Greek wines, and was consequently produced a large scale to be exported to foreign markets. The Hippokratic treatise "On Disease" even listed Thasian wine among refreshing beverages that aided patients from hot flushes.

In Athens and the rest of Greece, Thasian wine was at the high end of the quality spectrum. Archeological evidence of Thasian amphoras has turned up in places like Athens, Amphipolis, Pella, Egypt, and other areas around the Black Sea. Many of these amphoras were labeled with the name of the people involved in the production of the container, such as potters, workshop owners, or inspectors dedicated to ensuring the quality of the jars. These stamps also helped authenticate the origin of the wine.

Wine stall scene from a black-figure pelike / 500 BCE (Archaic Greece)

When the wine was ready to ship, it was poured into storage containers called amphoras.

These were smaller than pithoi, which made them easier to ship and display in crowded marketplaces.

However, that doesn't mean transporting wine was always a safe endeavor.

Sometimes, ships carrying amphoras as cargo would be wrecked before making it to their destination, losing hundreds of bottles of wine to the sea.

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Athens was home to many taverns, and the establishments' managers were often mocked by Aristophanes the Comic poet. The taverns were called kapeleion or taverna, and sold wine, vinegar, and sometimes sweets and bar snacks.

After a wine amphora was opened, the liquid was poured into a krater (mixing bowl) to decant. It could also be cooled by pouring it into a wine-cooler called a psykter first, then placing the psykter into a krater filled with cold water. When it was ready to be served, the wine was transferred to jugs called oenochoai, and was drunk in individual cups like kylikes or kantharoi.

In Athens, taverns flourished in the southeast corner of the agora, according to the numerous amphoras, drinking cups, mixing bowls, and cookware that have been found in the area. Similar archeological evidence has also been found in the south corner of Korinths agora, suggesting there were taverns there as well.

Closing Remarks

• Markos: Ah, my friend! Are you drunk with knowledge? I hope you enjoyed yourself, learning about all the picking, stomping, and bottling that goes into making Greece's favorite beverage. Maybe if my customers understood how hard winemaking was, they'd agree more with my perfectly reasonable prices. But let's talk about something else, yes? What else can I do for you?

("I'm ready for the quiz.")

• Markos: You want you intelligence tested? Well let me tell you, friend, no one is more qualified for the task than me. Let's get started.
  What container was used to ship wine to market?

''Pithos''.''Amphoras''.''Ethmos''.''Lenos''.Can you repeat the question?

• Markos: No, pithoi were big containers where the juice fermented into wine. But I'm fond of second, third, even fourth chances, so try another answer!

• Markos: Yes! Wine was stored in amphoras during its long journey to market. Here's another question!

• Markos: An ethmos was actually a strainer, not a container. Although both words end in "ainer", so I understand the confusion. Try again.

• Markos: The lenos was the vat where workers pressed the grapes. Keep trying, though!

• Markos: What container was used to ship wine to market?

• Markos: Which of the following wasn't a type of wine variety?

Austeros.Autokratos.Thasos.Glukazon.Can you repeat the question?

• Markos: No, austeros was a dry kind of wine. Try again.

• Markos: No, autokratos was wine of the medium-sweet variety. But don't give up yet!

• Markos: Correct! Thasos was an island famous for its vineyards, not a specific type of wine. Just one more question to go, my friend.

• Markos: Glukazon was the sweetest type of wine, and my personal favorite, but it is not the correct answer. Try another one.

• Markos: Which of the following wasn't a type of wine variety?

• Markos: Which part of the winemaking process created the grape juice necessary for wine?

Fermentation.Pressing.Harvesting.Shipping.Can you repeat the question?

• Markos:

• Markos: That's the one! The harvested grapes were pressed in a lenos, often by the feet of vineyard workers! Just try not to think about that last part whenever you have a cup of wine.

• Markos:

• Markos:

• Markos: Which part of the winemaking process created the grape juice necessary for wine?

• Markos: You really know your wine! You're as good with the facts as I am with money, and that's really saying something.

("Take on the next suggested tour.")

("Take me on a random tour.")

([LEAVE] "That's all for now.")

• Markos: If you say so, my friend! I hope we see each other again soon.

Gallery

• File:Assassin's Creed Discovery Tour- Wine - Ep. 10 - Ubisoft -NA-