Wines are consumed in almost all parts of the world and if you are a wine lover you must know something about the Greek wines. Or… you might have rarely heard about Greek wines just because you do not have any interest in the history of wine. Today wine is being produced in almost all countries around the globe and is very popular among the masses. Actually the production of wine started in Greece in very ancient times. It may date back to two thousand years ago. History tells us that during that past era, wine was produced by the people in their own homes along with other food items like bread, butter, meat etc. Wine was not meant only for some special occasions, and rather it was used as a staple drink along with everyday food placed on the dining table. People used wines just like other food materials they used to consume in those days. Later wine production started on a commercial scale in the times of Roman Empire and by the opening trade routes of the Mediterranean regions, these wines were expansively transported to other countries of the world. The political conditions of Greece and some other hurdles always prevented it to compete in the global wine market. But in recent era Greece is the most active competitor in the global market as compared to any other country of the world. The Greek wine production also increased due to the reason that the use of locally produced product decline in most parts of the world. People began to use wines of export quality instead of that produced locally in their own country. Therefore, the demands for export of wines from Greece increased. The wine producers in Greece are trying their best to compete in the world wine markets. Owing to this competition, most of the wine producers prefer foreign varieties of grapes for their vineyards. In 1963, the Greek planted the first Cabernet Sauvignon vineyard which revolutionized wine making during 1960’s and 1970’s.
There are several reasons for the success of Greek Wines. The most important reason for such success and popularity of the wines of Greece is the favorable climate of the country. Greece has always experienced warm summers and mild winters which makes it a perfect place for growing different varieties of grapes. There exist a number of varieties of grapes which are grown locally by the vineyard owners. Even these vineyard owners can easily use these varieties to produce and launch their own product. Now-a-days most of the vineyard owners are also producers of different unique brands of wines by using their indigenous grape varieties. They also use some foreign grape varieties which are not native to the country and are planted in the already existing vineyards. A remarkable thing to know about the true wine a connoisseur is that they always remain in search of some foreign brand of wine instead of the local one in order to experience something different than the usual French or Italian product. Regarding the above factor, most of the wine lovers belonging from the elite class of the society are moving towards the Greek wines because they are really exceptional and matchless in the world of wine-making.
In the recent era, Greek wines are available in every wine store. Some wine brands from importers may also be available online. The Greek vineyard owners are continually taking advantage of the perfect climatic conditions of Greece and are producing wines to fulfill the demands of local as well as international markets. The climate of Greece is perfectly and very appropriate for the production of different varieties of grapes and the vineyard owners continue to introduce new brands of wines to the markets time to time thus efficiently competing the international wine market. Before 1990, Greek wines consisted of only two brands, Demestica and Retsina.
During the 21st century, the Greek vineyard owners and wine producers realized to introduce some modern methods of wine production in order to improve the quality of their products. For the purpose, they visited various countries of the world which were famous for wine making and learned new and improved techniques of wine production and after getting back to their home country used those methods on their own grape varieties to produce wines with improved quality. Luckily their experiments were successful and they were able to produce numerous high quality brands of wines using indigenous as well as imported or foreign varieties of grapes. In Greece one of the most famous varieties of grapes used in wine making is named as “Assyrtiko”. This variety is now termed as “the Chablis of Greece.” Greek Wines have got international fame and are popular around the globe owing to their quality and variety of brands. It is evident from the production of wine in Greece that they are the best competitors in the world wine market. This was the reason that the Greek wines won the gold award in 2012 at the Decanter World Wine awards. Some other wine producing industries like Gaia, Lyrakis, Estate Argyros and Domaine Gerovassilou were also able to win gold awards. One of these industries uses grapes produced on island’s volcanic soil which is rich in mineral contents and imparts a unique flavor to the final product. This industry has a team of well trained workers and officers which have enough knowledge of the viticulture and are using their expertise to produce the best wine brands of the world. By the efforts of these workers Gaia was able to win gold award. Naturally the wine tastes better within the country where those grapes are grown from which it is produced. It is a routine habit of most of the people to share a bottle of wine with friends while sitting on a balcony with a sea view.