Οld vines

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Old vines are spread throughout different Greek PDO and PGI regions and are a common feature of Greece’s vineyards. Be it in the region of PGI Attiki (ΠΓΕ Αττική), the 50+ bush vines of Savatiano grape planted after phylloxera has passed, or the centenarian old basket-trained “kouloures” in Santorini, these vines hide a great ampelographic heritage that is unique to Greece.

In more isolated areas, such as the southern part of Crete, field-blends of old, bush-trained vines are planted to almost extinct grape varieties that the new generation of Greek winemakers are keen to explore. The mountainous part of Achaia, the so-called PGI Slopes of Aigialia (ΠΓΕ Πλαγιές Αιγιαλείας) is also a treasure chest of ancient grape varieties that were preserved from old vine-growers and nowadays are re-discovered and add to the diversity of the Greek vineyard.

Cephalonia (Kefalonia) and the Ionian islands are also home to a great number of old vines from rare indigenous grape varieties. In the most remote Greek regions phylloxera didn’t arrive and thus a number old, own-rooted, vines have been preserved. In other regions, such as Santorini or Amyndeon, due to the sandy soils, phylloxera cannot survive. Where phylloxera did not manage to attack the vines, there is still a significant number of old vines.

In many cases old-vines are perfectly adapted to their local environment. For example, the old Savatiano vines in Attiki are extremely resistant to the dry, warm climatic conditions of the region. Very often, such old vineyards display a great biodiversity among the vines, contributing to great complexity and enhancing the sense of terroir in the wines.

The term old vines, vieilles vignes, or similar, indicate an old vineyard on the label. According to the Greek wine law, the use of these terms in PDO and PGI wines applies only to ungrafted vines with a minimum age of 40 years old.

Climate change in the Greek vineyard

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Greek producers are already discussing the impacts of climate change and this is a “trendy” and much worried discussion among the industry members. Climate change is not just about the global warming. With so much depending on the soils, the slopes orientation, the grape variety and all those factors that determine the local terroir, the impact of climate change on the grapes and the wines can be very different.

Increasingly, severe weather – especially late spring frosts, violent hail storms, severe droughts, prolonged heatwaves and frequent flooding – are proving nightmares for winemakers as well as other crop growers. A combination of earlier ripening and spring frosts significantly reduces the growth cycle of vines. In the longer term, it seems possible that varieties could gradually be changed because they may become unsuitable for their wine regions. Does this mean that Naoussa will become unsuitable for the production of Xinomavro in the future?

All the above create mixed feelings and such theories although existing will not apply any time soon. The positive thing is that Greece has a few great advantages against the severity of climate change and this is something that not every country can count on. First of all, it has a wealth of indigenous grape varieties found in the Greek vineyard. Many of these old grapes are extremely adapted to difficult wine-growing conditions. This vinodiversity is a major advantage against the rapid changes that climate change brings.

A second tool against the climate change is the mountainous topography of Greece. In warm regions, such as PGI Drama (ΠΓΕ Δράμα) producers are tackling climate change by planting new vineyards at higher altitudes. The increased alcohol levels and the loss of freshness can be counterbalanced by altitude, which delays the maturation process and leads to later harvests of technologically matured grapes.

Words such as sustainability, environmental protection, responsibility, awareness are heard more and more often among the conversations that take place. With a wonderful climate and human scale of production, Greece can contribute to the fight against the phenomenon of global warming.

Greek Wine and Culture

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In the history of humankind, many have been the cultures whose foundations were anchored on winegrowing and winemaking. Even today, a great many people instinctively think that wine equals culture. During prehistoric times, in lands where the climate favored winegrowing, the “birth” of a civilization and its culture would not be far behind and vice versa: Once that culture had sprung forth, its prosperity and welfare would be closely associated with vine and wine. That is no coincidence: Winegrowing presupposes settling in one place and abandoning nomadic pursuits. It can flourish on poor soil, leaving fertile ground to crops and other cultivations. Winemaking necessitates specialized know-how and practices, while its commercial aspect necessitates the existence of transport and expertise on commercial transactions, economy, and shipping, to name but a few. One such culture, the most illustrious one and the one with the longest course in history, has been the Greek culture of wine.

 

The ancient Greeks discovered wine as nature’s gift and turned it into a work of art. Greek wine and culture grew side by side, becoming timeless treasures which left their indelible stamp on history. And although Christianity, espoused by the Greeks of Byzantium, initially pitted itself against the ancient Greek culture, it eventually came to acknowledge and do more than any other means to promulgate two ancient Greek values: the ancient language and the rich winegrowing heritage of Greece. Over time, the Byzantine culture and Christian Orthodox art became the embodiment of Greece, abounding in symbolism and references alluding to vine and wine. Mosaics, religious icons, monastic scrolls, folklore art and demotic songs, all are keepsakes of that symbolism. The renowned Byzantine wines of the Aegean Sea and of the other areas of Greece became worthy ambassadors of a culture which, for centuries, shone like a beacon upon the West, piercing the darkness enveloping medieval Europe.

 

Yet, Greek wine and culture were not influential on Greece alone. Those who would come to the country as conquerors, together with the Greek culture, they also adopted or exploited -forcefully or peacefully, Greece’s famous wines, amassing fame and profit for their purposes and furthering their own cultures. The Roman culture, apart from adopting the deity of Dionysus in his new persona as Bacchus, also adopted numerous of the country’s winegrowing and winemaking techniques, together with the much touted wines coming out of the Greek vineyards. As early as medieval times, the Venetians and other European seafaring powers used Greek wines as their main source of revenue on their voyages, while the Ottoman Empire gathered wealth by taxing the renowned Greek wine production, or simply by co-existing with the Christian Greeks who had never lost their “wine” instinct or genes.

 

Vine and wine are interwoven with the everyday life of several countries’ inhabitants around the world. In Greece, wine in everyday life is an ancient affair, as ancient as time immemorial. Cultivation of the vine as well as wine production and its consumption throughout the ages have been linked to Greece’s everyday life with ties whose origins are lost down the passage of time. The products and the wine stemming from the vine are cultural, social, and nutritional staples of Greeks and Greek life.

 

In Greece, from prehistoric times to the present, wine in everyday life, as a complement to nutrition, as a part of religion, or as pure pleasure, has always been inextricably intertwined with Greek collective memory and, in all likelihood, has been etched into the Greek DNA.

 

Greek wine and culture are two concepts inextricably linked to each other. In today’s Greece, Greek wine and culture continue to be as “one”. On the very same soils as their forefathers, the Greek winegrowers and winemakers continue to cultivate their vineyards, bestowing on the world through their new wine culture, the fruit born of the Greek sun and of the Greek land. The new vineyards of Greece are thus the creative products of a people whose vine and wine history is the same as that of its culture!