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Wine
production in Greece dates back to ancient times. Early colonization
lead to the spread of the vine throughout Greece to other parts
of the Mediterranean. Wine is produced throughout the country. Specifically,
there are four main growing regions in Greece: Northern Greece,
Central Greece, Peloponnese and the Islands. Depending on the location
of the vineyards, the vines are either bush vines or trained on
wires. Currently, there are approximately 186,000 hectares of land
under vine. Approximately 97,000 hectares are planted with vitis
vinfiera varieties.
The
modernization of the Greek wine trade began in 1937 when the Wine
Institute of Athens was established. The institute experiments with
wine making techniques and serves as a consultant to wine makers.
In 1971, unified movements to improve the quality of Greek wine
began with the establishment of the first wine laws. Ten years later,
Greece joined the European Economic Community and adopted their
viticultural policies. The important Legislative Wine Categories
are as follows:
| Term |
Definition |
|
| O.P.A.P |
Dry
wine described as Appellation of Superior Quality. The wines
are named after a specific geographic location. According to
EU law, a specific grape variety must be used in making the
appellation wine. A pink seal over the cork signifies this. |
| Topikos
Oinos |
Equivalent
to the French Vin de Pays. The name of the region can replace
the word "Oinos" on the label. |
Epitrapezos
Oinos
Cava
|
Still
wine with minimum aging requirements. Red wines require a minimum
of three years in the cellar and a minimum of one year in the
bottle. White wines require two years of cellar aging with optional
bottle aging. |
| Appellation
by Tradition |
Wine
that is recognized as an exclusive Greek product, for example,
Retsina. |
| O.P.E. |
Controlled
Appellation of Origin for sweet wines produced from the Muscat
or Mavrodaphne grapes. A blue seal over the cork signifies this
appellation. |
Selected
producers are successfully growing noble grape varieties such as
Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay and Merlot. These varieties are not
included in the quality wine category. All wines produced by foreign
grapes are considered table wine.
**In
order to declare a wine from a specific vintage, a minimum of 85%
of the wine must be from the declared year.**
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