A. A Walk on the Wine Side : an Appreciation of the Divine Dionysos and the History of Wine in Greece.

In my last post I said we would visit the Gerovassiliou winery – and so we shall. But first we’ll take a Dionysian detour, a promenade into the past to learn about the history of wine in Greece. 

 Wine has held a dear and dominant place in Greek culture for over 4,000 years as many archaeological finds attest to. In Ancient Greece the importance of Dionysos - one of the most worshipped gods, the god of wine - tells us much about the significance of wine in the daily life of the people. Dionysos, the son of Zeus and Semeli, was the only god to have a mortal mother. He is said to have been the youngest and the last to be accepted into the Olympian godly group. He was also known as Vakhos, the name adopted by the Romans as Bacchus. Some say his origins lay in Thrace where he was worshipped as the god of fertility with ‘unseemly’ ceremonies of debauchery.

 As his worship spread, he became more associated with wine and wine-making. Certainly, by the 6^th century B.C. he was worshipped throughout Greece. Participants in his mysteries enjoyed wine, music and dance – consequently enjoying freedom from fear, care and restraint.  The development of Greek theatre is also attributed to him in that the use of masks is said to have derived from the ancient Dionysian cult and mysteries.  A great celebration, the Dionysia, was held in Athens every March to welcome the arrival of spring …. and to sample the new season’s wine.  

We can see, then, how this deity was seen to enrich the lives of ordinary people as well as inspire actors, artists and philosophers. Intellectual gatherings were arranged where thinkers would eat, drink and discuss prearranged philosophical issues. These gatherings were called ‘symposia’, from syn: together and posis: drinking. Our adjective ‘potable’ i.e. drinkable, claims the same lexical root. 

But we no longer have the frenzy of the previous Thracian celebrations – moderation was the key. While the Greeks quaffed their wine for philosophical inspiration and clarity of thought, it always had water added. And here’s another item of semantic interest: what they drank was kekramenos oinos – diluted wine – served from a kratir, the vessel where the krasi (first syllable stress) tou oinou, the mixing of the wine, took place. The word krasi, now with final syllable stress, is, as any tourist worth his salt knows, the Modern Greek word for wine. 

Just imagine if we could tune into the conversation of these relaxed, reclining figures! 

                                                                              

 It is in Crete that the earliest signs of wine production have been discovered, dating back to the middle of the 3^rd millennium B.C.. Items brought to light include clay wine presses, wine cups, amphorae – the two-handled  vessel from amphi : on both sides and phoreus : a bearer – and even grape seeds. Among the very interesting finds at King Minos’ palace of Knossos were the amazingly well-preserved wine containers.

 In the Peloponnese, excavations from the Mycenaean civilization, from 1600-1100 B.C., have uncovered gold and silver goblets, evidence of a sophisticated, wine-loving culture. Among these finds was the gold cup of Nestor mentioned in Homer’s Iliad.   

 Homer, too, referred to the amphorae, tall clay pots with pointed bases, which Greeks traded with throughout their known world. The design of these pots meant they could be efficiently stacked in large quantities and used as ballast on their trading ships. Their design features can also help us ascertain where the wine-growing areas were: the islands of Chios, Crete, Lesvos, Rhodes, as well as Macedonia and Thrace on the mainland. 

 Below you can see some shell-encrusted amphorae reclaimed from shipwrecks from the sea-bed. Seals and symbols on these pots can tell us of the time and place of wine production, as well as of the maker or merchant.

                 

            

The Greeks carried their wine-making skills to their colonies In Sicily and Italy around the 8^th century B.C. In the 1^st century B.C., Cretan viticulture was at a peak and amphorae from there have been found in France, Switzerland and Italy.  

 During the Byzantine era, Greek wine-making continued. Though Orthodox Christianity forbade the worship of Dionysos, the use of wine in religious ceremonies continued just as it had in the past. Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Greeks, was known as ‘Winbourg’: the city of wine. 

  

                                                          

The fine design and elaborate craftsmanship of these containers indicate how important sharing wine was in society. The container on the right greatly reminds me of the Celtic quaich, the shallow drinking cup, or the ‘cup of kindness’ mentioned in the New Year anthem, “Auld Lang Syne’.

The fall of the empire saw a decline in wine trading. During the four-hundred-year period of occupation, the Turks discouraged wine-making and consumption, and the high taxes they levied on it were all instrumental in wine-making skills becoming less the domain of local farmers and more the preserve of the monasteries.

At the end of the 19^th century, in 1898, an outbreak of phylloxera blight destroyed the vineyards in Macedonia and caused great damage to other wine-growing areas. The twentieth century saw Greece face other catastrophes: the Balkan Wars, World Wars I and II, the Civil War and the ensuing major wave of emigration. 

These events meant that to a great extent viticulture was abandoned. 

But, thankfully, our tale does not end there …….

Professional Tics, Halkidiki Holiday and M&S means Mean and Stingy.

Do their jobs make the people like that, or is that what makes people choose their profession?  Perhaps it’s a chicken-or-egg question.  What I’m referring to is the professional tic: where some doctors are convinced they’re suffering from every ailment under the sun and chefs find it hard to sit down and enjoy a meal without assessing every morsel consumed. 

For me it’s a red-pen reaction: spelling mistakes jump out at me from billboards, menus, you name it. The only good thing is I don’t go into automatic correction mode quite so much these days as much experience of seeing the same mistakes again and again now has me doubting which the correct form is! My sister was housekeeper at Durham Castle and I tease her about suffering from dust-sensitive index-finger syndrome: any unsuspecting surface can be almost imperceptibly swiped and the index-finger surface inspected to see what lurks on that other surface! Which is why my spring-cleaning was put on fast-forward and into top gear prior to sis’s arrival here for a wee holiday with her husband.

 So, are we born with predisposition within us and work experience brings it to the fore, or is it just a case of fortuitous selection, the perfect professional pairing? Whatever it is, I’m happy to say that her quarters passed muster – or at least I assume they did as we heard no complaint from our first-of-the-season guests.

And the season was opening, too, at the Kassandra Mare hotel in Halkidiki, where we spent a few days by the sea. We had managed to get a really good deal of bed and breakfast with evening meal included. What struck us right away was the wonderful location, just by the beach, and the beautiful pool, framed by palm trees and bushes of every soothing hue of green. Our rooms were simply furnished, but clean with piping hot water at any hour of the day; the staff were welcoming, cheery and helpful.

                      

One added bonus: if H ever began to weary for the company of his doggie, the friendly family pet, Hugo, was there ready to receive attention- isn’t he a handsome hound?

                                                       

     

After having a mosey around in the afternoon, and meeting on our balcony for cocktails, we went down for dinner. Now, given we were there on-the-cheap, and that the place had not yet filled up with guests, we did not expect to have much of a choice at the dinner buffet.  And that’s where we were more than pleasantly surprised: here is Nana flanked by the spread that she had prepared for us.  We like our food and we really liked her good food too.

We had the choice of meat rissoles served with either Chinese vegetable noodles or chips; there were also stuffed tomatoes and peppers, pasta and Brussels sprouts. The latter was a real eye-opener of a dish - cooked beautifully al dente and served with strands of sweet pepper, it bore no resemblance whatsoever to the over-boiled, watery mush that is still served Brit-side!

 

                        

 

Another dinner we had included beef cooked with aubergines, fried fish, roasted vegetables and spaghetti neapolitaine. As if that weren’t enough, Nana encouraged us to sample several dishes - and then, of course, there was a variety of salads  … for really healthy eating. We all gained pounds but we don’t regret the experience, so there!

 Now pizza for breakfast might not be what you had in mind, but there were lots of other things to choose from including, cheese pie, all kinds of cereal, boiled eggs, cheeses, ham, fruit and gorgeous, creamy Greek yoghurt with honey - yum! Just one problem: hard to concentrate on your meal when you have a magnificent backdrop to distract you.

            

                                           

 

 Exercise was a must, so off we went to visit the nearby port of Nea Moudania. We walked along the sea front then up to the headland, admiring some imposing villas with impeccably maintained gardens.                                                     

                                                                                                                                 

 And just in case we should find ourselves feeling peckish (??) Marina took us to her taverna-name-sake for a glass and a nibble. Here we are enjoying our al fresco snack – but take a good look at that black top I’m wearing for therein lies a tale - and a sorry one at that.

 

                           

A very ordinary, recently purchased, short-sleeved, black M&S top was to be the bane of my holiday. At the table I noticed the tips of my nails had turned a strange mauve shade – we put it down to nail varnish. But when I saw that my white watch, handbag and white trews had all been stained, we could see the top was the culprit.

 Thus I found myself at the main store on Tsimiski Street, about to launch into my complaint for the sales assistant. Now they said she was responsible for handling complaints – I would have said she played front-line defence who saw her role to obstruct, deconstruct, discredit and dismantle any semblance of a reasoned complaint, to bully a beef, to crush every carp, to whittle away at a whinge.  I hadn’t even extracted the offending article from the bag when she told me it was no top but jeans that had caused the stain. Duh – how had jeans stained my white trousers? - I make no habit of wearing two similar garments simultaneously. When she saw the top she asked aggressively if I had washed it before wearing … and why not. So much for my non-salubrious sartorial system. But it was when she dismissively tossed my trousers aside and said since they were not an M&S product that compensation for their damage would not be considered – the M&S tag was readily visible, if one took the trouble to look  - that I decided this conversation was over and I needed to commune at a higher level. In fact, since we were talking – rather animatedly- about staining, one might say Marks and Sparks flew! 

Now I have to say that from here on in things did improve as far as interaction quality was concerned both from the local manageress and from the boss in Athens – no, I don’t give up easily!  Call me an infamous grouser if you will, but when I feel something is wrong, I will fully address it. And my gripe is the store policy on compensation: that despite the fact that their product was not fit for purpose – they did compensate in full for that – and had spoiled other items, only their own products were considered as worthy of   compensation. And then - wait for this - their assessed value was original cost price with devaluation factored in. 

 I only buy things if I really fall in love with them and will often keep them as ‘good’ to be worn or used on special occasions only. Such was my handbag. By dint of colour it was a summer one and so had seen few outings. The fact that it was now set at a value of only 25 euros when handbags of equivalent style, size and material were on sale in the store for around 150 euros had me flabbergasted. The items had been ruined and needed to be replaced. Surely their value should be set at the level of replacement, i.e. current cost,  not as if one were trading in a battered old banger?  

 As a Brit living abroad, I’m sure some of you will understand me when I say that the store, albeit operating on franchise, held lots of positive associations for me: a strong link with the homeland, like roast beef and Yorkshire puddings, a product quality that was assumed and appreciated, Christmas puddings that one rushed to get while stocks lasted. Store policies are not established to discredit the store standing, they are not Moses Scripted – they are Man-made Systems   and should be Managed Sensitively.

As a long-term, loyal customer, I am disappointed to say right now for me M&S means Mean & Stingy.

It’s enough to drive you to drink - which is why our next stop was a visit to the Gerovassiliou winery.

                                              

More on that next time - Cheers!