History Flashcards
Historically, the height of the Greek wine culture took place during was it referred to as the Empire’s “Golden Age”. When was that?
Around 500-300 BCE
Back in the days, a wide variety of substances were added to Greek wines to protect the wine from oxidation and mask off-flavours. Which additive is still used in the production of a unique wine from Greece? What is the name of said wine?
Pine resin continues to be used to day in the production of Retsina.
Which major event of political nature had the consequence of effectively preventing Greece from exporting its own produce and wine in the 2nd century BCE?
The integration of Greece within the larger Roman Empire, which introduced wines from elsewhere in the Empire.
Following the Roman Empire, under which two Empires did the decline of the Greek wine industy continued?
First, under the Byzantine Empire and then under the Ottoman Empire (at that point wine was only produced for consumption in and around the village where the grapes were grown).
When was the modern Greek state established?
1830
Which occupying people destroyed most of Greece’s agricultural land when retreating from the actual territory of modern Greece?
The Ottomans
5 wars prevented the recovery of the Greek wine industry in the 20th century. List them in chronological order.
- First Balkan War
(1912-1913) - Second Balkan War
(1913) - WWI
(1914-1918) - WW2
(1939-1945) - Greek Civil War
(1946-1949)
When did phylloxera appear in Macedonia?
1898
What was the outsider’s general perception of Greece’s wine industry for most of the 20th century until the 70s-80s?
Source of cheap, often poorly made wine, in particular Retsina, produced mainly by cooperatives and a handful of large companies.
How does the outsider’s perception of Greece’s wine industry starts to change in the 1980s?
Rapid rise in the number of small quality-minded producers (some who had worked for larger companies and benefited from the growth of Greek economy), leading to the creation of modern Greek wine culture of estate-produced, higher-quality wines.
Which major event of economic nature led to a significant drop in domestic wine consumption, forcing producers to look to the export market in the early 21st century?
The financial crisis of 2008
When did Greece join the EU and what did it gain access to in the process?
In 1981 and it gained access to funding.
Around 2500 BCE, the vine was brought, via trade, to which Bronze Age civilization of Crete?
The Minoan Bronze Age civilization of Crete
The successors of the Minoans spread cultivation of the vine from Crete to other islands in the Aegean, and to the mainland of Greece. Who were they?
The Mycenaeans
What type of pine was traditionally used for its resin in the making of Retsina?
Aleppo pine resin (Pinus halepensis, Pin d’Alep, Jerusalem Pine, native to the Mediterranean region)
