“The people of the Mediterranean began to emerge from barbarism when they learned to cultivate oil and the vine.” Thucydides, Greek Historian
This quote is also in H. Johnson’s book The Story of Wine. But many countries learned about viticulture from the Greeks as they were located fairly centrally to trade routes throughout Europe. The Greeks did it first in the Neolithic “New Stone Age” Period (10,000-4500 B.C.E.) It marked the beginning of fixed houses as opposed to Nomadic living. The earliest known wine press was found near Crete from which viticulture spread throughout the Aegean Sea. The cultivated grapes, which were trained on trellises, were called hemeris, which meant tamed. The amphoras and kraters from Greece have been found from what was once called Gaul (modern day France) and as far away as parts of Russia. These amphoras and kraters were decorated with wine scenes in Greece. The krater was a way to move larger amounts of wine 1000 liters (260 gallons).
The Peristera, an 2000 year old Greek shipwreck located at the bottom of the Aegean Sea at a depth of 92 feet, is available for viewing between August 3 through October 2 if you’re a certified scuba diver. It contains a large amount of wine amphoras of Greek origin, though we don’t know which wine.
My Bubie would say to put a bit of vodka on a baby’s gums when they were teething. But it was the Greeks who started that, not my Russian relatives. The Greeks prescribed different wines for different ailments including cures for fevers as well as antiseptic. The Greeks even devised a measurement system for how much wine to consume. Three bowls of wine were the correct amount according to the poet Eubulus (who lived in the mid 300’s B.C.E.) in his play Dionysus (375 B.C.E.). He was also a comedian so take it with a grain of salt but people took it as a rule of thumb, “Three bowls do I mix for the temperate: one to health, which they empty first; the second to love and pleasure; the third to sleep. When the bowl is drunk up, wise guests go home. The fourth bowl is ours no longer, but belongs to violence ; the fifth to uproar; the sixth to drunken revel; the seventh to black eyes; the eighth is the policeman’s; the ninth belongs to biliousness; and the tenth to madness and the hurling of furniture.”
It only makes sense that we can attribute the Greeks for one of our favorite passed appetizers when made in little pastry puff pockets. The Greeks having been making cheese and spinach pies since the 5th Century. Originally, they used fig leaves. Spinach originated in the Middle East and merchants brought it to Spain. It travelled throughout Europe during the Byzantine Empire. By the 9th Century, Greeks were making these spinach pies called Spanakopita. It pairs well with Malvasia Bianca. The sweetness in the wine balances the saltiness of the cheese.
Greek Spanakopita
Filling
1 lb. of sauteed spinach drained (use a paper towel to dry off moisture) cool
2 cups of chopped fresh parsley
1 large chopped onion browned
2 minced garlic cloves
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons of sundried tomatoes
¼ of a cup chopped sweet yellow pepper
2 teaspoons of fresh dill
4 eggs
10 ½ ounces of crumbled feta cheese
4 pastry sheets phyllo dough (comes frozen, so thaw in fridge overnight)
Mix all filling ingredients.
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spread the phyllo dough in a casserole or pie dish, brushing either melted butter or olive oil between each layer.
The sheets will tear. That’s ok. Just keep a few nice ones for top. Add filling and use a few sheets for top. Bake for one hour.
