W i n e T r a d e
W i n e t r a d e
From very early on, Minoan ships sailed to the countries of the Eastern Mediterranean in order to establish trade relations, especially with the cosmopolitan Syrian city, Ugarit. According to the researchers, Cretanshad a “trade attaché” recognized by the local authoritiessince the 17th century BC. This researchers’ conclusion is the one cited by Thucydides as a Minoan maritime empire.
Wine Trade In The Bronze Age
From very early on, Minoan ships sailed to the countries of the Eastern Mediterranean in order to establish trade relations, especially with the cosmopolitan Syrian city, Ugarit. According to the researchers,Cretanshad a “trade attaché” recognized by the local authoritiessince the 17th century BC.This researchers’conclusion is the one cited by Thucydides as a Minoan maritime empire.
Researchers have conventionally divided the Mediterranean world into ‘beer cultures’ in Mesopotamia and Egypt and ‘wine cultures’ in Syro-Palestine and Crete (from the middle of the 3rd millennium BC).
In linear A and B tablets, we find an ideographic sign dated from 1800 to 1200 BC, almost unaltered, in which the ideogram (symbol) of wine has been recognized. The abundance of wine presses, vases, as well as archaeobotanical remains (‘pips’, etc.), which researchers associate with wine, indicates vine cultivation and wine production with a lasting and symbolic value.
Only a few written records of the Bronze Age in the Aegean area exist. However, small and large stirrup jars have been found in Cyprus, confirming the two-way export of liquids (and probably wine) between the two islands. According to an announcement by the Democritus Archaeometry Laboratory, wine residues were detected in vases found in the port of Kommosfrom the Nile Delta in Egypt.
All of the above indicateextensive trading relationships between Crete and the civilizations of the eastern Mediterranean during the Bronze Age. However, there is no reliable evidence of wine trade between them andwhether Crete exported or imported wine. In Minoan art, the representation of vines is rare; however, the abundance of wine-making facilities and vesselsfound in Minoan settlement centers show that the Minoan table was adorned with grapes and wine.
Wine Trade In The Greco-Roman Era
Since Mycenaean times, wine has already been part of the basic food triad. Due to colonization, which began in the 8th century BC, the Mediterranean gradually evolved into a ‘Greek lake’. Thus, with the growth of urban populations, the demand for wine increased constantly. Trade from rural to urban areas, as well as long-distance commerce, including often finer quality wines, flourished to further destinations. Many types of Greek wines are mentioned in the literature, and, as inscriptions found in Thasos reveal, standards were established, defining the trade, the distribution of wine, and the control of its quality certification. One element that distinguished the Greeks’ perception of wine from that of other cultures was the custom of diluting it with water before drinking it at a private dinner or banquet. As far as Crete is concerned, domestic wine consumption was well known. Some stamped amphorae handles found in Alexandria testify to the export of Cretan wine in the 2nd century BC.
With the domination of the Romans in Crete, a period of political stability began since the wars between the cities ceased and the piracy was eliminated. From the 1st century AD, Cretan wine production took a new turn. The high consumption of wine in Rome led to the golden age of Cretan wine production. The plains and hills of Crete were transformed into vast vineyards, which reached up to 800 meters altitude on Psiloritis, as the wine presses and the fenced enclosures testify. The most famous wine is the sweet Cretan wine (Passum Creticum of the Latin writers), made naturally, according to Dioscorides, from grapes must left exposed to the sun for a few days after harvesting to enhance the full and advanced ripening of the grapes. Cretan wines traveled to Europe and North Africa in clay vases, the well-known Cretan amphorae. Good quality Cretan wine is attested in Pompeii, and wine from Lyttos in Neapolis. Grape ripening facilities (opsigiades) are preserved on Psiloritis (Kalyvos) at high altitudes next to grape presses.
Wine Trade During The Venetian Rule in Crete
During the early years of Venetian rule in Crete (after 1211), the rural areas were in rebellion most of the time, so there was no concern for the production of agricultural products.
Later, during the 15th century, the demand for Crete’s famous sweet wines from Italy and Western Europe led to the expansion of cultivation in the countryside. Viticulture was profitable due to wine exports, and thus, Cretan vine growers gradually specialized in growing ‘Venetian vines’, i.e., vines cultivated to produce quality wines for export.
The Venetians, realizing the importance of Cretan wine distribution worldwide at that time, enhanced its reputation to promote it in all European markets since wine was in high demand by all social classes in the Middle Ages. They organized convoys from Egypt and Syria to the port of Chandax, but also the East, Bosporus, the mouth of the Danube, and the city of Lvov or Lviv, an important transit center in Eastern and Central Europe. They encouraged the inhabitants to plant new vineyards to replace the old ones and granted land to those interested in systematically cultivating vineyards. Vineyards in the central and eastern parts were cultivated in coastal or mountainous areas, and wine production constantly increased.
Scholars describe the first half of the 15th century as “half a century of prosperity”. Economic growth continued and reached a peak in the following century. The Cretan wine ‘Malvasia’ was famous and was exported in large quantities by commercial ship convoys throughout Europe, as far away as England. Travelers report that wine exports from Crete in 1573 amounted to 10.000-12.000 tonnes.
In 1415, the traveler Christoforo Buondelmonti reported that ‘ships arrived here (Chandax) from all parts of the world and loaded, every year, at least twenty thousand barrels of wine of excellent quality’.
Wine trade in the last two centuries
Despite all efforts to maintain viniculture and wine production in Crete during the Ottoman period, it could not retain at the levels of Venetian rule. Thus, after 1821, the Cretans were not only unable to meet their needs but they also imported wine. During Egyptian rule, an effort was made to enhance grape cultivation; new vines were planted, thus increasing the production of raisins and wine, as well as the cessation of imports.
In the middle of the 19th century, despite the problems of product transportation due to the lack of safe routes, the phylloxera that affected the vineyards of Western Europe caused the resumption of Cretan wine and Cretan raki exports. In 1878, the export of wine reached 12 thousand tonnes, as much as during the Venetian rule. At the same time, the rise of raisin exports competed with wine exports to Russia, Constantinople, and Egypt, as well as raki exports, although the latter were less compared to wine and raisins.
In the following years, and especially during the period of autonomy in Crete, a great effort was made for the island’s economic recovery. As part of this effort, the focus was on the growth of agriculture. Thus, agricultural stations were established, crops were protected by legislative decrees, an agricultural service was established, and exhibitions were held to promote the island’s agricultural products.
Viticulture and winemaking were part of the family’s agricultural employment; the exports were limited, and the surplus wine often became cognac or other alcoholic products. Efforts to improve the cultivation conditions were evident. More resistant varieties of vines were planted, and fertilizers were used to a limited extent. At the same time, winegrowers and wine merchants formed an association to protect professional rights and ensure better selling prices for wine.
