- Lesbian wine
Lesbian wine is
wine made from the Greek island of Lesbos in theAegean Sea . The island has a long history ofwinemaking dating back to at least the7th century BC when it was mentioned in the works ofHomer (Odyssey X.235). During this time the area competed with the wines ofChios for the Greek market. Anapocryphal account details one of the brothers of the poetSappho as a merchant trading Lesbian wine with the Greek colony ofNaucratis inEgypt . The most noted Lesbian wine was known as "Pramnian" which draws similarities today to theHungarian wine Eszencia. H. Johnson "Vintage: The Story of Wine" pg 44 Simon and Schuster 1989 ISBN 0671687026 ] The popularity of Lesbian wine continued into Roman times where it was highly valued along with other Aegean wines of Chios,Thasos andKos . J. Robinson (ed) "The Oxford Companion to Wine" Third Edition pg 5 Oxford University Press 2006 ISBN 0198609906 ]Viticulture and wine
The warm
Mediterranean climate of Lesbos provides a suitable climate forviticulture to flourish. While the exact grapes for the Pramnian are not known, its method of production was recorded. The grapes were allowed to hang on the vine, like that of alate harvest wine , till they were at their ripest points. After harvest, they were piled in large containers to where the weight of the clusters crushed the grapes underneath them producing free run juice without the use of awine press . This juice was said to be very thick and a sort ofnectar . The resulting grapemust is very high insugar and even after a brief fermentation period it still retains high residual levels and creates aviscous , honeyed sweet wine. The Pramnian was described as "smelling of flowers" (Greek: ανθοσμίας, "anthosmias") by ancient writers, a characteristic found nowadays in themuscat s produced in the nearby islands of Samos andLemnos .Other types of Pramnian
While Lesbos is considered by some scholars to be the main source of Pramnian, there is association of the name with wines from
Smyrna andIcaria . The Greek writerAthenaeus used the term in almost ageneric way to refer to any dark, long lived wine of good quality. Athenaeus description also paints a different description than of a Tokay-like wine, instead of a wine that is dry and very strong. J. Robinson (ed) "The Oxford Companion to Wine" Third Edition pg 328 Oxford University Press 2006 ISBN 0198609906 ]Modern winemaking
Lesbian wine is still being produced today privately, mainly for home consumption. The only commercial winery of the island, called Methymneos [" [http://www.methymneos.gr Methymneos Winery Website] " Accessed Jan. 28th, 2008] , is in the village of
Chidira . [M. Barret " [http://www.greecefoods.com/wine/index.html A Guide to Greek Wine] " Accessed Nov. 26th, 2007]ee also
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Ancient Greece and wine References
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