This Greek wine is not for the faint of heart.

The myth is told that on Mount Olympus the gods and goddesses drank nectar, a honey wine. Down on the rocky soil of Greece mere mortals drank something much stronger.

Retsina is a favorite wine of the Greeks. It is not a type of grape, but instead a way of making wine. Retsina is a white or rosé wine flavored with pine pitch.

You may be shaking your head, but the practice has strong historical roots. More than 3,000 years ago the earliest wine makers often treated clay vessels with pine pitch to store and ship wine. The resin protected the wine from oxidation and covered the flavor of wine that may have spoiled. The flavor of the pine pitch became an essential part of Greek wine.

Classical Greece wine production reached a high level of sophistication and a system of appellation designation was established. It was the ancient Greeks that brought winemaking to settlements in Asia Minor, the Black Sea, Marseilles, Southern Italy, and the Iberian Peninsula. Genetic analysis of grapes cultivated in Spain and Southern Italy can be traced to ancient Greek strains. Modern Greek varieties such as Limnio, Athiri, Aïdani, and Muscat are surviving examples of ancient grape varieties.

When wine began to be stored in glass bottles pine pitch was no longer needed. Instead it was added as a flavoring to the wine. Stop! Before passing judgement, remember that oak evolved as a flavor component of wine in much the same way.

Until the 1950s Retsina represented only a small portion of Greek winemaking. With the increased tourist trade in the latter part of the 20th century many new travellers to Greece experienced Retsina and equated it with all Greek wine. Today many Greek vintners are striving to bring Greek wine out of the Retsina shadow. Many of the wines being produced today in Greece are blends of traditional Greek varieties, such as Ximomavro and Agiorgitiko, with Cabernets and Merlots. These hybrids are friendly wines intended to be an introduction to Greek wines in the world market, and raise awareness of the quality of indigenous Greek varieties.

The unique flavor of these wines pairs well with Greek food. Retsina should be served very cold. If you would like to try another Greek wine, try Agiorgitiko a dry red, with a fruity aroma. It is a medium-bodied similar to Merlot. Robolla is a dry white, with good acidity, and a citrus aroma.