Retsina is a Greek white resinated wine, which has been made for at least 2,000 years. Its unique flavor is said to have originated from the practice of sealing wine vessels, particularly amphorae, with Aleppo pine resin in ancient times. Before the invention of impermeable glass bottles, oxygen caused many wines to spoil within the year. Pine resin helped keep air out, while infusing the wine with resin aroma. The Romans began to use barrels in the 3rd century AD, removing any oenological necessity for resin, but the flavor itself was so popular that the style is still widespread today.
A bottle of retsina from the Greek producer Kourtaki
Retsina Malamatina
Pine resin
Greece is one of the oldest wine-producing regions in the world and among the first wine-producing territories in Europe. The earliest evidence of Greek wine has been dated to 6,500 years ago
Vineyard in Naoussa, central Macedonia
Moschofilero grapes
Dionysus with Hermes, a silenus and grapes
Wine boy at a symposium