For the ancient Greeks, how you drank wine was a test of whether you were civilized at all. And when they sailed west, they carried the vine with them — planting the seed of French wine, and everything that followed.
Wine did not begin with the Greeks, but our idea of wine very nearly did. They turned drinking into a ritual of conversation and restraint, made it the central image of one of their gods, and — almost as an afterthought of empire — carried the grapevine across the Mediterranean to the shores of what would become France. Pull that thread far enough and it runs all the way to a glass of Oregon Pinot. It is a classic example of the quarter-turn intersections of wine and history we love.
The symposium: drinking as civilization
At the heart of Greek wine culture sat the symposium — literally “drinking together.” In the Classical era it was the social engine of male elite life: an evening of philosophy, politics, poetry, and wine, conducted by careful rules.[1] The most important rule concerned the wine itself. Greek wine was potent, and to drink it neat was considered the mark of a barbarian; civilized men mixed it with water in a great bowl called a krater — commonly around three parts water to one part wine — before it was served.[2] Myth credited the god Dionysus himself with teaching the Athenians to dilute their wine this way.[2]
Wine as the mark of the civilized
This was no mere etiquette. For the Greeks, the mixing bowl drew a line between civilization and savagery. To drink unmixed wine was to lose control, to be like the wild peoples beyond their world; to dilute it, to discuss philosophy over a measured cup, was to be Greek.[2] Wine became a moral and cultural symbol — an idea that would echo through Western civilization for millennia.
| The ritual | The symposium — “drinking together”: wine, philosophy, politics[1] |
|---|---|
| The vessel | The krater, a large bowl for mixing wine with water[1] |
| The mix | Commonly ~3 parts water to 1 part wine; neat wine = barbaric[2] |
| The god | Dionysus, who taught the dilution of wine[2] |
| The export | Massalia (Marseille), founded ~600 BC, carried the vine to Gaul[3] |
How Greek wine reached France
The Greeks were also colonists, and where they settled, they planted vines. Around 600 BC, Greek immigrants from Phocaea founded Massalia — modern Marseille — on the southern coast of Gaul.[3] Archaeologists have found that wine first arrived in Gaul through these settlers, with the oldest known vineyard area in France established in the 5th century BC by Ionian Greek colonists.[3] By the 2nd century BC, Massalia held a near-monopoly on the Gallic wine trade, sending Provençal wine up the Rhône and spreading both the drink and the knowledge of how to make it deep into Gaul.[3]
The Greeks did not just give the West wine. They gave it the idea that how you drink says who you are.
The thread to your glass
Follow that vine north from Massalia and it eventually reaches Burgundy, where medieval monks would refine the idea of terroir — and where, centuries later, Oregon’s pioneers would look for inspiration when they bet that Pinot Noir could thrive in the Willamette Valley. The civilized cup the Greeks raised is, in a real sense, the same one in your hand today.
Related reading: The Monk in the Vineyard · wine in the medieval era · the oldest bottle of wine · the Wine History Timeline
Frequently asked questions
Why did the ancient Greeks mix wine with water?
Greek wine was very strong, and drinking it undiluted was considered barbaric. Civilized drinkers mixed it with water in a bowl called a krater — commonly about three parts water to one part wine — a practice myth credited to the god Dionysus.
How did wine spread from Greece to France?
Greek colonists from Phocaea founded Massalia (Marseille) around 600 BC and brought the grapevine with them. The oldest known French vineyard area was established by Greek colonists in the 5th century BC, and Massalia later dominated the Gallic wine trade up the Rhône.
Sources
- “The Symposium in Ancient Greece” (the symposium as a ritualized drinking gathering; the krater for mixing wine and water), The Metropolitan Museum of Art; and National Geographic History. metmuseum.org
- “Ancient Greece and wine” (strong wine diluted ~3:1 with water; undiluted wine seen as barbaric; Dionysus credited with teaching dilution), Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greece_and_wine
- “History of French wine” / “Greek settlers brought wine to France” (Massalia founded ~600 BC by Phocaean Greeks; oldest French vineyard area established 5th century BC by Greek colonists; Massalia near-monopoly on the Gallic wine trade up the Rhône), Wikipedia / wein.plus. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_French_wine
Want to read more?
Books we drew on and recommend for going deeper on wine history.
9000 Years of Wine: A World HistoryRod Phillips
The World Atlas of WineHugh Johnson & Jancis Robinson
Wine from Grape to GlassJens PrieweAs an Amazon Associate, Wine History Tours earns from qualifying purchases. This supports our research at no extra cost to you.
