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[yialousa1971]

Ancient Greeks introduced wine to France, Cambridge study reveals!

France's well-known passion for wine may have stemmed from the Ancient Greeks, a Cambridge University study discloses.
By Andrew Hough
Published: 7:00AM BST 23 Oct 2009

The original makers of Côtes-du-Rhône are said to have descended from Greek explorers who settled in southern France about 2500 years ago Photo: PAUL GROVER The original makers of Côtes-du-Rhône are said to have descended from Greek explorers who settled in southern France about 2500 years ago, it claimed.

The study, by Prof Paul Cartledge, suggested the world's biggest wine industry might never have developed had it not been for a “band of pioneering Greek explorers” who settled in southern France around 600 BC.

His study appears to dispel the theory that it was the Romans who were responsible for bringing viticulture to France.

The study found that the Greeks founded Massalia, now known as Marseilles, which they then turned into a bustling trading site, where local tribes of Ligurian Celts undertook friendly bartering.

Prof Cartledge said within a matter of generations the nearby Rhône became a major thoroughfare for vessels carrying terracotta amphorae that contained what was seen as a new, exotic Greek drink made from fermented grape juice.

He argued the new drink rapidly became a hit among the tribes of Western Europe, which then contributed to the French’s modern love of wine.

"I hope this will lay to rest an enduring debate about the historic origins of supermarket plonk,” he said.

"Although some academics agree the Greeks were central to founding Europe's wine trade, others argue the Etruscans or even the later Romans were the ones responsible for bringing viticulture to France.”

Archaeologists have discovered a five-foot high, 31.5 stone bronze vessel, the Vix Krater, which was found in the grave of a Celtic princess in northern Burgundy, France.

Prof Cartledge said there were two main points that proved it was the Greeks who introduced wine to the region.

"First, the Greeks had to marry and mix with the local Ligurians to ensure that Massalia survived, suggesting that they also swapped goods and ideas.

"Second, they left behind copious amounts of archaeological evidence of their wine trade (unlike the Etruscans and long before the Romans), much of which has been found on Celtic sites."

The research forms part of Professor Cartledge's study into where the boundaries of Ancient Greece began and ended.

Rather than covering the geographical area occupied by the modern Greek state, he argued Ancient Greece stretched from Georgia in the east to Spain in the west.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/foodanddrinknews/6409312/Ancient-Greeks-introduced-wine-to-France-Cambridge-study-reveals.html

[Oracle]

... Rather than covering the geographical area occupied by the modern Greek state, he argued Ancient Greece stretched from Georgia in the east to Spain in the west.

This has been confirmed by genealogical migratory tracking (and further)!

Cheers ...

[Get Real!]

Ancient Greeks introduced wine to France.

And who introduced wine to the Greeks?

http://www.stonepages.com/news/archives/001288.html

[yialousa1971]

Ancient Greeks introduced wine to France.

And who introduced wine to the Greeks?

http://www.stonepages.com/news/archives/001288.html

So Greeks introduced Wine making to other Greeks, great!

[Get Real!]

Ancient Greeks introduced wine to France.

And who introduced wine to the Greeks?

http://www.stonepages.com/news/archives/001288.html

So Greeks introduced Wine making to other Greeks, great!

When Cypriots invented wine, Greeks were in caves picking parasites from each other’s heads…

[Oracle]

Ancient Greeks introduced wine to France.

And who introduced wine to the Greeks?

http://www.stonepages.com/news/archives/001288.html

But the Cypriots are Greeks

Your source:

Maria-Rosaria Belgiorno, an Italian archaeologist, said Cyprus was the first Mediterranean country to make wine. She uncovered evidence during an archaeological dig near the southern coastal town of Limassol that Cypriots produced wine up to 6,000 years ago. "At Pyrgos we found two jugs used for wine and the seeds of the grapes. It's amazing. And at Erimi, of the 18 pots we looked at, 12 were used for wine between 3,500 BCE and 3,000 BCE," Belgiorno said.

Another source reveals the similarity ...

Greece is one of the oldest wine-producing regions in the world. The earliest evidence of Greek wine has been dated to 6,500 years ago[1][2] where wine was produced on a household or communal basis. In ancient times, as trade in wine became extensive, it was transported from end to end of the Mediterranean; Greek wine had especially high prestige in Italy under the Roman Empire. In the medieval period, wines exported from Crete, Monemvasia and other Greek ports fetched high prices in northern Europe.
Wiki

[Get Real!]

Ancient Greeks introduced wine to France.

And who introduced wine to the Greeks?

http://www.stonepages.com/news/archives/001288.html

But the Cypriots are Greeks

Too much wine clouds the mind…

[yialousa1971]

It's all Greek to me.