5,000 Years of Fine Cretan Wines - Albert Leonard Jnr, Philip P. Betancourt

Like the Roman god Janus, this book looks to both the past and the future in discussing the long history of quality wine on this beautiful island. After a brief historical introduction, the story travels back 5,000 years to a windswept hilltop in eastern Crete where archaeologists have discovered the earliest evidence of a fermented beverage on the island. There follows a series of glimpses into the many ensuing centuries including the evidence of wine from a Minoan shipwreck off the northern coast of the island, the role often played by the god known as Dionysos/Bacchus, and the famous Malvasia wine that many believe was made in Crete and traded widely during the four centuries that Venice occupied the island. Recently, this history has come alive again with the recognition, replanting, and vinification of legacy grape varietals combined with a renewed appreciation by modern Cretan winemakers for the practices used by their forebears. All is good on this beautiful island!