Retsina (Greek:ρετσίνα) is aGreek white (orrosé or very rarely red)resinated wine, which has been made for at least 2,000 years.[1][2] Its unique flavor is said to have originated from the practice of sealing wine vessels, particularlyamphorae, withAleppo pineresin in ancient times.[3][4][5] Before the invention of impermeable glassbottles,oxygen caused many wines to spoil within a year. Pine resin helped keep air out, while infusing the wine with resinaroma. TheRomans began to usebarrels in the 3rd century AD, removing anyoenological necessity for resin, but the flavor itself was so popular that the style is still widespread today.[6][7][8][9]
The earliest recorded mention of using resin with wineamphorae is by the first-century Roman writerColumella, who detailed in his work "De Re Rustica" (12,20,3 and 12,22,2) the different types of resin that could be used to seal a container or be mixed into the wine.[3] He recommended, however, that the very best wines should not be mixed with resin because of the unpleasant flavor introduced thereby. His contemporary,Pliny the Elder, recommends the use of adding resin to thefermenting winemust in his workNaturalis Historia (14.124) with the resin from mountainous areas having a better aroma than those that come from lower lands (16.60).[10]
The Roman settlements inIllyria,Cisalpine Gaul andGallia Narbonensis did not use resin-coated amphorae due to the lack of suitable local pine trees and began to develop solid, less leak-prone wooden barrels in the 1st century AD. By the 3rd century, barrel making was prevalent throughout theRoman Empire. The exception was the eastern empire regions ofByzantium which had developed a taste for the strong, pungent wine and continued to produce resinated wine long after theWestern Roman Empire stopped.[11] The difference in taste between the two empires took center stage in the work of the historianLiutprand of Cremona and hisRelatio de Legatione Constantinopolitana. In 968, Liutprand was sent toConstantinople to arrange a marriage between the daughter of the late EmperorRomanos II and the future Holy Roman EmperorOtto II. According to Liutprand, he was treated very rudely and in an undignified manner by the court ofNikephoros II, being servedgoat stuffed withonion and served infish sauce and "undrinkable" wine mixed with resin,pitch andgypsum—very offensive to his Germanic tastes.[10]
Pilgrims andCrusaders to theHoly Land during theMiddle Ages recorded their experiences with the strong, resin wines of the Greek islands.Pietro Casola, an Italian noble who traveled toJerusalem in 1494, wrote about the wines and cuisines of the places he stopped at along the way. In one of his entries, about his visit toModone onPeloponnese, he wrote about the bounty of good quality wines made fromMalmsey,Muscatel andRumney varieties.[7] Everything he tried was pleasing, except the strong, resinated wine with an unpleasant odour.[10]
Popularanecdotes about the evolution of retsina stem from theRoman conquest of Greece. Stories claim that the Romansplundered the wines of Greece, angering the citizens, who turned to pine resin as a way of extending their store of wine and as a deterrent to their thirsty conquerors. The harsh flavor was said to put off the Romans, who refused to drink the bitter ferment. Another anecdote claims that an excess of undiluted retsina was lethal for KingEric I of Denmark andSigurd I of Norway.[12]
In Greece, local retsina is produced throughout the country.[13][14] Major production centers aroundAttica,Boeotia andEuboea. TheEuropean Union treats the name "retsina" as aprotected designation of origin and traditionalappellation for Greece and parts of the southern regions ofCyprus. AnAustralian wine style made inSouth Australia can be called "resinated wine" but not "retsina".[10]
Today the traditional grape for retsina isSavatiano withAssyrtiko andRhoditis sometimes blended in,[15][16][17] as well as othergrape varieties throughout Greece. On the island ofRhodes,Athiri is the main grape.[18] Modern retsina is made following the same winemaking techniques of white wine or rosé, except for small pieces ofAleppo pine resin added to the must during fermentation. The pieces stay mixed with the must, andelute an oily resin film on the liquid surface; atracking the wine isclarified and the solids and surface film are removed from the finished wine.[10] Nowadays, protecting the new wine from oxidation is easy to do with far simpler means and much less resin is used than traditionally called for. Such wines lack the pungent "whiff ofturpentine" streak of old, and are considered ideal accompaniments to such strong-tasting local cuisine aspastırma orskordalia (garlic dip), which are often consumed asmezes with alcoholic beverages.[19][20][21][22]
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