View source for Retsina

{{Short description|Greek wine}}
{{Refimprove|date=August 2014}}
[[File:Retsina.JPG|thumb|A bottle of retsina from the Greek producer [[Kourtaki]]]]
[[File:Malamatina3.jpg|thumb|Retsina [[Malamatina]]]]
'''Retsina''' ({{langx|el|ρετσίνα}}) is a [[Greek wine|Greek]] white (or [[rosé]] or very rarely red) [[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 [[amphora]]e, with [[Pinus halepensis|Aleppo pine]] [[resin]] in ancient times.  Before the invention of impermeable glass [[bottle]]s, [[oxygen]] caused many wines to spoil within the year. Pine resin helped keep air out, while infusing the wine with resin [[aroma (wine)|aroma]]. The [[Ancient Rome|Romans]] began to use [[Barrel (storage)|barrel]]s 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.
==History==
The earliest recorded mention of using resin with wine [[amphora]]e is by the first-century Roman writer [[Columella]], who detailed in his work ''De Re Rustica'' (12,20,3 and 12,22,2) the different type of resin that could be used to seal a container or be mixed into the wine. 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]], does recommend the use of adding resin to the [[fermentation (wine)|fermenting]] wine [[must]] in his work ''[[Natural History (Pliny)|Naturalis Historia]]'' (14.124) with the resin from mountainous areas having a better aroma than those that come from lower lands (16.60).<ref name="Oxford pg 568-569">{{Cite book |editor-first=J. |editor-last=Robinson |year=2006 |title=The Oxford Companion to Wine |edition=Third |publisher=Oxford University Press |pages=568–569 |isbn=0-19-860990-6}}</ref>
The Roman settlements in [[Illyria]], [[Cisalpine Gaul]] and [[Gallia 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 the [[Roman Empire]]. The exception was the eastern empire regions of [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantium]] which had developed a taste for the strong, pungent wine and continued to produce resinated wine long after the [[Western Roman Empire]] stopped. The difference in taste between the two empires took center stage in the work of the historian [[Liutprand of Cremona]] and his ''Relatio de Legatione Constantinopolitana''. In 968, Liutprand was sent to [[Constantinople]] to arrange a marriage between the daughter of the late Emperor [[Romanos II]] and the future Holy Roman Emperor [[Otto II, Holy Roman Emperor|Otto II]]. According to Liutprand, he was treated very rudely and in an undignified manner by the court of [[Nikephoros II]], being served [[goat meat|goat]] stuffed with [[onion]] and served in [[garum|fish sauce]] and "undrinkable" wine mixed with resin, [[pitch (resin)|pitch]] and [[gypsum]]—very offensive to his Germanic tastes.<ref name="Oxford pg 568-569"/>
[[Pilgrimage|Pilgrims]] and [[Crusaders]] to the [[Holy Land]] during the [[Middle Ages]] recorded their experiences with the strong, resin wines of the Greek islands. [[Pietro Casola]], an Italian noble who traveled to [[Jerusalem]] 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 to [[Modone]] on [[Peloponnese]], he wrote about the bounty of good quality wines made from [[Malmsey]], [[Muscatel]] and [[Rumney wine|Rumney]] varieties. Everything he tried was pleasing, except the strong, resinated wine with an unpleasant odour.<ref name="Oxford pg 568-569"/>
===Anecdotal history===
Popular [[anecdote]]s about the evolution of retsina stem from the [[Roman conquest of Greece]]. Stories claim that the Romans [[plunder]]ed 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 King [[Eric I of Denmark]] and [[Sigurd I of Norway]].<ref>{{Cite book |first=Christopher |last=Tyerman |year=2006 |title=God's War |publisher=Belknap Press |page=251 |isbn=0-674-02387-0}}</ref>
==Wine regions==
[[Image:Pine resin.jpg|right|thumb|150px|Pine resin]]
In Greece, local retsina is produced throughout the country.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ήτο ωραίον ρετσινάτο {{!}} ΒΙΒΛΙΟΝΕΤ |url=https://biblionet.gr/%CE%AE%CF%84%CE%BF-%CF%89%CF%81%CE%B1%CE%B9%CE%BF%CE%BD-%CF%81%CE%B5%CF%84%CF%83%CE%B9%CE%BD%CE%B1%CF%84%CE%BF-494169 |access-date=2024-10-21 |website=biblionet.gr}}</ref> Major production centers around [[Attica]], [[Boeotia]] and [[Euboea]]. The [[European Union]] treats the name "retsina" as a [[protected designation of origin]] and traditional [[appellation]] for Greece and parts of the southern regions of [[Cyprus]]. An [[Australian wine]] style made in [[South Australian wine|South Australia]] can be called "resinated wine" but not "retsina".<ref name="Oxford pg 568-569"/>
==Grapes and winemaking==
Today the traditional grape for retsina is [[Savatiano]] with [[Assyrtiko]] and [[Rhoditis]] sometimes blended in, as well as other [[List of grape varieties|grape varieties]] throughout Greece. On the island of [[Rhodes]], [[Athiri]] is the main grape. Modern retsina is made following the same winemaking techniques of white wine or rosé, except for small pieces of [[Aleppo pine]] resin added to the must during fermentation. The pieces stay mixed with the must, and [[elution|elute]] an oily resin film on the liquid surface; at [[racking]] the wine is [[clarified (wine)|clarified]] and the solids and surface film are removed from the finished wine.<ref name="Oxford pg 568-569"/>  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 of [[turpentine]]" streak of old, and are considered ideal accompaniments to such strong-tasting local cuisine as [[pastırma]] or [[garlic]] dips, which are often consumed as [[meze]]s with alcoholic beverages.{{Citation needed|date=May 2022}}
== See also ==
* [[Ancient Greece and wine]]
==References==
{{reflist}}
== External links ==
{{wikt}}
* {{commonscat-inline|Retsina}}
{{Cuisine of Greece}}
[[Category:Greek wine]]
[[Category:Ancient wine]]
[[Category:Greek products with protected designation of origin]]
[[Category:Ancient Greek cuisine]]
[[Category:Byzantine cuisine]]