How was the wine culture of ancient Greece different from today?

I have to disagree with what has been written so far. "Very little attention was paid to varieties. Local wines came from individual farm grapes. This is far from the truth. Greeks are very knowledgeable about wine varieties and wealthy Greeks spend a lot of money buying select wines from wine regions all over the Aegean. I would say that Mendios oinos comes from the city of Mendi* on the Halkidiki Peninsula and Ismarikos or Maronitis from Thrace. The latter is a deep red sweet wine made from sun-dried grapes and is said to have been the wine used by Odysseus on the Cyclops.

If that doesn't convince me, I'd add a case of Thassian wine. It was so popular (and apparently expensive) that adulteration and imitations became a problem, and specific laws were introduced in Athens, including a ban on selling it unless it was in a sealed amphora. The first case of protected appellations of origin.

They also have "common" types of wines, your standard "Cabernet Sauvignon", such as Pramnian wines, which are not grown in a specific place but are meant to be a wine. History of Greek Wine - Greek Wine Federation 2. Unfiltered wines, dregs and drinking games.

Of course, there was no filtration technology, but that didn't mean they had to drink the dregs. In fact judging from the personal effects of this ηθμ family Gutiérrez family (i.e. filters), the French of the time were particularly careful not to put the dregs in the glass.

Characteristic and aromatic wines. Often with herbs and spices. They were transported in special sealed containers to preserve them. The oinochoe below is also courtesy of Philip. He is, after all, a nosophile. Also, judging by the types of glasses and vessels he had, different wines were drunk in different ways. Think of the different glasses we have today.

Wine dilution and intoxication. I would side with Steve Theodore. There is a long discussion in Plutarch's writings that usually dilution is two to one. It varied according to the wine, the occasion and the taste, but the Greeks certainly didn't drink a 1:10 dilution. As for breakfast, "akratima" was used to describe breakfast. It comes from akratos = undiluted (i.e. wine). That is actually bread soaked in undiluted wine. It was undoubtedly meant to be a happy awakening, albeit somewhat excessive. For Orthodox Christians, the flavor is somewhat familiar, as it tastes similar to the Eucharist. The traditional red, sweet, high-alcohol red wine.

On Macedonians and wine. Philip definitely had all the necessary equipment for "civilized" drinking, but his countrymen preferred to drink undiluted wine. They also preferred undiluted water. In an article I read (in a very respectable Greek newspaper), the ambassador of Athens expressed surprise that the cloaked people of the Macedonian capital drank "?κρατον?δωρ". Water resources and water quality in Athens has always been a problem.

So, is there a difference? Most notably, of course, is the importance of drinking in ancient Greek social life, even though these Macedonian soldiers are on their way to meet up with their friends, who are already drinking at a seminar looks like they are going out for a beer with their friends. These frescoes are from the tomb of Agios Athanasios outside Thessaloniki, Macedonia, 4th century BC. Seriously, there are similarities between the two. They love wine, know their varietals, and are determined to get their favorite wines, no matter how high the price.