Dried-Grape Wines: Ancient history

The technique of twisting the stems of grape bunches to deprive them of sap, and leaving them to raisin on the vine, may have originated in crete, but vinification techniques for dried grapes were perfected in Ancient greece. The Ancient Greeks also learned from other inhabitants of the eastern Mediterranean, particularly the Hittites of Anatolia. The first description of how to make wine from dried grapes is provided by hesiod, in the 8th century bc. His Works and Days describes how grapes should be dried in the sun ‘for ten days and nights’ and then in the shade for a further five, before fermenting the wine in jars.