Ancient Greeks were a clever people who served ancient wine out of a oenochoe, a terracotta jug with three different lips at the spout so the waiter could pour in any direction at a crowded table. The wine was often a thick, treacly goo we’d find grossly sweet to the taste, but its fermentation and export were immensely valuable to them. For example, the Greeks called the regions in Southern Italy they’d conquered Oenotria - "land of vines" and they shipped nearly 10 million liters of wine into what would become Western Europe each year through Massalia. The Greeks may have even taught ancient Gaul - the proto-French - how to make wine, an amazing thought when you think about it. In oenoche and Oenotria, you see the root of oenophile, a lover or connoisseur of wine. I’d be a terrible sommelier for a great many reasons. Here are a few.
© 2024 John Oliver
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