Casa Di Vino

Veneto, in particular, was influenced by the Greek style-all of its finest wines were made from grapes half-dried in the sun. The strong, sweet Recioto and Amarone are believed to have been Venetian adaptations of wines from the Aegean islands and Cyprus. The Genoese transported Muscat vines from the Aegean to southern Spain and cuttings may have left Cyprus for France and central Europe as early as the 13th century. Tokay and Marsala wines are still sourced from Cypriot grapes that arrived in Hungary and Sicily during this period. In the 14th century, the Portuguese port of Azoia, to the south of Lisbon, began to produce Osoye, a Muscatel probably sourced from Levantine vines that would resemble the wines found today in the region around Setubal.

When the Genoese and Portuguese landed on Madeira, in 1420, Prince Henry the Navigator gave orders for vines to be cultivated. Most of Madeira's vineyards are derived from Cypriot stock, but the island's Malmseys trace their origins to Crete. By the 16th century, 'Greek-style' wines had become the famous Madeiras.

Rising demand for Spanish sweet wines coincided with-if it did not partly result from-the end of Romania. Soon after the Byzantine Empire fell to the Turks in 1453, Andalusia became the primary source region for sweet wines modelled on those from the Aegean. The Spanish planted Cretan vines on the Canary Islands in 1490 and 'Canary sack' remained popular in England for the whole of the 16th century.

Spanish and Italian adaptations competed with authentic Greek wines from the Venetian territories to the point where the 14th-century Catalan author Frances Eixemienis felt obliged to declare his preference for sweet wine from Cyprus, Crete and Majorca. To distinguish the real from the copied, Italy and Spain created the designation 'Greco'.

The appellation 'Romania' (Romaney or Rumney to the English) referred to original Greek wines as well as Greek-style wines.

Santorini Island in Greece is the producer of one of the best wine varieties of the world, Vinsanto. If you want to taste overlooking at the beautiful sunset of the island's caldera stay in Honeymoon Suites or Katikies Santorini which offer the best possible accommodation.