A pinch of salt goes a long way

It is common knowledge that the Greeks drank their wine by mixing it with water. We are aware that this mix ratio is 1:3 = one part of wine and three parts of water, but we may never have thought that seawater was used instead of the regular sweet water.

The consumption of straight wine was only accepted as a medicine or as a tonic while traveling. In all other cases, it was considered barbaric. 

The news about the use of seawater made headlines in The Greek Reporter. It appears that the practice goes back to ancient Greece, was copied by the Romans, and, in the long run, has survived to this day, although wineries using this process have become rare. 

Nowadays, we abhor the idea of adding the slightest pinch of salt to our glass of wine, but in antiquity, the sweetness of the grape was compensated by seawater added to the mix. This did not only improve the taste but allowed to preserve the wine longer. In fact, the winemaker mixed the must with seawater, and the end product was called ανθόσμιος οίνος, in other words, wine that smells like flowers. Fania of Heresus, a philosopher and scientist who was a pupil of Aristotle, tells us that by mingling fifty parts of must with one part of seawater, the end product smells like flowers. 

The first records about this procedure come from Cato the Elder (234-149 BC), who mentions that the winemakers on the island of Kos knew that adding seawater to their wines would preserve them. He further tells us that the best seawater was collected when the sea was calm. 

A special place is occupied by Thalassitis wine, literally “wine of the sea,” a white wine made with the assyrtiko grapes on the island of Santorini. It has a typical taste of citrus fruit mixed with a subtle taste of minerals. Famous among wine connoisseurs is the Thalassitis Submerged, aged deep in the open sea for 25 years. Surprisingly, this wine shows no sign of oxidation, and its taste has softened. Worth trying next time we visit the island! 

To complement the history of Greek wine and wine in general, it may be interesting to read my earlier blog, “Greek wine, not so Greek after all.”