A Taste of History - Limnio

A deep dive into the oldest varietal you've (probably) never heard of.

At the heart of the Aegean Sea, roughly situated between the ancient city of Troy and the holy mountain of Athos on the eastern tip of the Halkidiki peninsula, lies the island of Lemnos. Today, home to around 16,500 inhabitants, the island has seen continuous habitation for at least 6,000 years, with some evidence suggesting settlements as far back as 10,000 BC. It is impossible to determine exactly how long the inhabitants of this island have been involved in wine production, but by the time the Iliad was composed by Homer sometime around 800-750 BC, Lemnian wine had already gained a reputation for high quality. This reputation, although likely reflecting its status at the time the Iliad was written, could plausibly have been established during the events described in the epic, though there is debate as to whether the famed battle for Troy took place at all. If it did, it would have been around 1,200-1,100 BC.

Aristotle (384-322 BC) praised Lemnian wine in his Meteorology, Book IV, Ch…