Aegean islands / Νησιά Αιγαίου

The north-eastern side sea of the Mediterranean between the east coast of Greece and Turkey is named after the Greek legendary figure Aegeus, King of Athens and father of the legendary hero Theseus. Countless islands and island groups such as the Dodecanese, Sporades and Cyclades (Cyclades) are located here. Most of them were colonised by the Greeks in 1000 BC. Viticulture and wine culture have an ancient tradition on many of these islands. Even in ancient times, the best Greek wines were produced here, which were supplied as far away as Rome.

The poet Homer died on Chios (Khios) (8th century BC) and the island was considered the "Bordeaux of Greek wines" in ancient times. In the Middle Ages, sweet wines from the islands, which were shipped via the port of Monemvasia, became particularly popular. The most important are Crete, Lesbos, Limnos, Mykonos, Paros, Rhodes, Samos, Santorini and Thasos (map). Most of them have appellations classified as POP. The vineyards cover around 9,000 hectares. The Ionian Islands are a large group of islands in the Aegean Sea on the west coast of Greece.

Map of Greece: By Pitichinaccio - own work, CC BY 3.0, Link
edited by Norbert F. J. Tischelmayer 2/2018