The Wine Institute and Vine Institute are two related organizations based in

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates a ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wi ...

, under the aegis of the country's

Ministry of Agriculture An agriculture ministry (also called an) agriculture department, agriculture board, agriculture council, or agriculture agency, or ministry of rural development) is a ministry charged with agriculture. The ministry is often headed by a minister ...

. They are devoted to researching

Greek wine Greece is one of the oldest wine- producing regions in the world and among the first wine-producing territories in Europe. The earliest evidence of Greek wine has been dated to 6,500 years ago

and to preserving and improving the country's winemaking. The Wine Institute was founded in 1937, but was largely inactive until the 1960s, when it was involved in writing the first drafts of Greece's wine legislation. Since then, the Wine Institute has been primarily concerned with identifying and preserving indigenous

grape varieties This list of grape varieties includes cultivated grapes, whether used for wine, or eating as a table grape, fresh or dried (raisin, currant, sultana). For a complete list of all grape species including those unimportant to agriculture, see V ...

and strains of yeast, particularly rare ones. The Vine Institute has focused on studying the effects of different promising combinations of vines and

terroir (, ; from ''terre'', "land") is a French term used to describe the environmental factors that affect a crop's phenotype, including unique environment contexts, farming practices and a crop's specific growth habitat. Collectively, these contex ...

, in order to provide a resource of information for Greek winemakers.

References

1937 establishments in Greece Greek wine Agricultural organizations based in Greece Wine industry organizations Organizations established in 1937 Research institutes in Greece Agricultural research institutes in Greece {{wine-stub