Mount Athos Wine

THE BOOK

This is the first and only book about the history of viticulture and wine making in the Holy Mountain, Halkidiki, Greece. For more than a thousand years, the monks on Mount Athos produce wine uninterruptedly. Wine is used for the Holy Communion and is one of the necessary elements of the monks diet. Apart from being a necessity  in the monasteries, it was also an exchangeable or commercial item. The history of wine on the Holy Mountain goes hand in hand with that of the monasteries.

Mount Athos is perhaps the only place in Greece where viticulture is continuous from the Antiquity to the present days. This uniqueness was my driving force for a 4 year research in manuscripts, texts, libraries and archives. But as women are not allowed in the Holy Mountain, Aris Fotiadis, a film director-photographer, was providing me with photos and stories of the monks themselves. In the end I hope I opened a window on the vast history of viticulture and winemaking on the Holy Mountain. It’ s a book of surprises. Easy to read, full of unknown and intriguing stories and plenty of photos, to take you into a trip to the magic world of Mount Athos.