Like the Roman god Janus, this book looks to both the past and the future in discussing the long history of quality wine on this beautiful island. After a brief historical introduction, the story travels back 5,000 years to a windswept hilltop in eastern Crete where archaeologists have discovered the earliest evidence of a fermented beverage on the island. There follows a series of glimpses into the many ensuing centuries including the evidence of wine from a Minoan shipwreck off the northern coast of the island, the role often played by the god known as Dionysos/Bacchus, and the famous Malvasia wine that many believe was made in Crete and traded widely during the four centuries that Venice occupied the island. Recently, this history has come alive again with the recognition, replanting, and vinification of legacy grape varietals combined with a renewed appreciation by modern Cretan winemakers for the practices used by their forebears. All is good on this beautiful island!
Betancourt, Philip P.: - Al Leonard (Ph.D., University of Chicago) is professor emeritus in both Classical Archaeology and Near Eastern Studies at the University of Arizona, as well as an honorary associate at the Harvard Museum of the Ancient Near East. An archaeologist who specializes in the social impact of interregional trade, Al has directed excavations in Italy, Egypt, Cyprus, Portugal, Israel, and Jordan, but Crete has always been his favorite place to excavate, study, or simply relax with a glass of fine Cretan wine. In addition to archaeology, Al writes and speaks on wine and food as his alter ego, the Time Traveling Gourmet, and has been a member of the Society of Wine Educators and Slow Food International for over 20 years. He is the author of Mediterranean Wines of Place: A Celebration of Heritage Grapes (Lockwood Press, 2020) and is presently the president of the Friends of the INSTAP Study Center for East Crete. Philip P. Betancourt is the Laura H. Carnell Professor Emeritus of Aegean Prehistoric Art and Archaeology at Tyler School of Art and Architecture at Temple University in philadelphia. He is the author or editor of an extensive series of books and other scholarly publications that primarily deal with research on the Minoan civilization of the Aegean Bronze Age. He has been honored with many awards including an honorary doctorate from the University of Athens, and in 2003 he was awarded the Gold Medal for Distinguished Archaeological Achievement from the Archaeological Institute of America.
Leonard, Jr.: - Al Leonard (Ph.D., University of Chicago) is professor emeritus in both Classical Archaeology and Near Eastern Studies at the University of Arizona, as well as an honorary associate at the Harvard Museum of the Ancient Near East. An archaeologist who specializes in the social impact of interregional trade, Al has directed excavations in Italy, Egypt, Cyprus, Portugal, Israel, and Jordan, but Crete has always been his favorite place to excavate, study, or simply relax with a glass of fine Cretan wine. In addition to archaeology, Al writes and speaks on wine and food as his alter ego, the Time Traveling Gourmet, and has been a member of the Society of Wine Educators and Slow Food International for over 20 years. He is the author of Mediterranean Wines of Place: A Celebration of Heritage Grapes (Lockwood Press, 2020) and is presently the president of the Friends of the INSTAP Study Center for East Crete. Philip P. Betancourt is the Laura H. Carnell Professor Emeritus of Aegean Prehistoric Art and Archaeology at Tyler School of Art and Architecture at Temple University in philadelphia. He is the author or editor of an extensive series of books and other scholarly publications that primarily deal with research on the Minoan civilization of the Aegean Bronze Age. He has been honored with many awards including an honorary doctorate from the University of Athens, and in 2003 he was awarded the Gold Medal for Distinguished Archaeological Achievement from the Archaeological Institute of America.
