Wine tasting cycling tour.  Greeks know a thing or two about viniculture.   Archaeological evidence indicates they’ve been making wine for over 4000 years.  The region due east of Athens known as Attica is quite prominent in the country’s wine culture.   We invite you to take advantage of your proximity to Attica wineries the slow motion way, by bicycle.

The roads are primarily rural in this agricultural region full of grape vineyards, fig farms and pistachio orchards.  The tour visits five wineries including an organic winery which won Greece’s first award for its bio-climatic system. At these wineries you have the opportunity to taste several different varieties of locally produced wine.  For example, Sabatiano, Attica’s indigenous wine, comes from a white grape that withstands the summer temperatures and produces a wine with an aroma of citrus fruit and flowers.

A special detour is made to the Temple of Artemis in Vravrona (a/k/a Brauron).  This was an ancient sanctuary dedicated to the goddess of hunting, Artemis, that was a female-only place of worship.   Every four years, the Vravrona festival was held in which ten-year-old Athenian girls dressed up as bears and dedicated favorite objects to Artemis who guided them from childhood to adolescence. The Artemis Temple is but inspiring and the museum is definitely worth exploring.

The Dionysus Connection    According to ancient tradition, Dionysus, god of joy and wine, introduced the people of Attika to the cultivation of the vine and the art of wine drinking. In those days, Greeks mixed wine with water and drank it daily. During Dionysus festivals, symposia (drinking parties) were held on the first day of the three day event to honor the wine god. During important symposia official cup bearers (oinochooi) were the equivalent of modern day sommeliers.