Grapes
“Grapes are grown in the plains and in the hills. In Levkas ( Lefkada) grapes are carefully cared for, with grape harvests beginning in March. The wine here is well appreciated abroad, especially in Genoa, and is used to mix with others due to its intense red color and density. It is dry with little aroma. It is an average of 12 proof in terms of alcohol. Its dry extract varies between 26 and 36 proof and it contains a lot of tannin. Thirty years ago, before the phylloxera infestation destroyed the grapevines in France, 100,000 barrels were produced annually, and wine was very cheap, logically. Then prices rose to 35 and 40 drachmas per barrel (71-kg barrels). This led to production doubling as people hurried to plant more vines, to such an extreme, in fact, that people chopped down olive trees to plant grapes.
The island’s wine contains gypsum, normally ½ 0/00, though sometimes ¾ 0/00. This proportion is increased artificially up to 2 0/00, the maximum permitted by Italian law for imports. The custom of adding gypsum to wine is very ancient. Athenaeus, the Sophist, already noted that the people on Levkas mixed wine with earth. That way it withstands changes better and transport by sea. It also has a more intense red color and permits people in the country to mix it with water.”
