Vine cultivation, it is believed, first appeared in Greece around 4000 BC. The ancient Greeks considered wine to be very much an integral part of their lives. This can be seen in the divinities they worshipped. The mythic Dionysus was a central figure in this respect. Amongst other roles, he was the god of wine. His parents were Zeus and Semele. The latter was the daughter of Cadmus, king of Thebes. Later, Dionysus married Ariadne. They had two children, Staphylus (grape) and Oenopion (wine-drinker). We also read of the mention of vines in the earliest Greek writing. Homer, for example, refers to "Istiaia of the many grapes", and "vine-covered Epidavros"

Cultivation of vines in Crete dates back to the period between 1700-1400 BC, and it is thought they were brought there by Phoenician merchants who visited the island. It has also been suggested that vines were brought to the island of Chios from Asia Minor. The second century BC philosopher, Theophastus, from Lesbos makes mention in his writings of the cultivation of vines.

During the 5th century BC, when Athens was flourishing as a political and commercial centre, it created a powerful commercial empire which stretched as far as the Black Sea and the Danube. Vine growers from the northern Aegean islands as well as the northern regions such as Thrace took advantage of this commercial activity and extensively promoted the production of, as well as the trade, of wine in the far-flung regions where the commercial traffic was thriving.
During the classical period the northern Aegean was, in fact, able to secure a monopoly on the production and trade in good wine. This trade increased and expanded during the Hellenistic period. When Greece was conquered by the Romans in 146 BC there was a slight decline in the predominance of Greek wine.

During the Byzantine period from 330AD, vines continued to be cultivated whilst wine continued to be produced; mainly by the monks. Good quality and well-known Byzantine wines were produced in various regions of the empire. Especially good wines were produced on a number of islands such as Crete, Chios, Cyprus, Ikaria, Karpathos, Lesbos, Rhodes and Samos.

An important advance in the establishment of Greek wines as part of the culture of the country was, when in the 1960s, more and more bottled wines began to be consumed. This went hand-in-hand with the growth of major urban centres as well as with the increase of commercial tourism.

The era of modern Greek wine production can be said to have started in the 1970s with the institution of varieties of grapes and zones of wine production with the "Designation of Origin".
In the 1990s, with the application of the appropriate technological processing, it became possible to determine the character of the grapes by the various ecosystems. It is from this point that Greek wine-making is considered to have come of age.

Greek vintners continue to grow in stature and reputation, and Greek wines are increasingly winning significant awards at international competitions. A burgeoning export market is developing with Greek wines making their presence felt abroad. This is resulting in Greece regaining the reputation for her wines that they originally had in antiquity.