FOR THOSE WHO EQUATE Greek wine with palate-chafing retsina,traditionally laced with pine resin,it's high time to go exploring.Greece,which began exporting its winemaking methods to France and Italy as far back as the eighth century B.C.,is trying hard to make a comeback.Greek winemaking was interrupted by 400 years of rule-ending in 1821-by the Ottomans,whose taxes on wine suppressed grape cultivation,and later by diseases that wiped out vineyards.Later,two world wars took attention away from serious winemaking.Wine exports from Greece to the U.S.have been slowly climbing as better wine has hit the market.Greek vintners have shipped more than 200,000 cases to the U.S.this year,up about 25% from 2000.In general,the better whites come from the southern regions-the Peloponnese,the Aegean islands,and Crete-where they complement the abundant seafood diet,while Macedonia,Thessaly,and Thrace in the North produce more reds.In all,Greece is home to some 300 native grape varieties.
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