Viticulture on the Island of Samos and Delicious–desired Muskat Wine

Abstract

Samos is the fourth largest island in the southeast of the Aegean Sea, after Rhodes, Lesbos and Chios. Samos Island is at a strategic point in terms of its location and the Ottoman Empire made this island semi-autonomous in 1832. The island also drew attention with its small number of Muslims, and the people earned their living from agriculture. Grapes were one of the main livelihoods of the island along with olives. A large part of the grapes was devoted to wine production and was sold abroad, mainly in Italy and France. Diseases that occurred in the vineyards of the island caused unrest in the sale of the wine obtained from the grapes. Another problem in the export of wine was the change in the customs tariff, the increase in the tax rate in foreign customs due to the sale of wine with spirit. The Ottoman palace used and consumed the grapes produced by the island as a purchase of miri. Although incorporation efforts were attempted to sell the wine in the archive documents, they could not be implemented. While the certificates received through the consuls were kept valid in the acceptance of wines to Italy, France, Austria; it was stated that over time, there were problems at the customs and an analysis was requested. Since Samos wine wass a highly demanded product with its delicious taste, it represented the Ottoman Empire at the Chicago Fair held in the USA in 1892. The main sources of our article are the documents in the Ottoman Archives of the Presidency of State Archives and the statistics of the period. Every detail reflected in the documents about viticulture and the diseases that plague the vineyards in Samos, as well as wine production and exportation of wine has been explained.