Ancient Greeks, in the 5th and 4th centuries BC, pioneered new methods of viticulture and wine production that influenced early wine-making communities in what are now France and Italy. In classical Greek culture, wine was the staple around which philosophy, art, religion, and political life revolved. Wise men drank wine to expand their mind and praise the gods. Fermented grapes were known to have health benefits and were treated as essential nutrition.

Like early wine critics, Greek poets would extol the virtues of certain wines and review, less favorably, those not up to their standards. The poet Eubulus noted that three bowls (kraters) were the ideal amount of wine to consume. The quantity of three bowls is a recurring theme throughout Greek writing (today, the standard 750 ml bottle contains roughly three to six glasses of wine, depending on serving size). In a fragment of his play “Semele,” known as Fragment 93, Eubulus has Dionysus explain:

“I mix three kraters only for those who are wise. One is for good health, which they drink first. The second is for love and pleasure. The third is for sleep, and when they have drunk it those who are wise wander homewards.”

We founded Fragment 93 after recognizing that many of our favorite wines were unavailable to us once we “wandered homewards” from trips to some of the greatest wine-producing regions of the world. Our mission is to connect passionate producers of smaller-scale wines, that seldom escape their thirsty local markets, with U.S. wine retailers. We provide wine of exceptional value from producers that would otherwise be unavailable through larger distribution channels. Our unique offerings all originate in world-class wine-producing regions.