Provence wine Cassis specializing in white wine production. The Côtes de Provence is the largest AOC followed by the Coteaux d'Aix-en-Provence. The Bandol region near Toulon is one of the more internationally recognized Provençal wine regions. The exact time when viticulture began in Provence is difficult to calculate. Early inhabitants may have used indigenous vines to produce wine before the Phocaean Greeks settled Massalia in 600 BC. Archaeological evidence, in the form of amphora fragments, indicate that the Greeks were producing wine in the region soon after they settled. By the time the Romans reached the area in 125 BC, the wine
Ancient Greece and wine of using suckering and plant cuttings for new vineyard plantings. The Greeks also employed vine training with stacked plants for easier cultivation and harvesting, rather than let the grapevines grow untrained in bushes or up trees. While ampelographers have been unable to identify the exact ancestry of any current "Vitis vinifera" grape variety among those grown by the ancient Greeks, several—e.g. Aglianico (also known as "Helleniko"), Grechetto, and Trebbiano (also known as "Greco")—have distinct Greek heritage. Not all Greek viticulture techniques were widely adopted by other wine regions. Some Greek vineyards used mysticism to ward off disease and bad weather.