Aï Yiorgis Methystis (or Sporios or Sporiaris) is commemorated in many places in Greece. He is the patron saint of farmers and winemakers , as it is in November that farmers sow seed and winemakers broach the barrels with the new wine.
On 3 November every year, the farmers of Karpathos and the wine producers of Paros (photo) and other Cycladic islands organise traditional feasts and breathe life into customs whose origins are traced back to Dionysian festivals and Byzantine times.
Groups of people go from one house to another and taste the new wines thus paying tribute to Saint George [Aï Yiorgis] known as “methystis” (he who makes people get drunk). This saint must not be confused with Saint George who was victorious over the devil.
