One French aphorism says that a day without wine is like a day without sunshine. Sun and wine have always been connected in the history of Korcula. Due to the Mediterranean sunshine, Korcula and Peljesac wines have a specific quality and aroma.
The ancient Greeks who founded their colony Korkyra Melaina did not only establish a commercial and cultural center but also planted vines which have since produced wines esteemed all over the world.
The elegant jugs, called Oinohoe, from which the ancient Greeks enjoyed this natural liquid can be found in the museum of Korcula. The Greek writer Athenaios wrote twenty two centuries ago about the high quality wine produced on the Dalmatian island of Vis, Hvar and Korcula. In addition to these artistically designed jugs, the coins which have been excavated with various symbols connected with wine and vine growing are a testimony to the importance of wine for the economic life of the ancient inhabitants of Korcula and other Greek colonies; these coins can be seen in the numismatic collection of the Abbatial Treasury in Korcula, remnants of the centuries-long tradition of producing what was both an intoxicating drink and an important source of economy prosperity. One of the most beautiful stone columns in the Korcula cathedral of sv. Marko bears vine leaves cut into its capital. Wine is thus present not only in secular objects but also in artistic works and religious symbols.

The tradition of vine growing by Romans and later by Slavs has produced numerous objects of artistic value. The stone presses (prese) from which wine was squeezed, the amphoras, from the sunken Roman galleys in the Korcula-Peljesac channel, the vine motifs on the Bogomil tombs, and decorations on religious monuments and household objects testify to the tradition of winemaking in the Korcula and Peljesac region and to the cult of wine produced in this area and its being treated as a sacred liquid. The statute of the town and island of Korcula of 1214 contains strict rules protecting the vineyards.