Greece is one of the oldest wine-producing regions in the world and among the first wine-producing territories in Europe. The earliest evidence of Greek wine has been dated to 6,500 years ago. As Greek civilization spread through the Mediterranean, wine culture followed. The Ancient Greeks introduced vines such as Vitis vinifera and made wine in their numerous colonies in Italy, Sicily, southern France, and Spain. In the medieval period, wines exported from Crete, Monemvasia and other Greek ports fetched high prices in northern Europe.