 The Phoenicians shared in the winemaking traditions of the Ancient Middle East and likely brought grapevines with them as they established their settlement.The Greeks soon followed and brought with them the tradition of making "arrope", a dark colored sweet syrup made from unfermented grape juice that could be used to sweeten wine.The area was thoroughly entrenched in winemaking by the time the Romans conquered the area in 206 BC after more than three centuries of rule by Carthage.