There are wines in the Vine’s archives from all over the
world – but one place we haven’t stopped often in our oenological travels is
Greece. The Greeks have been making wine longer than anyone else in the Western
world. They’ve got nearly 6,000 years of experience cranking the stuff out. Why
don’t we Statesiders know more about them?
The Vine's proprietor gets all animatronic at the Santorini Wine Museum |
First off, production – Greece produces in the neighborhood
of 300 million liters (about 80 million gallons) of wine each year. Compare
that to their neighbors across the Ionian Sea, Italy, which churns out between
four and five billion liters
annually. Second, winemaking processes in Greece only really began to modernize
in the 1980’s. Before then, Greece produced a lot of interchangeable table
wines and Retsina – a native
wine-based beverage flavored with pine resin. Yes, you read that correctly –
and it’s as much of an acquired taste as you might imagine.
Third, not to disparage Greek language, but the nearly 300 autochthonal
(Winespeak for “indigenous”) varieties of grapes carry names that translated,
to the uninitiated, can look like a Scrabble draw pile. While many American
consumers would undoubtedly enjoy a glass of Athiri or Malagousia – they tend
to shy away from unfamiliar grapes.
Well, stop overlooking them. Greek wines are excellent food
complements, especially seafoods, cheeses, and other Mediterranean-styled
dishes. If you’d like to give them a go, there are four primary Greek grapes
with which you should start your explorations. Here are examples of each of the
Greek Big 4:
Moschofilero grapes -- red grapes for white wine! |
Tselepos 2015
Mantinia Moschofilero White Wine – OK, first -- to unpack this wine’s name:
“Tselepos” is the winery. “Mantinia” is the region, which is just north of the
city of Tripoli in Pelleponese. “Moschofilero” is the grape. This particular
grape, pronounced MOS-ko-feel-er-o, although
used to make white wines, is reddish in color. I found the wine’s flavor to be
quite similar to a Muscadet – fairly high in acid, floral notes on the nose,
and lemony flavors over a flinty, minerally backbone. The finish is crisp and
cool. Noting that it was Muscadet-ish, shellfish immediately sprang to mind as
a pairing, and we tried it with a bay scallop ceviche. Our thoughts were
correct, as the acids complemented each other to make a lovely meal on a warm
summer evening. $16.
Bairaktaris 2015
“Monolithos” Nemea Agiorgitiko Red Wine – This red wine’s moniker comes
from, what else, a giant rock that sat in the midst of the vineyards of Nemea.
This rock was demolished and the dust spread across the vineyards, which
apparently improved the quality of the soil. For mythology geeks like myself,
Nemea is the site of one of the 12 Labors of Hercules, where he slew the Nemean
Lion and then probably settled in for a flagon of red wine made from
Agiorgitiko (AY-ee-or-YEE-tee-ko),
the most widely cultivated red in Greece.
I found the wine that the Big Man might have been drinking
to be quite an interesting quaff. It’s a lighter-styled red in body, but
there’s still a considerable amount of tannin and flavor punch here. Plenty of
cherry and blackberry flavors and scents alongside nice, even tannins and an
interesting mineral character. I think it’s along the lines of a Languedoc red
or a less “chalky” Chianti. We had it alongside a couple of grilled lamb
steaks, and I thought it a very solid summertime red. $18.
Chatzivariti 2016
“Eurynome” Goumenissa Assyritiko White Wine – Eurynome is one of the Titans
who ruled Mt. Olympus before the Greek Gods took the place over. When cast from
Olympus into the earth-encompassing Ocean, according to myth, she had nowhere
to rest, so she
“split sea from sky” and danced on the waves, creating the land. (Hey, don’t ask me for the physics of it…) Assyritiko (Ah-seer-tee-ko) is Greece’s signature white – the most exported and well known grape on the international market.
“split sea from sky” and danced on the waves, creating the land. (Hey, don’t ask me for the physics of it…) Assyritiko (Ah-seer-tee-ko) is Greece’s signature white – the most exported and well known grape on the international market.
This wine, made from 100% Assyritiko, is a difficult wine to
pin down. Initially acidic, the wine develops an interesting creaminess as it
gets some air. Reminiscent of a Sancerre or a light unoaked Chardonnay, there’s
plenty of peach and citrus over a steely backbone. The creaminess that emerged
made for an interesting balance. We actually tried this with a thin crust pizza
with serrano ham, artichokes, olives, roasted garlic, and Parmesan. Darned good
combo, if you ask me, although the price of this particular bottle -- $24 – seemed
a tad high.
Boutari 2012 Naoussa
Red Wine -- This wine is made entirely from our fourth autochthonal Greek
varietal, Xinomavro (Ex-SEEN-o-Mahv-ro). Nouassa is a region in northern Greece
in Macedonia. (This is not to be confused with the Republic of Macedonia, which
was once part of Yugoslavia – a locale which also makes darned
good wine.)
After I cracked the bottle and poured, I could have been
looking at a glass of light-styled Beaujolais. The nose is a little more
alcohol-scented than a Beaujolais, but the basic profile is similar, and
reminded me somewhat of cranapple juice, minus the sugary scent. There are some
nice understated red fruit flavors -- it's almost delicate…until you swallow.
The wine then hits you with a load of tannin on the long, dry finish. The
bottle suggests pairing with "roast meats and cheeses of…an intense
character." I can certainly see that -- the tannins will slice through
just about any kind of rich flavor. Lamb, again, would be great with it, not
surprisingly. $14.
Since these wines are lesser-known at the moment, they’re
fun to spring on your wine-loving friends as a change of pace. They’re
certainly worth getting to know, especially in restaurants, where their
relative anonymity will keep the markup to a minimum. Give them a go.
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