About Greek Wines
 A
Brief Note on the History, Perceptions, and Evolution of Greek
Wine....
For most, navigating through a list of Greek wines can be as daunting
as trying to read the Greek alphabet: Some of the items may look
the same, but it’s anyone’s guess as to what the rest
mean. Greek wines traditionally do not fit into standard French
wine categories, like Chardonnay, Merlot, or Cabernet. Most varieties
(varietals) of grapes cultivated in Greece trace their lineage
to ancestral lines cultivated since antiquity. Like the Greek alphabet,
Greek wines are unique. They are the product of millennia of uninterrupted
cultivation and evolution on the varied soils and climates of continental
Greece and its islands.
“The Greeks Invented Wine!”
Much to the dismay of George Portokalos (the slightly ‘hellenocentric’ father
in My Big Fat Greek Wedding), it is unclear whether winemaking
originated in Greece. Many archaeologists and classicists believe
that wine was first brought to Crete by Phoenician traders and
also through the North via a land route from Asia Minor. Wine played
a major role in the cult worship of Dionysus, the symposia, and
the Mediterranean economy. Wine cultivation in classical Greece
reached a high level of sophistication and a system of naming was
established. Greek colonists brought the art of winemaking to settlements
in Asia Minor, the Black Sea, Marsala (Marseille), Southern Italy,
and the Iberian Peninsula. Genetic analysis of grapes cultivated
in Spain and Southern Italy can be traced to ancient Greek strains,
although it is debatable whether they were the result of ancient
cultivation or, rather, later migrations. Modern Greek varieties
such as Limnio, Athiri, Aïdani, and Muscat are surviving examples
of ancient grape varieties.
 “Harry,
do you remember that awful Retsina we had in Mykonos?”
Despite the rich diversity of Greek wines, the dry, resinated
white Retsina has risen to the famous, or infamous, position as
the most recognizably “Greek” wine. Most visitors to
Greece in the 70’s, 80’s and early 90’s returned
with fond or traumatic memories of sipping the turpentine-laced
beverage with a ‘Meze,’ in a beach Taverna. Retsina
originated in antiquity, the result of sealing clay amphorae (jugs)
with pine resin during transport. The resin protected the wine
from oxidation and acted as a mask for wine that may have spoiled. Until
the 1960’s, Retsina represented only a small share of the
wine market in Greece. With the rural population of Greece migrating
in droves to the cities at the end of the 1950s, and the demise
of small wine producers, large wine producers came to dominate
the market. In an effort to produce ‘something uniquely Greek,’ they
marketed Retsina. Suddenly Retsina became the national beverage
and could barely keep up with the demand of the bourgeoning tourist
industry. To many in the business of Greek wine promotion, the
fate of Greek wine was sealed by Retsina. Non-Greeks began to inextricably
identify all Greek wines with the pine-flavored product.
 The
Present and Future
With Greece’s accession to the European Union, winemaking
in Greece is currently in an exciting period of transition. Wine
producers, whose goal previously was to produce a decent table
wine to accompany a meal in a Taverna, have raised the bar, to
produce and export a world-class portfolio of wines able to compete
with their French and Italian counterparts. In an effort to catch
the eyes and palates of cognoscenti who would probably not even
deem an indigenous Greek variety as worthy of consideration, many
of the wines emerging today in Greece are blends of traditional
Greek varieties, such as Ximomavro and Agiorgitiko, with Cabernets
and Merlots. These hybrids, although delightful in themselves,
are intended to be a ‘passport’ for Greek wines to
enter the world market and raise awareness of the quality of indigenous
Greek varieties. Perhaps, in the near future, asking where to find
a bottle of Moschofilero will not be greeted by a look of utter
confusion at your corner wine store.
Below you will find a brief description of each grape variety
represented on The Olive Tree's
wine list. While our list of wines is only a small sample of
what is currently available in Greece, it is a good representation
of current trends in winemaking and popular tastes. Enjoy!
A Glossary of Greek Grape Varieties
Red Wines
Agiorgitiko – dry, fruity aroma. Medium-bodied.
Likened to Merlot in its expression. Regions: Nemea, Pelopnnesos.
Xinomavro – lit. ‘sour’ and ‘black’.
Dry, light-body, high aciditiy. No consensus on a Western analogue.
Comparisons range from Pinot Noir to Burgundy. Regions: Naoussa,
Macedonia.
White Wines
Assyrtiko – semi-dry, medium to high acidity.
Regions: Santorini.
Robolla – dry, healthy acidity, citrus
aroma. Regions: Ionian Islands, primarily Cephallonia.
Vilana – semi-dry, light, fruity apple
aroma. Compared to Pinot Grigio. Regions: Crete.
Moschofilero – Blanc de Gris. Semi-dry
to sweet, light, highly aromatic. Likened to Alsatian Traminer.
Regions: Mantinia, Peloponnessos.
Muscat – cultivated since antiquity. Sweet
(dessert) wine or aperitif. Kumquat aroma. Regions: Samos, Rhodes,
Peloponnesos.
|
