Today we’re traveling to the Wine Country of Greece. Wine has been made in Greece since 4,500 BC according to various scientists. I don’t necessarily concur with their assessment. But for the sake of this tour, we’ll just say that the Greeks were some of the first winemakers. Starting over 4,000 years ago. Many of the grape varieties they use today are the same as they used 4,000 years ago. So, most of the grapes are native to Greece. This also provides a very distinct variety of Fine Wines. I hope you enjoy this tour of the Wine Country of Greece.
The Wine Country of Greece is unique because of the array of grape growing environments. The mainland, the peninsulas, and the islands. Hundreds of islands scattered throughout the Aegean Sea, the Ionian Sea and the Sea of Crete. So, let’s look at the various regions. But first a look at the history of winemaking in Greece.
History of the Wine Country of Greece
As I mentioned, winemaking has been an essential part of the Greek culture for over 4,000 years. The ancient Greeks knew the nutritional value of the wine. Also, it was much safer to drink than many water sources. So, it became a part of their daily routine. It was also important to the local economy that eventually became an exported product.
Ancient Greeks
The Ancient Greeks organized gatherings called “symposia.” This gathering is where they would eat and also discuss philosophical subjects while drinking wine. The wine of that day had less alcohol content than today. Discussing philosophy all liquored up on modern California wine would be a bad idea. There would be no telling what these philosophers would decide was good and true. Fortunately, moderation was strictly adhered to during these discussions. The wine was always diluted with water before drinking in a vase called “kratiras.” Which is derived from the Greek word krasis, meaning the mixture of wine and water. The word Krasi is now used in the Greek language as the term for wine. Today, many wine-cultures also dilute wine and serve it to their children at meals. This helps them develop a taste for wine and greatly decreases the alcohol content.
Tour of the Wine Country of Greece
The Greeks use 39 types of grapes in their winemaking. Furthermore, most of these varieties are native to Greece. This gives Greek wine its distinctive flavor that differentiates their wine from other old-world wines. Consequently, these old-world winemakers are France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Greece, Austria, Hungary, and Germany. Also, countries like Turkey, Georgia, Armenia, and Moldova. These old-world wines are named and relate to the region in which they were created. So, let’s tour the regions.
Aegean Islands Region
According to Winefolly, Greece has 4 distinct wine regions. So, the first alphabetically is the Aegean Islands Region. Some of the most important winemaking islands are Samos, Santorini, Limnos. But all the major islands cultivate grapes for wine. The primary White Grapes are Assyrtiko (Santorini), Athiri, Malvasia (or Monemvasia), and also Muscat Blanc (Samos). The primary Red Grapes used are Limnio (Límnos), Mandilaria (Paros), and Mavrotragano.
Santorini Island
The home of Greece’s most famous white wine, Assyrtiko, is the island of Santorini. According to Winefolly, Assyrtiko wine “offers passion fruit, flint, and lemon with a subtle bitterness and saltiness on the finish” flavor.
Samos Island
The island of Samos is thought to be the origin of the Muscat Blanc grape. One of the more popular types of wine is Vin Doux, which is a mistelle type of wine. So it offers sweet marmalade, lychee, and Turkish delight flavors with subtle hay notes on the finish.
Limnos Island
The island of Limnos has a captivating red wine that existed during the time of Aristotle. The grape is called Limnio. And they create a distinct wine with notes of raspberry and herbs.
Central Region of the Wine Country of Greece
The central region consists of Central Greece including Attica, Euboea, and Thessaly. The White Grapes used are primarily Savatiano, with some Malagousia, Assyrtiko, Athiri, Begleri, and Chardonnay. The Red Grapes are primarily Xinomavro also other varieties are Agiorgitiko, Krasato, Stavroto, Limniona, Vradiano, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Syrah.
Northern area of the Central Region
This region is primarily eastern Greece and includes Athens. The Northern part of this region produces a lot of red wines. These wines are blends of more than one type of grape, with Xinomavro being the primary grape. So these wines have spicy flavors of raspberry, anise, fennel, cherry, and occasionally olive or tomato with tannins that build slowly on the palate.
Southern area of the Central Region
In the Southern part of this Central Region, the main grapes are white varieties. The primary white grape is the Savatiano. Consequently, when made well Savatiano offers flavors of sweet honeydew, green apple, and lime with tingling acidity. When oak-aged, Savatiano delivers more lemon, wax, and cultured cream with lemon bread notes and a creamy mid-palate structure and finishes similar to Burgundy.
Northern Region of the Wine Country of Greece
This region is cooler and has higher rainfall than the other regions of Greece. This was also the original home of Alexander the Great. This is where he launched his career as King of Macedonia. As well as, eventually becoming King of Macedonia and Persia after defeating the Persian Empire. This region also has white grapes that produce a wine with a delicate floral and citrus-like flavor called Debina. You’ll also find one of Greece’s most important red wines Xinomavro (ke-see-no-mav-roh). The flavor is dark cherry, licorice, allspice, and occasionally subtle hints of tomato. Xinomavro has high-tannin and medium-plus acidity. This region also offers white grape wines in Thessaloniki, also known in the Bible as Thessalonica. These wines offer a richer white wine flavor with peach, lime, orange blossom, and also lemon flavors with a soft, fruity finish.
Southern Region of the Wine Country of Greece
This region includes Crete, Peloponnese, Kefalonia also known as south and western Greece. The White Grapes and the location they are located are Moschofilero, Muscat Blanc, Robola (Kefalonia), Vidiano (Crete), and Roditis. The Red Grapes and the location they are located are Agiorgitiko (Peloponnese), Mavrodaphne (Kefalonia + Peloponnese), Kotsifali (Crete), Liatiko (Crete), Mandilaria (Crete), Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon.
Peloponnese and Kefalonia
Peloponnese is the home of the legendary Spartans. This area grows the grape variety, Moschofilero, that also produces the red wine called Mantineia. This lovely, dry, aromatic white wine smells of peach, potpourri, and also sweet lemon. As the wines age, they develop more nectarine and apricot flavors with toasted hazelnut or almond notes. They also produce sweet red wines from Mavrodaphne grapes. Roditis is a rose-colored wine with lime, melon, saline, as well as a somewhat bitter lime peel notes. Robola is a white wine much rarer and found mostly on the island of Kefalonia. Hence, it has rich flavors of sweet lemon, pineapple, and beeswax, along with a bit of bitterness similar to lime peel.
Crete
The southernmost area of this region is the island of Crete. A very popular wine on the island is made of white Vidiano grapes. This variety of grape was almost extinct just 25 years ago but has been brought back by dedicated growers. This is an easy-drinking, dry white wine with melon, pear, and also sweet red apple flavors. The red wines of Crete, Kotsifali, and Mandilaria are often blended together to create a red wine with sweet fruit flavors, cinnamon, allspice, and soy sauce. They also have a softer sweet tannin finish.
Xinomavro Grapes From Central Greece
Wine Country of Greece Final Thoughts
The wines of Greece have, in the past few years, experienced a resurgence. You can find very good and reasonable wines from every region that is distinctive and also delicious. If you want to know which foods to serve with them, I also suggest the Wines of Greece.org website. Just click on the link. They show gorgeous pictures of the grapes, and more importantly, what wines from these grapes go best with your meal. So, just hover over the little icons.
I hope you enjoyed this little tour of the Wine Country of Greece. Please also look at the other wine tours on my website visit French Fine Wine, Wine Country of Germany, and Wine Country of Italy. Have a very blessed day!
Standard Greek Drinking Cheers
“Yamas” (Cheers!) also “steen ee ya sas” (to your health) and “steen ee ya mas” (to our health).
References
Grape Varieties. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://winesofgreece.org/meet-the-grapes/grape-varieties/
Greek cheers video [Video file]. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=greek+cheers&view=detail&mid=BB0E99321C375F4664CBBB0E99321C375F4664CB&FORM=VIRE
The Wine Regions of Greece (Maps). (2018, May 17). Retrieved from https://winefolly.com/review/the-wine-regions-of-greece-map/#northern
