Wine of the Week - Greece

Wine of the Week

Take me to the Greek

Wandering around the liquor store aimlessly trying to find something you haven't tried before? Why not try a Greek wine! It has been a major part of their history for thousands of years, and now more than ever they could probably use a few sales. There are over 200 grape varieties native to Greece and most of them rarely grow anywhere else. It is also home to the infamous Retsina. I hadn't heard about it until I tried one in my wine class and my first response was, "Pine-Sol? They served us some kind of fermented funky Pine-Sol?"

Retsina is an ancient white wine from Greece where they've purposely added some pine sap to it while it's a young wine. The sap is then removed at the first racking; by then the wine has taken on the distinct pine characteristics. It is usually made from Roditis and Savatiano grapes. This tradition comes from the old practice of sealing the bung of the barrel with pine sap to keep the air and bugs out. Some of the excess sap would drip down into the wine giving it it's unique flavour. It is definitely worth a try and supposedly it is a great drink when in Greece, by the sea, eating calamari, sipping what the local's call the good stuff.


Greece also makes some nice table wines both red and white. They are usually labeled by region, but sometimes the grape appears on the label as well. There are 2 main red grapes that tend to dominate. First there is Xinomavro from Naoussa. It is most similar to Nebbiolo from Italy or maybe a Pinot Noir. It is light in colour and high in acid and tannin. They can gain some complexity with age, but can sometimes lack fresh fruit and tend to be a bit more savory, spicy and earthy in nature.

The other main red grape is Agiogitiko from Nemea. Agiogitiko translates into "St. Georges grape" and was supposedly served during the Trojan war and even drank by Hercules himself in legends!  Hence have been given the nickname "Blood of Hercules". The wines come in a wide range of styles depending on how high the vines were planted on the slopes. Planted up high, there's a crisp high acidity and most of the grapes are destined for rose's. Down low in the valley where it's hot they get jammy. In the middle of the slope is usually where the money is. The wines are dark ruby in colour with red fruit, some spice, and in the one I'm drinking right now a bit of juniper berry with some toasty oak notes. Some examples are even reminiscent of a Beaujolais.

One of the main white grapes is Assyrtiko native to the island Santorini. The wines are dry high in acid with rich perfumed notes, and could be similar to say a Riesling. They also can make a nice sweet wine called Vinsanto from grapes that have been dehydrated on the vine, and then sun-dried up to 2 weeks. At this point your are almost left with raisins and the wine made from those shriveled grapes is then further aged in oak for up to more 2 years. This produces a succulent sweet wine that can taste like warm caramelized nuts.

One of the coolest things about the Santorini vines on the island is that they are trained into a basket formation. This is to protect the vine from the high winds that rip across the islands. The other notable white grape would be Moschofilero from Mantinia; which can be aromatic like a Gewurztraminer. 


Lately the wineries have been worried about the upcoming harvest. Due to the money and import restrictions on accounts and goods they are unable to get some supplies like bottles and screw tops. So hopefully we will still be getting some of their wine over here in the next few vintages. That being said you may have to go out and look for them a little; as you may not find Greek wine in every liquor store.

I've explored a little and enjoyed a few I have found; they are worth a visit. So don't wait for your trip to the Greek islands or Mediterranean coast, pick one up for a Thursday dinner at home with the cats!

Thanks for reading, and happy sippin'

Basket Trained Assyrtiko