Greece’s native grape varieties burst onto the wine scene in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Assyrtiko and Xinomavro, like Achilles and Hector, are the heroes that dominate this vinous drama, but the cast of characters is much longer.

From the foothills of Thessaly to the volcanic Aegean, Crete’s limestone slopes and the airy plateaus of the Peloponnese, it is estimated that there are currently around 200 significant native varieties, and there are dozens, possibly hundreds, more waiting to be identified across the country.

Scroll down for Jason’s pick of 12 wines made from indigenous Greek grapes

1. Malagousia

It began with Malagousia, which arrived at Domaine Porto Carras in Macedonia thanks to Professor Vassilis Logothetis of the University of Thessaloniki, who rescued and cultivated it as part of an experimental plot in the 1970s.

Evangelos Gerovassiliou, then winemaker at Carras, tasted it and realised it could be more than a blending variety. He propagated it and vinified it as a varietal wine at Carras before establishing his own eponymous winery, which is now famous for benchmark examples.

Peachy, spicy and herbal, Malagousia quickly spread across Greece, and today remains one of the top Greek varieties – excellent on its own, or blended with other varieties such as Assyrtiko, and aged in steel or oak.

Malagousia extended the horizons of winemaking. Suddenly, Greek winemakers were encouraged to look in their own vineyards, seeking the next indigenous hero, rather than planting Merlot or Chardonnay.

2. Moschofilero

Moschofilero, an aromatic speciality of the Mantinia plateau in the northern Peloponnese, was the next variety to emulate the success of Malagousia.

It is one of Greece’s most joyous grapes with its aromas of lemon zest and roses, and no one understands it better than Leonidas Nassiakos, the former winemaker at Semeli, who founded Novus Winery in 2020 to focus on Moschofilero.

‘Moschofilero changed the mindset of Greek consumers in the early 1990s by being the first wine to be ordered by the name of the variety,’ he recalls. ‘Until then, wines in Greece were white, rosé, red or retsina.’

3. Robola

Another promising variety is Robola, a speciality of Cephalonia in the western Ionian Islands, with a very different character to Moschofilero. Where the latter is perfumed, Robola is stony.

If there’s a delicacy to Moschofilero, there’s a muscularity to Robola. It remains one of the most promising native varieties for top-quality wine and is perhaps the closest Greece has to the understated drive and mineral grip of good Chablis.

4. Savatiano

Back in central Greece, vineyards are dominated by Savatiano. Once of Greece’s most planted white grapes for the production of cheap taverna wine and retsina, Savatiano has been tarred – or should we say resinated – by association.

It was also popular because it withstood colossal yields of around 250hl/ha. Under such conditions, it unsurprisingly gained a reputation for neutrality.

When not worked to exhaustion, it can impress. Producers like Papagiannakos, Akriotou and Mylonas in Attica have demonstrated its potential to make quality wines in a range of styles with character and ageing potential.

Stamatis Mylonas, an early believer whose Savatiano took home a DWWA Gold medal in 2014, is enthusiastic about the future.

‘Despite its enormous winemaking history, Savatiano is just starting to draw the attention of the wine world as the next big Greek variety,’ he says.

‘I believe there’s still much more to come, and I’m pleased to see more and more excellent wines being made.’

5. Agiorgitiko

Greece’s most planted red variety, the tongue-twisting Agiorgitiko (ah-yor-YEE-tee-ko), is far easier to enjoy than it is to say.

A speciality of high-altitude Nemea, a PDO designation in the Peloponnese to look out for, its vibrantly fruity profile, deep colour and velvety tannins make it a more immediately appealing red for most wine drinkers than the more austere Xinomavro from appellations like Naoussa in Macedonia.

In style, Nemea (Agiorgitiko) is to Naoussa (Xinomavro) what Bolgheri is to Barolo, or Bordeaux is to Burgundy.

Agiorgitiko comes in a range of styles, from early-drinking wines that can be chilled to more age-worthy and intense bottlings reminiscent of St Emilion or top Argentine Malbec.

Pioneers such as Papaioannou, Skouras and Gaia continue to push the boundaries of what this hugely promising variety can offer.

Limniona and Limnio

Then there’s Limniona, another variety with huge quality potential but much more limited plantings. Revived in 2000 by Zafeirakis and a flagship future red variety for Thessaly, it is hard to generalise about it because volumes are small, but the quality potential has been unquestionable.

The story continues on the islands. Limnio, not to be confused with Limniona, is an ancient grape and the oldest referenced variety in the world, having been mentioned by Aristotle and Hesiod (who called it ‘Lemnia’).

It comes from the island of Limnos, where producers like Lefteris Anagnostou of Ekho (ēkhô) are determined to bring it to wider attention, but today this variety occupies only 10% of the island’s vineyards and finds greater success in northern Greece.

On the island of Paros, Monemvasia (white) and Mandilaria (red) are reasserting their traditional status, where they are co-fermented to produce supple, spicy red wines with some of the silkiness of wines such as Emmanuel Reynaud’s Château Rayas and Château des Tours.

Stirrings on Crete

Then there’s Crete, Greece’s largest island and ideally suited to quality viticulture. Three local men, all called Nikos, have had a decisive influence on the swing towards native varieties here.

Nikos Douloufakis pioneered Vidiano, Crete’s most promising white grape. ‘Think of a Mediterranean white with the elegance of Viognier and the structure of Assyrtiko,’ he says.

‘It’s dry, full of peach and citrus fruit aromas, with a hint of salinity and a smooth, long finish.’ No one does it better.

Another Nikos – Karavitakis – is convinced that Kotsifali, a grape traditionally used only in blends, has the potential to make outstanding varietal wines.

‘When made well, it has a noble character often found in top-class wines,’ he says, comparing it to Burgundy and top Garnacha from Spain. ‘The whole region needs to understand the beauty and power of Kotsifali.’

Finally, Nikos Lyrarakis resurrected the almost extinct Dafni variety, which now forms the basis of one of Crete’s most distinctive single-vineyard wines.

The hard work to recuperate the indigenous heritage of Greece’s vineyards in the last 30 years continues to bear fruit.

‘We are very lucky to have so many native varieties across Greece,’ Lefteris Anagnostou says. ‘It’s a privilege to work with them. But there is still much work required to discover more of this heritage and to promote it.’

Not all of these varieties will match the impact of Assyrtiko or Xinomavro, but some may surpass them in time.

For those who’ve already discovered how good contemporary Greek wine can be, that’s an exciting thought – and a compelling reason to continue to explore its native heroes.

12 Indigenous Greek grapes to try

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Assyrtiko is in crisis. The popularity of this diamond-pure Greek white grape from the burnished pumice of Santorini, has risen as fast and bright as a meteorite in reverse.

But the disastrously meagre 2024 harvest described by Stellios Boutaris of Sigalas as barely ‘two buckets of grapes’, presents a shortage to burgeoning fans of this cheerleading local variety.

Thanks to above average temperatures and a lack of the night-time dew compounded by a third consecutive year of lower-than-average rainfall on Santorini, the dip in production is biting.

Scroll down for Olly’s pick of Greek white wines that aren’t Assyrtiko

Looking beyond the obvious

At this year’s Oenorama wine fair in Athens almost every winemaker spoke with enthusiasm for their passion for grapes beyond Assyrtiko.

For too long, they say, we’ve all been beguiled by the beauty of Assyrtiko and with hardly any stock around, even regular buyers of this star from Santorini are facing waiting lists and allocations.

Back from the brink

The first grape on everyone’s lips for something with widespread appeal is Malagousia.

Saved from extinction just a few short decades ago by Evangelos Gerovassiliou, Malagousia is a white grape that’s far more than just a scented crowd-pleaser.

Those new to wine loves its bright fruity appeal, Greece’s answer to Albariño, you might say.

While devoted connoisseurs, are gripped by its ability to thrill with the precision of a minerally matrix.

In its more serious iterations, I think of it as a steel nectarine glowing beneath a halo of frozen jasmine, such as the wine of Maria Dimitriadis who grows very fine Malagousia on the slopes of Mount Olympus under her Navitas label.

Attic contender

For volume to fill the gap left by Assyrtiko, the former workhorse grape behind retsina – Savatiano – has serious potential.

Rather like Chenin Blanc it’s capable of youthful vim as well as extended ageing and with lots of old vine heritage, quality across Attica in particular is abundant.

With producers like Papagiannakos producing beautiful single vineyard examples such as the Vientzi from vines more than 60 years old in limestone soil, this grape shows encouraging potential to produce wines of fruity delight balanced with textural richness.

An island duo

For blade-fresh wines with similar mineral-pure saltiness to Assyrtiko from Santorini, Thrapsathiri from Crete or Xynisteri from Cyprus are both interesting contenders.

Thrapsathiri has a subtle tropical edge with fresh herby spice to it.

Meanwhile, Xynisteri from Cyprus can deliver compelling citrus tension especially from the high-altitude vineyards of Cyprus such as Kyperounda, (some of which reach 1,400 metres, among the highest in Europe).

Sites such as these combined with the drought resistance and naturally fresh acidity of so many Greek white grape varieties offer great hope in the face of the climate emergency.

Heady charms

For white wines with bold character with scented freshness, the fragrant headiness of Moschofilero is already a hit on the UK high street in stores such as Marks & Spencer where their Found bottling is blended with lemony Roditis.

With rose petal and heady lemon blossom among its captivating aromatic charms, Moschofilero is about as enticing as summer white wines can get.

Yet in the hands of specialists Troupis in their ‘TOMH’ Mantinia 2023 (12.5%)’ it’s focused into a wine of etched definition with lime-scented stone fruit and irresistibly crisp élan.

Its near-relative Mavrofilero has even more citrus verve which is doubtless capable of luring fans of top-quality Sauvignon Blanc towards local Greek grapes.

Quincy allure

But in my view, the rarer Kydonitsa grape (meaning ‘little quince’) is a variety which manages to balance seriousness with delightfully discreet aromatic allure.

Kydonitsa has a sense of liveliness (as the name suggests, there is a certain similarity to quince), with a charming textural crunch and a restrained aromatic profile somewhere between chamomile and pear.

Another emerging star in the firmament of Greek white wine beyond Assyrtiko is Vidiano.

Vidiano is a grape that comes from Crete, thought to originate from the prefecture of Rethymno and tends towards peachiness lifted with herby freshness.

While it’s never the zippiest of all Greek grape varieties, I’ve yet to taste a soft example and from cooler vineyards the wines balance nicely between widespread appeal and mesmeric finesse.

Paired with fish, shellfish and light summer salads, it’s absolutely splendid.

Rare jewels

However, for the captivating pristine power of volcanic Assyrtiko, the answer lies in some of the seriously rare varieties that are tucked away on other sun-drenched islands.

The highly rare grape of Makripodia from Zakynthos is one to watch with a saline streak to appeal to Assyrtiko fans or the red grape Romeiko planted across Crete which produces moreish white wines with dynamic umami and sea-spray that are wonderful matched with mezze.

But the real hope for similar calibre to Assyrtiko is Potamisi.

Found in the Cyclades, the best examples have a similar mineral power to Assyrtiko with the tension and invigoration of grand cru Chablis.

For a white wine of impressive concentration that can be equally at home with a Greek salad, shellfish, sushi or a lemon roast chicken, Potamisi has the power to take the world by storm.

Delicious Greek white wines that aren’t Assyrtiko:

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Paris Sigalas looks exactly as one might imagine a French-educated, Greek mathematics professor-turned-winemaker to look. Which, strangely enough, is a little like the late Sir Michael Gambon.

Now in his late 70s, he exudes a very particular sort of ineffable, laid-back cool – shot through with a robust intellectualism and good sense of humour.

One senses that an afternoon with Paris could, very quickly, become an evening, and conversations would become very branching indeed.

As it was, we (mostly) stuck to wine at a recent presentation of his new project. And what is manifestly clear is the drive and vision – dare one call it a ‘pothos’ – to take his beloved Assyrtiko to a more rarefied level.

Scroll down for six notes on Oeno P

Paris in Paris

Sigalas was born into a winemaking family on Santorini and grew up helping at his grandfather’s ‘canava’ (cellar), on the island’s northern shore, beyond which – out to sea – lurks the underwater volcano of Kulumbo.

He left to study mathematics, an interest that saw him undertake a post-graduate course in mathematical logic in the French capital.

When he returned to Greece he taught mathematics for many years in Athens. It was only in 1991 that he returned to Santorini full-time and set up his own winemaking enterprise.

Over the following decades, Domaine Sigalas grew into a thriving estate and one of the leading wineries on the island.

A more personal project

But, in 2020, Sigalas handed over management of the domaine to Ktima Kir-Yianni.

With production up to 200,000 bottles a year, Sigalas says he felt an ‘existential’ need to return to a smaller project with room for more experimentation and one that would feed his ‘passion’ to hone his vision for Assyrtiko.

The result was Oeno P, which he now makes back in his family’s old canava overlooking the sea.

A study in Assyrtiko

Part of the inspiration for the project was a flirtation with a series of single village bottlings undertaken by Domaine Sigalas in 2015.

Sigalas explains that this ‘Seven Villages’ project – as well as being unique – had shown there was both a general character to Assyrtiko to Santorini as well as individual terroir characteristics.

Sigalas lays out what are – in his view – the defining characteristics of Santorini Assyrtiko: a rich, full body; balanced acidity; a distinct saline and mineral note; and a long finish.

‘What I wanted to do was dial up all these elements,’ he says.

To do so he approached the problem like a mathematical equation, or like a jazz piece, breaking down the wine into constituent parts and deciding how best to reassemble it.

Three vineyards

From his earlier project, Sigalas had identified vineyards in three places that he felt held particular promise.

These were:

• Akrotiri – provides the backbone of any blend, with a strong maritime feel of salinity and seaweed and intense acidity.
• Megalochori – the most balanced of the three, richer and less angular.
• Fira (Thera) – provides the finesse and ties the blend together.

He stressed that these assessments were ‘not objective’ but ‘what I feel and apply to my blending’.

Drawing his fruit from these sites gave the name for his main cuvée, ‘Tria Ampelia’ – ‘Three Vineyards’.

Sigalas’ ambition to amplify the inherent qualities of Assyrtiko also influenced his choice of winemaking vessels.

The grapes are pressed in a vertical press (as in Champagne) for a more gentle extraction that preserves the quality of the initial grape must.

Eschewing oak and stainless steel, all of the wines are fermented and aged in clay amphora – a mix of 750 litre and 1,600L in size – which likewise serves to conserve the wine’s fresh and delicate aromas, but also ‘smooths out the rough edges’ thanks to a very gentle oxygen transfer.

The wines are aged for at least 16 months on their lees, with lees-stirring tailored to each amphora, and then bottled unfiltered.

How they taste

On a purely technical level these are beautifully made, very precise wines. They have that wonderful trinity of clearly belonging to a place, grape and maker that cuts through even vintage variation and stylistic constraint.

There’s not only balance between the constituent pillars of wine (ripeness, acidity and alcohol), there is tension.

In the very best examples (in my opinion the 2022 and 2023 wines), they positively crackle with an almost electric charge.

The wines are packed with lemon and stone fruit character, as well as notes of fragrant hay and honey and a discreet chalky texture.

Sigalas speaks of ‘salinity’ and ‘minerality’ and, however you perceive or define those characters, they are clear to me, adding to the sense of sea-kissed freshness that pervades these wines.

The extended lees ageing is adding an important element too. In hot climates like Santorini, many producers choose not to put their wines through malolactic conversion (which adds a creamy character) to preserve acidity.

But the long ageing sur lie and bâtonnage adds a featherlight yet mouth-filling texture, like a dollop of fresh cream or meringue, which pairs wonderfully with all the notes of ripe fruit and honey.

It also brings a pastry or biscuit note which, combined with the saline element, gives a delightfully moreish sablé Breton quality.

What I like most about them is that they are evocative. They chatter and dance with suggestions of the sun’s reflection on the sea and rocks bleached sun-white like hunks of salt, and the waft of citrus fruits in the breeze and herb-infused honey.

They are, put simply, very Greek. And possibly a rare example of fine wines best-enjoyed not in a restaurant, but at a wooden table in the sun.

Aiming high

The 2020 and 2021 vintages of Tria Ampelia are both perfectly good, but are clearly early first steps. It’s the beautifully complete 2022 and compelling 2023 where all those elements Sigalas was after really come together.

I was whisked away, Helen-like, by the single amphora wine, Pithari 11. This is (as the name suggests) a single amphora allowed to ferment spontaneously, and the dash of residual sugar left behind just adds an extra dimension of lusciousness that is unctuous and divine.

‘Akulumbo’ – the late harvest ‘Nykteri’ style – is a radical step-up and I found it rather heavy after the deftness of the Tria Ampelia cuvées.

Nykteri means ‘all nighter’ in Greek, though at 15% I’d doubt you’d stay awake after a bottle. There’s no questioning its hedonistic and contemplative qualities however.

These wines are not cheap. Tria Ampelia is £85 a bottle, single amphora is £100 and Akulumbo is £108.

Given the quality and artisanal nature of these wines – at 20,000 bottles a year Oeno P is a tenth of the production of Domaine Sigalas – I think these prices are justified.

Greece is one of Europe’s great wine regions – albeit one forced by history to play catch-up.

Ambitious projects such as Oeno P, that aim to elevate the status of the country’s indigenous grapes and winemaking, are important steps to ensure that Greek Assyrtiko is one day mentioned in the same breath as white Burgundy or Alsatian Riesling.

And I’ll envy anyone who gets to while away a languid afternoon drinking a bottle on a Greek island, with the sun on their face and the sound of the Aegean lapping in their ears.

Santorini tremors

Around the time this article was written, the Cyclades chain, of which Santorini is a part, was rocked by a serious of violent tremors. Many people left the island and there were fears a major earthquake was possible.

Those fears have now largely subsided. Decanter asked Paris Sigalas’ agent, Maltby & Greek, if it had any news and received this reply in reassurance:

‘After London, Paris flew straight back to Santorini. He still remains on the island, and he has secured the clay amphoras even better in case of a bigger earthquake. Although, according to experts, this scenario is not likely to happen anymore as the seismic activity has slowed down.

‘He is not worried and as he says, he cannot feel the earthquakes – only the ones that are above 4.5 richters.’

Oeno P: The range so far

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Assyrtiko, a robust and versatile grape, has firmly established itself as a symbol of Greek viticulture and has recently become one of the most talked-about varieties in white wine, drawing comparisons to Hungary’s esteemed Furmint.

With its origins on the Aegean island of Santorini, the cultivation of Assyrtiko has spread across Greece, and the exciting wines that have resulted demonstrate the grape’s adaptability to different climates and terroirs.

Scroll down to see notes and scores for 18 thrilling Greek Assyrtiko

Within Greece, the expression of Assyrtiko varies significantly between the mainland and its island of origin. Mainland vineyards typically produce a fruitier, less mineral-intense style than those found on Santorini.

It’s here that Assyrtiko finds its most pronounced expression, the island’s volcanic soils enriching the grape with a distinctive smoky minerality, salinity and depth.

The old, ungrafted vines found in the island’s vineyards are particularly noteworthy, typically trained in a characteristic basket-shaped system known as kouloura to protect them from harsh winds and intense sun.

Old vines, new ideas

On Santorini, innovative winemaking techniques are being used to enhance the natural qualities of Assyrtiko. Extended ageing on the lees adds richness and complexity, resulting in wines with greater body and a creamy texture.

The use of wild yeasts for fermentation introduces unique, indigenous flavours and aromas, further connecting the wines to their specific locale. Microvinification of selected parcels from centenarian vines allows winemakers to explore the full potential of these ancient vineyards, often producing exceptionally concentrated and characterful wines.

Additionally, some winemakers are experimenting with amphorae, which provide a distinctive oxidative environment that influences the wines’ texture and flavour.

Food pairing par excellence

Assyrtiko’s high acidity and robust structure give it exceptional ageability, with the potential to develop complex flavours over time. And this grape is not only confined to producing dry white wines but is also used to create sparkling, sweet and even orange wines, highlighting its wide-ranging potential.

That high acidity and the strong minerality also make Assyrtiko an excellent partner for a wide variety of dishes. Wines made from the grape pair splendidly with raw seafood, enhancing the delicate flavours of oysters and sushi, while their citrussy profile complements dishes such as steamed mussels with lemongrass.

Assyrtiko’s affinity for saffron-infused recipes, such as paella or rich stews, further demonstrates its versatility when it comes to food pairings.

More than just a grape, Assyrtiko is a reflection of Greece’s winemaking heritage and a symbol of its potential for future innovation. As it continues to gain international recognition, Assyrtiko represents not only the excellence of Greek wine but also the dynamic diversity of global white wine trends.

The finest of Greek Assyrtiko to seek out:

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Mykonos is among the best-known islands in the Cyclades archipelago, famed for its nightlife and windmills. It’s only when you land in Mykonos in midsummer that you realise just why there are so many white-sailed windmills: in the summer, the wind blows fiercely in the Cyclades.

For wine lovers, its more tranquil neighbour Tinos is the more enticing destination, one which has been undergoing a renaissance in wine. It is home to the ambitious project, T-Oinos, the brand name being a play on Tinos and on the Greek word for ‘wine’ (οἶνος / ‘oinos’).

Tinos is a welcome hideaway for the non-nightclub set to escape the crowds and traffic of Mykonos. It is developing prestige hotels, and there is plenty of local produce to enjoy.

Scroll down for notes on six wines from T-Oinos

Wind-swept isle

Tinos is a Holy Island, its cathedral an important destination for Greek Orthodox pilgrims who visit the icon of the Virgin on her feast day, on 15 August. It is also renowned for its sculptors and its artistic community, and has a resident population of around 10,000.

Tinos has some windmills, but the key feature are the dovecotes, with angular decorations. Mykonos, I’m told, needed windmills for bread making; Tinos with a larger population wanted the doves for meat. Today, though, the dovecotes simply add to the artistic charm of many villages.

The brief catamaran crossing to the island of Tinos is choppy. The winds – known as the Meltemi – blow strongly in the afternoons from May to September. While the wind is wearing for a human, it’s a healthy blast of freshness for the vines, cooling the vineyards in summer by as much as 3 to 4°C.

At 470 metres above sea level, the Stegasta plateau at the top of the island is striking, with trees bent forward in the wind, and volakes, enormous outcrops of granite boulders, bursting out amid the vines.

I could imagine myself in Scotland with its granite, only the sky is blue, the climate is hot and dry, and the sea is distinctly more azure. Over time the wind and humidity have worn the boulders into their distinct rounded shapes; symbolic, almost, of the energy and purity of the vineyard the team find there.

Simply making the vineyard was a feat of (suitably) epic labour. Some were simply too massive to be removed and the neat lines of today’s high-density vineyard are regularly interrupted by these immovable titans.

Restoring what was lost

One of the objectives of T-Oinos was to restore the vines and the wine culture that had once existed on the island. There are remains of ancient presses to be found dating back to 4,000 BC.

These were placed in sheltered sites in the vineyards. Hence the name of the Stegasta range that T-Oinos produces, ‘stegasta’ meaning ‘covered’ in Greek.

In 1768 there were 20 different wines made on the island, and up until 1909, 30,000 barrels of wine were produced a year. Today, though, the hillsides are covered with abandoned terraces, formerly used for figs and cereals, as well as vines.

In contrast with Santorini, there are very few old vineyards. When T-Oinos started in 2002, therefore, it was necessary to plant from scratch.

Francophile owner Alexander Avatangelos is a businessman who had experience in wine in Santorini, with former investments in the Sigalas winery there. He founded T-Oinos in 1999 with Gérard Margeon, Executive Head Sommelier at Alain Ducasse. Their first wine was made in 2008.

A key moment came in 2016 when French consultant Stéphane Derenoncourt joined the team. He has now retired from most of his international consulting businesses, but has remained with T-Oinos.

The arrival of Derenoncourt helped steer the winery’s course, which continues to the present day. An early criticism of the T-Oinos wines was that they were too oaky, but tasting back over the last five vintages, that is no longer the case.

In addition, the wines generally come in between 13% and 14% alcohol and show controlled, elegant characters.

Varietal focus

There are four Greek varieties currently planted by the estate, two white and two red. The main two are Assyrtiko (white) and Mavrotragano (red), with some additional Avgoustiatis (red) and Malagousia (white).

The winery makes two rosés which are perfect for enjoying in Tinos’ waterside restaurants. However, one gets the impression that the winemaking team aren’t particularly enthusiastic about rosé wines.

The chief commitment is to make white and red wines that channel the island’s particular terroir. And with Assyrtiko, they believe they have the magic bullet.

Assyrtiko from not-too-distant Santorini to the south has rightly won international acclaim, and plantings have sprung up from California to Australia and South Africa, as well as across mainland Greece and its islands.

There are many good wines, often richer in style, but few quite match the volcanic character of Santorini. On Tinos, though, they come close.

Being from the same island chain, conditions are similar – but there are differences. The soil on Tinos is granite to Santorini’s aspa – a mix of basalt, pumice and volcanic ash.

In the vineyard, Santorini is famed for the ‘kouloura‘, basket-trained vines to protect the plant and its crop from the winds, while at T-Oinos they support the bush vines by training them individually up poles, which gives them adequate support against the gusty Cycladic currents.

A red less ordinary

When it comes to red wines, the money is on Mavrotragano. Meaning ‘black’ and ‘crispy’ in Greek, it grows on dramatically steep terraces, and giving fruit imbued with natural concentration.

Konstantinos Lazarakis MW writes in his book The Wines of Greece that Mavrotragano ‘may be Greece’s answer to Mourvèdre’, rich and deeply coloured. He adds that ‘so far, it seems almost impossible to make an ordinary Mavrotragano’.

T-Oinos still has a relatively short history with the variety, but from my tasting, it looks as if Lazarakis’s comparison is correct.

Prestige project

Without doubt, T-Oinos is a prestige project, with prices to match. Up until very recently, all the investment has been in the vineyard. It is only now that a prestige winery is being built, which will be worth a visit when complete.

As such, winemaker Thanos Georgilas welcomed me instead to the small homestead which currently serves as the tasting room, lab and winery. Georgilas is a safe pair of hands with an impressive pedigree, having previously worked at Opus One and Chateau Latour.

There is nothing particularly glamorous in the winery amid the stainless steel and the wooden foudres – except the shiny bulbous glass amphoras, which are very impressive pieces of kit.

‘They are neutral vessels to preserve the freshness,’ explains Georgilas, who also explains that they work with just two coopers for their oak barrels and the ethos is very clearly ‘not Bordeaux’.

I asked Georgilas the textbook question about the viticultural challenges on Tinos. If the wind is a problem that causes the vine to use up precious water, it is also a bonus, keeping the vineyard healthy, and the sun and wind together dries the humidity blown in from the sea. Nor is there any esca (wood disease) on the island.

While the summers are very hot, the bonus in July and August is the fog and cloud that settle on the top of the island and protect the grapes from sunburn.

But, perhaps amusingly, the real pests are the island’s wild goats; not only are they often found nibbling away in the vineyards, but also wandering across the roads ready to stand in the way of a winemaker driving between plots.

To kalon!

Greece’s ancient winemaking star is back in the ascendent. Nonetheless, it’s still not widely recognised as a producer of ‘fine wine’.

At Opus, Georgilas recalls he had to put up with good natured ribbing about this fact. His response was to point out that the name of one of the most famous vineyards in California is To Kalon, named after the Greek for ‘the best’.

The best is what Georgilas and the T-Oinos team are striving for on their Cycladean island. One feels they deserve the blessings of one of Greece’s ancient divinities to speed them on their way. Winged Nike, goddess of victory, would be an appropriate one.

The wines certainly get a tick from me.

T-Oinos at a glance

Founded in 1999 by Alexander Avatangelos and Gérard Margeon; joined in 2016 by partner Stéphane Derenoncourt.

Varieties: Mainly Assyrtiko for whites, Mavrotragano for reds

Vineyard area: 13ha planted by 2021; forecast to grow to 17ha by the end of 2025.

Total investment by 2025: €14 million

Planting density: 10,000 vines per hectare. ‘Organically farmed with biodynamic practices’.

Production: 25,000 bottles, forecast to grow to 45,000 bottles

Three sites:

Stegasta plateau: 8ha, 470m, sandy soil in granite. Grapes: Assyrtiko and Mavrotragano.

Rassonas terraces: 3ha, 400m, clay schist, facing east. Mavrotragano.

Agios Dimitrios terraces: 2ha, 400m, schist and sandy soil, featuring high sun exposure. Mavrotragano and Avgoustiatis.

Wines from T-Oinos

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From hazy tourist memories of bad retsina served in terrible glasses in tavernas, to the sensational modern-day Assyrtikos of Santorini island, Greek wine has come a long way. This is particularly felt in the country’s whites, which highlight freshness and structure, with moderate alcohol levels that rarely exceed 13.5%. There’s also an unexpected common thread – a saline aftertaste. Assyrtiko doesn’t have a monopoly on this, as a handful of other exciting white varieties have come to the fore.

Savatiano and pink-skinned Roditis account for one third of the 65,000ha total Greek vineyard. These varieties, traditionally associated with retsina, are being reinvented by passionate producers. Savatiano, which has its home in Attica, shows moderately intense aromas of apples, white peach and melon. It ages well, developing a honeyed, toasty character, almost like a Hunter Valley Semillon. Dry-farmed old bush vines tame its vigour, adding substance and layers of complexity. The unsung and often neutral Roditis, when planted in high-altitude sites such as Aigialeia in the Peloponnese, produces breath-taking wines with intense minerality. Both varieties react well to skin contact, which is becoming more and more common.

Mainland Greece has two more key aromatic varieties. Malagousia was rescued from extinction in the late 1960s and quickly won the hearts of most producers. It covers 520ha and produces single-varietal wines or softens the edges of Assyrtiko in blends. Aromas include flowers and herbs in cooler sites, followed by a round palate with soft acidity. It delivers its best in mountainous areas.

Compared to Assyrtiko, it offers the more approachable side of Greek whites; however, the best examples are worth cellaring for up to five years. Moschofilero, another pink-skinned variety planted mainly in Mantinia in the Peloponnese, could have been a big hit with its mix of Muscat aromas, high acidity and friendly prices, but it was a victim of its own success – as producers increased yields to meet rising demand, so overall quality suffered.

Fortunately, it’s making a comeback with rosé-style wines, some with lees ageing and smart oaking. The Greek islands showcase numerous varieties. Robola excels in Cephalonia, giving elegant, medium-bodied wines with lemon, grapefruit and fennel aromas, plus fresh acidity. Producers are experimenting with prolonged lees ageing, and some single-vineyard wines have been released. Vidiano is the superstar in Crete, delivering a dense core of apricot over sea-breeze minerality. Wines are fleshy and vibrant, with a satiny texture – the Greek Condrieu, as it works well with oak.

Other styles include orange and traditional-method sparkling wines. The list would not be complete without Aidani. A partner for Assyrtiko, it’s increasingly used on its own, delivering expressive wines with jasmine, peach, kumquat and tropical fruit. It’s made in two main styles: a rather Alsatian version and a more mineral one.

Yiannis Karakasis MW’s top 18 alternative Greek whites

Unusually harsh wind, the aftermath of drought and a lack of skilled vineyard workers have led to the lowest Assyrtiko crop on Santorini since 1991, industry representatives said.

At the 130-hectare Domaine Argyros, which mostly makes wine from its own vines, winery representative Elizabeth Loukaki said that two days of ‘exceptionally strong winds’ in early April blew flowers off vines, destroying at least 20% of the potential harvest.

‘The wind came from all directions at high speeds,’ she told Decanter.com.

Drought had already caused a 30% reduction from normal yields last year at Domaine Argyros, but winds made 2019 even worse.

Some winemakers said that drought had continued to affect yields this year, despite high winter rainfall. It was hoped that next year’s crop would recover.

Such low yields will make 2019 ‘prices difficult to control’, said Yiannis Karakasis MW.

Prices were already under pressure from 2018, as reported by Decanter.com last year.

However, Karakasis said that 2019 ‘quality seems high’ for those grapes that were harvested.

According to the Santorini cooperative, Santo Wines, the 2019 crop was reduced to just one third of average production.

‘Usually we have nearly three tonnes of grapes per hectare, but this year it was barely over one tonne,’ said winery representative Stela Kasiola.

Some producers have also blamed low yields on a ‘very serious shortage of manpower’ in the vineyards.

Yiannis Paraskevopoulos, of Gaia Winery on Santorini, said this was a longer-term structural problem.

Most wineries on the island rely on buying grapes from growers.

But some estates, like Gaia, have started sending their own teams to tend vines and harvest grapes for the growers to ensure the best possible supply of grapes as international demand for Assyrtiko wines has increased, said Paraskevopoulos.

‘Growers should understand to work the vines in a more attentive way, because we are all on the same chain; we can only succeed together,’ added Kasiola.

Hailstorms further north on the Cyclades island of Tinos – where Assyrtiko increasingly is being planted – has increased the pressure on supplies.

April hail at the trailblazing T-OINOS winery, which counts Bordeaux-based Stéphane Derenoncourt as chief consultant, reduced yields by as much as 40% below average, estate oenologist Thanos Georgilas said.

It is the third serious bout of hail damage since the winery opened in 2002 and the high-elevation estate was considering buying an anti-hail cannon for €50,000, he said.

Editing by Chris Mercer

See also: Great Assyrtiko wines to try

Santorini, an island that spends most of its year in quasi-desert conditions, has never looked so fecund.

In the three months of January, February and March 2019, the average rainfall on the island was 550 mm – almost twice the annual rainfall of 300 mm.

Santorini has ‘bakingly high temperatures and virtually no rainfall‘, according to Decanter’s guide to the island, so winemakers were not prepared for the excessive rain.

‘It is wrong to say that we expect high production if we have high rainfall,’ says Lefteris Anagnostou, of the independent Karamalegos Winery.

Santorini’s hugely successful wine industry is based on the kouloura, a basket shape that vines are wound into at ground level.

This low-lying circle not only protects grapes from the vicious hot winds that can sweep over the island, from but traps moisture from the sea mists that pervade the island at night.

However, so much rain into the koulouras could be counterproductive to the growth of the vines.

‘The major benefit is that the water table has now been replenished and that vines have enough soil moisture to grow,’ said Yannis Valambous, who launched Vassaltis Vineyard in the extremely dry year of 2015.

‘But excessive water can sometimes be a problem when it occurs during growing season as it may lead to mildew. Mildew is a very difficult disease to combat on the island of Santorini as there are no trellises and the pruning system – kouloura- means difficult access to the vines.’

Concerns were increased when the heavy rain was subsequently followed by unusually destructive winds.

‘Grape production could still be low because of the strong winds that blew for a few days this May and ruined the buds,’ said Markos Kafouros, president of the Santo Wines Cooperative.

‘All wine growers are prey to the weather but here on Santorini we are more vulnerable than most.’

In 2018, Santorini winemakers were also hit with the issue of significant price increases for grapes.

Assyrtiko grape prices on Santorini have spiked this year, leading to concerns among some producers that the Greek island could lose out in the market.

Prices for Santorini Assyrtiko grapes haven risen to €5 per kilo this year, up from €3.4 per kilo last year and having once been as low as 80 cents, according to growers.

There is now concern that the market might say ‘enough is enough’, according to Yiannis Valambous, of Vassaltis Winery.

Berry Bros & Rudd (BBR) has said so already. Although wines from Santorini are ‘spectacularly good and the top wines will sell’, said BBR buyer Demetri Walters MW, ‘we have stopped buying Assyrtiko from Santorini [for the time being] because grape prices have become unreasonably high’.

Yiannis Paraskevopoulos, owner of Gaia Estate, said that a 50% drop in rainfall this year so far, to 77mm down from 170mm at the same point of 2017, has shrunk the harvest in 2018.

Another factor is the proportion of low yielding, older vines, according to Stela Kasiola, of the cooperative winery Santo. She called for plantings of more robust, younger vines to increase yields.

Several winemakers also criticised inconsistent quality from independent growers.

‘You will have one grower who farms grapes as his only business and does a good job to get the five euros per kilo,’ said Paraskevopoulos.

‘But then another person tends to a vineyard only as a secondary business and may not take as much care of the vines as he should, but claims the same market price.’

Paraskevopoulos believes that a standard setting authority, ‘such as the CIVC in Champagne by which winemakers and growers agree a set of criteria for grape growing techniques and grape quality’, would help to ensure higher yields and consistency.

Some growers have considered dropping the koulouri vine training method that has become synonymous with Santorini vines; a basket-weaved shape to minimise wind damage during flowering and to protect against sunburn.

Guyot pruning has been suggested as an alternative. ‘I think it is not a matter of better quality, but it would improve yields for sure,’ said Konstantinos Lazarakis MW, a wine educator based in Athens.

He added that the highly regarded Domaine Sigalas had introduced vineyard posts and training wires for Guyot pruning and trellising on the island.

Up until this year, the market has adjusted to price increases, because ‘Assyrtiko has been historically underrated’, said Paraskevopoulos.

But upping yields is a concern for all today, as merchants like Walters buy non-Santorini Assyrtiko alternatives.

‘For a wine with as much lemon freshness and saline appeal, that is easier to understand, and that is better value for the on-trade particularly, we source an excellent Assyrtiko from Lyrarakis in Crete,’ he said.

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A Greek Assyrtiko has won one of the top medals in the Decanter World Wine Awards 2018, but how much do you know about the wines made from this grape?

What does Assyrtiko taste of? – ask Decanter

The Artemis Karamolegos, Assyrtiko, Santorini 2016 has won a coveted Best in Show medal at the Decanter World Wine Awards 2018.

The Assyrtiko grape can be very similar to Sauvignon Blanc, with its citrus flavours, especially lemon, and high acidity.

‘Assyrtiko is to Greece what Albariño is to Spain or Grüner Veltliner is to Austria,’ said Joanna Simon in her Greek Assyrtiko Expert’s Choice last summer.

According to Decanter‘s ‘tasting notes decoded’ series, Assyrtiko can also have some floral notes, like orange blossom and jasmine, plus some spicy, like ginger. Several tasters have also noted a salty streak in some of the wines.

Santorini is seen as the spiritual home for Assyrtiko and it is believed to be indigenous to the island.

‘There really isn’t anything like Santorini Assyrtiko,’ said Simon.

It also has the advantage of maintaining high acidity, despite growing in warm climates.

More recently, Assyrtiko has been planted in Australia.

Jim Barry wines in Clare Valley made Australia’s first commercial bottling of Assyrtiko in 2016.

According to Decanter experts, it has floral and citrus notes, and minerality.

Winemaking

Assyrtiko can have some oak ageing or fermentation, to add body. Although heavy-handed in the past, it has become more subtle over the years.

‘When applied well, it can add depth and breadth plus toasty flavours that complement Assyrtiko’s piercingly intense flavour profile and high acidity,’ said Simon.

It could also have some lees ageing.

As Decanter’s Sylvia Wu observed about the Vassaltis, Assyrtiko, Santorini 2015, ‘six months on lees combined with regular batonnage provides more depth and complexity to the texture, leading to a long, lingering finish.’

See our ‘Ask Decanter’ page and find more questions answered

Some Greek Assyrtiko from the mainland is very good, says Joanna Simon, although there really isn’t anything quite like that from Santorini...

Assyrtiko is to Greece what Albariño is to Spain or Grüner Veltliner is to Austria.

What sets it apart from other countries’ equivalent varieties is that Assyrtiko has barely travelled. The wine has been (and is increasingly) exported and appreciated, but the vine has not.

Only Australia has broken the mould – and only recently – with the first commercial release of a home-grown Assyrtiko this year (from Jim Barry in Clare Valley, which I can recommend).

Scroll down for Joanna’s top five Greek Assyrtiko picks from her 18 recommendations, featured in Decanter magazine’s August issue Expert’s Choice.

At home it’s a different story: Assyrtiko has spread from the Aegean islands, where it probably originated on Santorini, to many parts of the mainland, including Attica, the Peloponnese and Macedonia. Some of the mainland wines are very good, but they tend to be softer, less wild and distinctive than Santorini.

‘There really isn’t anything like Santorini Assyrtiko’

Santorini

If ever a wine justified the description ‘mineral’, it’s the dry white made on this volcanic island. It’s hard to describe the intense, sometimes pungent, smoky, volcanic smell and taste in any other way.

It isn’t the only flavour of course: penetrating citrus, especially lemon, is the other signature flavour, sometimes with quince or a floral note. There can be a salty edge, too. And then there’s the trademark high acidity. Assyrtiko has the ability to hold its tartaric acid in a hot climate.

Another quirk is the age of the vines: because phylloxera gives volcanic deposits a miss, the vines are ungrafted and many are old and exceptionally deep-rooted. Low yields are a given, but vintages are not too variable. 2016, 2015 and especially 2014 were all successful.

Oak

With the natural acidity and intense mineral and lemon flavours, Assyrtiko is a candidate for fermentation and/or ageing in oak. Sometimes I could wish for a

little less but, compared to five years ago, oak has become a more subtle seasoning in Greece. Hurray for that!

Joanna’s top five Greek Assyrtiko picks:

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P McGlynn, Edinburgh, asks: I was at a dinner with friends and they served a wine blind before dinner.

I thought it might have been Sauvignon Blanc, but there were definitely toasty, woody notes.

It turned out to be Assyrtiko, which confused me, as I thought it was only unoaked. Are oaked versions becoming more fashionable?

Joanna Simon replies: It was a good guess! The variety’s powerful mineral character, citrus intensity and high acidity could easily be taken for Sauvignon Blanc.

As for oak, most Greek Assyrtikos are unoaked, but fermenting and/or ageing in oak isn’t new.

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Two of the Assyrtiko-based wine classifications for Santorini actually prescribe oak ageing: a minimum of 24 months for the sweet Vinsanto and three months for the bone-dry Nykteri, but many of the producers of oaked dry Assyrtiko today don’t use the Nykteri classification.

If anything, oak is being used a little less than a few years ago, or at least more sensitively.

There are still some heavy-handed examples, but far fewer than before.

Applied carefully, oak works well with Assyrtiko: it can add depth and breadth plus toasty flavours that complement Assyrtiko’s piercingly intense flavour profile and high acidity.

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Clare Valley-based Jim Barry Wines has produced Australia’s first commercial bottling of Greek grape variety Assyrtiko – 10 years after company MD Peter Barry first tasted the wine while on holiday.

Jim Barry Wines produces first Australian Assyrtiko

Now Barry believes that climate change and global warming could make Assyrtiko well-suited to the future of Australian viticulture and winemaking.

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Just under 500 cases of the 2016 Jim Barry Assyrtiko have been given a limited on-premise release in Australia, winning listings in Peter Gilmore’s Bennelong restaurant at the Sydney Opera House, and at Dinner by Heston, among others.

The release of the wine last week came after a lengthy process of importation and quarantine of the vine cuttings from Greece, and a decade after Peter Barry and wife Sue first tasted the variety while holidaying on the Greek island of Santorini.

• Decanter travel guide to Santorini

The first Australian Assyrtiko

Barry said the wine immediately stood out as being suited to the modern Australian palate, and he identified the Clare Valley – the climate of which he said was broadly similar to that of Santorini – as the place to plant Assyrtiko.

‘The fresh, crisp, acidic qualities of the wine are perfect accompaniments to contemporary Australian food’

‘It is a natural partner for the Australian climate and cuisine,’ Barry said.

‘Santorini has an arid climate, with an average rainfall of 300mm. With the advent of climate change and global warming, Assyrtiko is a variety that is well-suited to the changing landscape of Australian winemaking.’

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First Assyrtiko planted in Australia

The Greek grape variety Assyrtiko has been planted for the first time on Australian soil.

An absolutely stunning Müller-Thurgau, run through with class and charm, its minty, floral nose graced with clementine, yellow plum, spice, lavender and white pepper. It’s lithe, long and extraordinarily pure, with bracing acidity and penetrating flavours of green apples, thyme and a deliciously cleansing, vital finish (13%).

£23.99 Armit Wines

Yes, a Trophy for Müller-Thurgau. This is a grape that has largely fallen from favour in Germany and New Zealand, but grown on the Fennberg plateau at 1,000m, surrounded by the Alps, it has proven its quality.

The wine is named after Franz Philipp Freiherr von Fenner zu Fennberg, founder of the Austrian Kaiserjäger (the emperor’s soldiers), who used the Hofstatt estate on the Fennberg mountain as a summer residence.

Herbert Tiefenbrunner, father of current winery owner Christof, used to spend his summer holidays on the estate and, inspired by a vine growing along the wall of the house, decided to plant a vineyard on the site.

Why Müller-Thurgau? Herbert figured that its tendency to flower late and ripen early would protect it from bad weather at either end of the growing season. The vineyard, a steep 15km drive from the Tiefenbrunner winery, enjoys a thermal advantage from being planted on a plateau, rather than steep slopes – all the more so because the vines are south-facing. Meanwhile, the Alps offer protection from the harsh northerly wind, and there is an additional warming effect from the Ora wind from Lake Garda.

Herbert died at the age of 87 in April this year – before he could see his beloved wine win this International Trophy.

Christof Tiefenbrunner and his wife Sabine; Christof’s late father Herbert founded the estate

Tasted against

Argyros, Assyrtiko, Santorini, Aegean Islands, Greece 2014 • Grace, Koshu Private Reserve, Yamanashi, Chubu, Japan 2014 • Gross, Furmint, Stajerska, Podravje, Slovenia 2013 • Pazo Señorans, Selección de Añada, Rías Baixas, Spain 2007 • Rabl, Käferberg Alte Reben, Kamptal, Niederösterreich, Austria 2013 • Soalheiro, Alvarinho, Monção e Melgaço, Vinho Verde, Portugal 2014 • Szent Tamás, Dongó, Tokaj, Hungary 2013 • Tempus Two, Zenith Semillon, Hunter Valley, New South Wales, Australia 2007.

Don’t miss your chance to discover an exceptional selection of wines from top producers along the Mediterranean coast in a tasting highlighting the variety, authenticity and quality of this fascinating region at the Decanter Mediterranean Fine Wine Encounter on Saturday 7 March 2015.

From Château Musar in the Lebanon to Italy’s cult Sassicaia and Sicilian Marsala to dessert wine made in Cyprus, our ninety minute tutored tasting offers you the chance to discover 10 incredible and iconic wines presented by Berry Bros. & Rudd expert Demetri Walters MW.

‘This really is a unique opportunity to taste the diversity of wines produced along the Mediterranean coast, and all under one roof’, Walters says. ‘You’ll not only have the chance to taste authentic and native grapes from Cyprus, Greece and Sicily, some of which are produced in exceptionally small quantities, but also to taste icon wines from Italy, Spain and the Lebanon as well as a rare and intriguing presentation of two desert wines, including one from 1987′.

The 10 masterclass wines and reasons why you have to try each one:

‘An example of excellent winemaking showing the premium quality that Priorat Garnacha wines can produce’ – Clos de l’Obac, Gratallops, Priorat, 2004

‘One of the greatest Vin doux Naturels from a region that’s not as widely known as it used to be’ – Rivesaltes Rouge, La Carbasse VDN, Domaine Sarda Malet, Roussillon, France, 2006

‘This really is a wine of place! With lovely savoury and herbal notes, it’s like walking through the French garrgiue-scented countryside’ – La Pèira en Damaisela, Coteaux du Larzac, France, 2008

‘Premium quality, cult classic from a very successful vintage’ – Sassicaia, Tenuta San Guido, Bolgheri, Tuscany, Italy, 2011

‘A really authentic Southern Italian wine, full bodied, lots of extract, ripe tannins and balancing acidity’ – Old Vines Primitivo, Az Agr, Morella, Puglia, Italy, 2007

‘A wine style that has diminished in production but increased in quality – Marco is THE maker and this is one of his best’ – Marsala Superiore Riserva, Marco de Bartoli, Sicily, Italy, 1987

‘A classic style of Santorini Assyrtiko – one of the icons and a must-try’ – Nikteri Assyrtiko, Haridimos Hatzidakis, Santorini, Greece, 2011

‘By far and away the best that’s being produced and one that many will never have tasted’ – Xinomavaro, Earth & Sky, Thymiopoulos, Naoussa, Macedonia, Greece, 2011

‘This is the oldest continuously produced wine in existence (origins can be traced back as far as the late 12th century) and shows a revival of its original, unfortified style’ – Commandaria, Kyperounda, Pitsila Moutains, Cyprus, 2005

‘The ultimate iconic Levantine wine made in an extremely good vintage’ – Château Musar, Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, 2003

To book tickets to the Great Wines of the Mediterranean masterclass click here.

Further to the stand-out and more recognisable names, Walters wanted to include wines from regions that may perhaps have ‘declined in fashion but by no means in quality. ‘Cyprus, Sicily and the South of France are all resurgent regions in terms of premium quality but not many know it, or have had the chance to taste it first-hand’.

Walters also wanted to show the complexity of the Mediterranean region; ‘I’ll be giving consumers a good idea of what’s available both mainstream, like Priorat, but also an expression of something different, that’s no less valid but far less well-known, like Santorini and Puglia’.

‘There’s a huge rainbow of wines in this tasting, mixing those that may be too expensive to ordinarily buy (prices range from £17 – £136 per bottle) with some wines consumers probably won’t be aware of’.

As well as the sheer variety of wines on offer, Walters will be presenting the historical context behind each region, evaluating different styles of winemaking, variances in terroir, vintage conditions, and producer profiles, all of which ultimately shape how and why a wine tastes the way it does.

‘It will be quite a race to cover all ten incredible wines in just ninety minutes but for £45, it’s extremely good value. There will be an awful lot of information on a small number of wines, alongside the complexity of tasting a range of styles from across the whole of the Mediterranean basin – I can’t wait’.

For more information about the Decanter Mediterranean Fine Wine Encounter and to book tickets to the Great Wines of the Mediterranean masterclass click here.

Written by Decanter

As the term 'minerality' becomes ever more fashionable, so the search for a definition gathers momentum. Sarah Jane Evans MW canvasses opinion from winemakers and researchers around the globe.

Wine vocabulary is a poor traveller. The words we use are notoriously culture specific, from damsons to rambutans, and wakame to barley sugar. Now there’s a new word popping up on wine lists and in tasting notes, causing confusion. While ‘minerality’ is a term that I find useful, there’s no definite view on what it means.

The wines being described as mineral are also generally described as ‘elegant’, ‘lean’, ‘pure’ and ‘acid’. They have a taste as if of licking wet stones and often a chalky texture to match. Some argue that it only applies to white wines, but anyone who has tasted a Priorat from the area’s llicorella (slate) soils will know it also occurs in reds. Some argue that you can smell it, most that it appears on the palate.

The assumption is that mineral wines are superior to ‘mass market’, New World, fruity wines. They have a romantic image, one that implies they are handmade by artisans and express the mystery of the soil, with the viticulturist as the magical mediator. Typical examples are found in Chablis, in Priorat, in the Mencías of Ribeira Sacra and Bierzo, and of course in Loire Sauvignon Blancs, and Rieslings from the Mosel and Rheingau in Germany, and Wachau and Kremstal in Austria. Note that these are European examples. This is not just a European character but it does seem more prominent in places where the wines show less fruit and more acidity.

A recent term

The striking fact is that ‘minerality’ only started to make itself heard in the 1980s. It did not appear in Emile Peynaud’s The Taste of Wine (1983), or Ann Noble’s Aroma Wheel (1984), or indeed in The Oxford Companion to Wine (2006 – though it will be present in the 4th edition due out in 2015). Anecdotally, WSET students tell me that their tutors advise them not to use it in tasting notes. Yet it’s a fashionable term, well-established among wine aficionados.

Where does this obsession come from? Among many consumers, after all, a mineral ‘licked stones’ character is seen as negative. Has viticulture or winemaking changed? Or are we just being seduced by clever marketing? Many producers see it as an expression of the terroir, while some oenology experts put it down to compounds produced in winemaking. Whatever the origin, there is no agreed definition of minerality, but for many, myself included, it’s a very useful word.

Fact or fiction?

Let’s start with what is known. The International Mineralogical Association defines ‘mineral’ as ‘an element or chemical compound that is normally crystalline and that has been formed as a result of geological processes’. So vines take up elements from the soil and this gives wines their distinct taste? Right? Wrong! The mineral elements in wine are tiny; only potassium and calcium even come close to 1,000 parts per million. There’s no question of tasting them. As a result, science gives the ‘mineral’ tasting note short shrift.

As Professor Dr Monika Christmann from Geisenheim University says, ‘There are lots of fairy tales, and a lot of wishful thinking. We can agree on salt and sweet, and can describe it, but there is no definition of minerality and as a result people interpret it very differently.’

Nevertheless, anyone who has ever stood in a vertiginous slate vineyard in the Mosel will believe the wine tastes of its origins. Roman Horvath MW, Domäne Wachau winery director, recognises the gaping hole between science and art: ‘On one side we know that the direct causal transfer of minerals from the soil to the finished wine is nothing we can prove. On the other side we observe varying styles of wines from different soils and geology.’

Winemaker Alvaro Palacios has built his reputation on wines grown on slate soils in Priorat and Bierzo, as well as complex soils in Rioja. While he recognises there is little reliable evidence, he says ‘You have to believe it’. Using Bierzo as an example, he says that Mencías from the calcareous valley vineyards with their calcareous-limestone and quartzite elements are ‘gentle, subtle wines’, while the Villa de Corullón wines grown on slate slopes taste of graphite. He adds that lighter varieties such as Pinot Noir and Garnacha show minerality more clearly than Syrah or Tempranillo. Palacios has a message for the white-coated researchers and the super-analytical critics: ‘wine cannot be a technical obsession’.

Laroche winemaker, Grégory Viennois, working in Chablis, makes wines that are clearly identified with minerality. He too recognises the lack of evidence: ‘Even if the specific markers, the molecules directly connected with the mineral aspect, are yet to be scientifically proven, the astute amateur or professional agrees with this terminology.’ Exactly. We see or imagine the stones or chalk or slate, and we can visualise the flavours.

In Franken, it’s part of the vocabulary of Weingut Rudolf Fürst who produces three wines labelled ‘pur mineral’. Robert Weil’s Jochen Becker-Köhn says water transmits the terroir. The vine roots grow down some 5m until they reach impermeable rock. When they reach that barrier they take up the water that flows over it. The water releases compounds in the fine organic matter that coats rocks, and this is what the vines absorb – not the actual rock or stones, but the fine layer of organic matter.

Fortunately there are researchers worldwide seeking clarity on this. Dr Wendy Parr, based at Lincoln University, New Zealand has contrasted perceived minerality in Sauvignon Blancs in France and in New Zealand. Her research has taken in smell, taste and texture. Human reactions to taste are difficult to measure, but Dr Parr found consistent interpretations of minerality: citrus, fresh zingy notes, a flinty/smoky character, and a chalky note.

In Spain, Dr Antonio Palacios (no relation to Alvaro) of Laboratios Excell-Ibérica in Rioja, and David Molina of Outlook Wine in Barcelona, have been running a project analysing the chemical composition of wines that tasters have agreed show minerality. During the research they found that tasters were easily suggestible. When they blindtasted a set of wines they had previously tasted, and were asked to identify the ones they felt were mineral in character, tasters mentioned ‘smell of stone’, ‘pebble’ and ‘flint’ when they had not used this vocabulary the first time round. Palacios and Molina’s preliminary results suggest that the terms ‘terroir’ and ‘minerality’… ‘are not closely related to the level of mineral materials in the chemical composition of the wine, at least as the sole factor’.

Some believe firmly that minerality is a direct outcome of winemaking, and point to high levels of acidity and the absence of powerful aromatic compounds such as terpenes or fruity esters. ‘I love the term’, says Sam Harrop MW, winemaking consultant. He believes minerality expresses itself both aromatically and texturally. ‘Aromatic aspects from various complexed sulphides, and textural aspects from pH, acidity, complexity and to a lesser extent bitterness are likely [to be] playing a role here.’

Wines that have been through malolactic partially (not completely) – where the ‘appley’ malic acid is converted to the ‘milky’ lactic acid – have much much more mineral textural potential, he adds, because of the complexity of the acid profile. There’s a further acid to note: ‘succinic acid may well be the most important acid in the mineral debate, and like lactic acid it is winemaking-related. Higher levels of succinic acid are achieved in turbid, warm, spontaneous ferments,’ he says.

For Harrop, ‘Minerality perception is purely winemaking related… most wines that are reduced show more mineral potential.’ Many commentators suggest that sulphur compounds play a strong part, with the smoky, flinty character they can give. Harrop has a more inclusive view: ‘I’m not just referring to sulphides when I use the term reduction. A mineral texture seems more apparent in wines that have seen less oxygen during the process.’

No clear conclusion

The debate over the origin and definition of minerality continues. It’s disappointing for those of us who find it a very useful term. Fortunately Palacios and Molina give us a let-out in conclusion, as they are prepared to admit that there may be molecules that one way or another are a reminder ‘by olfactory and/or gustatory association of the world of minerals, although [the] soil or minerals that compose it do not have to be the single source of it’. We await more evidence. For the time being we could express the mysteries of minerality in a playful formula: [SS+A+CC] – [E+T] – [O²] = Minerality where SS is Stony Soils, A is Acid, CC is Cool Climate, E + T are the fruity aspects of wine in Esters and Thiols, and O² is oxygen. More briefly, look for wines that come from stony soils and cool climates, have marked acidity, are not overtly fruity and have not been much exposed to oxygen. If you enjoy this style, this may be a useful shorthand for finding it.

Minerality may have arrived suddenly in our tasting notes but it will take longer for science to explain it. And even longer, says Molina, to convince ‘the romantics’. In the meantime, as one of these romantics, I will continue to use it. Tasting notes are all about metaphor and transferred ideas, and minerality is a word that works.

See Sarah Jane Evans’ top five wines for a taste of minerality:

This year's Decanter World Wine Awards International Trophy for the Best in Show White Single-Varietal over £15 went to St. Jodern Kellerei, Heida Barrique, Valais, Switzerland 2012 (14%)

Tasted against:

• Belje, Goldberg Graševina, Podunavlje, Croatia 2006
• Casal Thaulero, Thalè, Trebbiano d’Abruzzo, Italy 2007
• Domaine du Chêne, Condrieu, Rhône, France 2012 • Gaia, Wild Ferment Assyrtiko, Santorini, Greece 2013
• Grace, Cuvée Misawa Akeno Koshu, Yamanashi, Chubu, Japan 2013
• Leth, Scheiben Roter Veltliner, Wagram, Niederösterreich, Austria 2013
• Mount Pleasant, Lovedale Semillon, Hunter Valley, New South Wales, Australia 2007
• Spier, 21 Gables Chenin Blanc, Tygerberg, South Africa 2012
• Viña Mayor, Fermentado en Barrica, Rueda, Spain 2012

Profile:

With heavyweights on show from Spain, South Africa, France, Australia and Italy, it’s fair to assume that the eventual Trophy-winner started as a rank outsider. But it’s a wine that excited our judges with its delicate expression, floral complexity and exotic richness – a huge coup for Switzerland.

St-Jodern Kellerei is a co-operative which started out in 1979 with 190 members. Today this number has increased to more than 500, who between them crush some 350 tonnes of grapes every year.

The man central to its success is Alsatian winemaker Alain Helmrich. Previously a chef, he moved into wine via sales, before deciding to study winemaking. He’s been at St-Jodern Kellerei since 2009.

‘Heida Barrique is one of four wines that we make from the versatile Heida grape (also known as Paien or Savagnin Blanc),’ explains Helmrich. ‘Two are unoaked, one has more residual sugar and this one is vinified and aged in oak barrels.’

Although Heida hails from Jura, Helmrich claims that it’s very well suited to the land around the village of Visperterminen, which has hot summers and brutal winters. ‘The grape gives us fresh but powerful wines capable of long ageing,’ he says. ‘Our vineyards, framed by an Alpine backdrop, are planted on a range of different soils between 650m and 1,150m, and all work in the vineyard is entirely manual. Every year is a huge challenge for us.’ Just 7,000 bottles of this Trophy-winner were made.

See the full information about this wine

Written by Decanter

This year's Decanter World Wine Awards Regional Trophy for Greek White over £15 went to Gaia, Wild Ferment Assyrtiko, Santorini 2013 (13%)

Tasted against:

• Alexakis, Vidianá, Heraklion, Crete 2013
• Biblia Chora, Ovilos, Pangeon, Macedonia 2013
• Biblia Chora, Plagios Sideways, Pangeon, Macedonia 2012
• Biblia Chora, Sauvignon-Assyrtiko, Pangeon, Macedonia 2013
• Gaia, Thalassitis, Santorini 2013

Profile:

Yiannis Paraskevopoulos and Leon Karatsalos are the Athenian pair behind Gaia wines – founded in 1994 – and their Trophy- winning Assyrtiko was made in its Santorini winery. Dating from the early 1900s it is a striking piece of architecture that in its previous life was a tomato factory.

The Assyrtiko grapes are grown on poor but mineral-rich, volcanic soils largely made of pumice. The vines are ungrafted with root systems up to 400 years old. They are trained in basket shape, like a huge bird nests, which helps protect the grapes from the harsh climatic conditions.

Fermentation with wild yeasts (reflected in the wine’s name) is left to occur naturally in a mix of stainless steel, French and American oak barrels and acacia barrels.

Since the first vintage in 2008, Karatsalos and Paraskevopoulos have moved to a more natural approach in their wines. ‘We use only minimal technical interventions, concentrating our efforts in the vineyard to give the grapes a better chance to shine rather than on cellar techniques.’

Written by Decanter

The relationship between rock, soil and wine flavour is as little understood as it is widely celebrated. There is a long-held European belief is that nothing matters more than the physical medium in which vines are rooted, and growers will often dazzle visitors with their command of exotic geological detail. Outside Europe, the notion that a distinguished site is the key to wine quality is rapidly gaining traction. "Let the vineyard speak" is an unquestioned ideal, no matter how difficult this action may be to define.

Picture: (from left to right) Haut Medoc gravels, old vines and gravels in Chateauneuf du Pape, Pessac-Leognan gravels – Ch Malartic-Lagraviere. Andrew Jefford ©

For writers, meanwhile, it’s party time; the tasting-note air is thick with ‘liquid rock’, fossils, seashells, granite sands, lumps of schist and slate fragments. (I offend, I admit.) Into this exciting if dangerous environment steps a dark figure with a whistle: Professor Alex Maltman of Aberystwyth University.

Maltman is a civilised geologist of rigorously scientific temperament. His specialism was sediment deformation (he took early retirement in 2004, though he continues with some teaching duties). Away from the ocean-bed day-job, he spent 40 years reading about wine, and 30 years growing grapes and making wine – in Wales, so you can tell he’s not easily dissuaded. After four decades of quiet chortling, he decided that enough is enough; out has come the whistle, with a series of papers published since 2003. Maltman is calling time on the wine world’s geological fantasies.

The publication of these papers in the Journal of Wine Research (JWR) and other academic journals has meant a restricted audience, so I’m delighted to say that through Cadair, Aberystwyth University’s ‘open access repository’ and the JWR’s own open-access scheme, you can now consult typescripts of his seminal 2008 ‘Role of Vineyard Geology in Wine Typicity’ and, even better, his forthcoming ‘Minerality in wine: a geological perspective’. Any readers who are also members of the Guild of Sommeliers in the USA should seek out Maltman’s succinct two-part ‘Soils for Sommeliers’ article. A book, I’m glad to say, is in gestation.

Maltman stresses that he is “not claiming that there is no such thing as minerality, that vines don’t take up minerals from the soil, or that vineyard geology is irrelevant. Clearly, the geology defines the water and nutrient supply crucial in vine growth, providing there’s no irrigation or fertilizing.” As a wine-lover, too, he says he understands and recognizes the unfruity components of flavours in certain wines (like Chablis, Mosel Riesling, white Hermitage, Santorini Assyrtiko, Priorat or Douro reds) to which mineral terms are customarily attached.

He demolishes any literal connection, though, by pointing out that single-element nutrient minerals in solution (as cations) are very different from complex, usually insoluble geological minerals, which have zero or low levels of cation-exchange capacity. Any mineral solutes present in wine, he says, exist at levels well below the threshold for detection, and if they could be tasted would taste unpleasant anyway; furthermore, as far as flavour creation in wine grapes is concerned, “the real action is up on the vine”, via photosynthetic processes, rather than down in the roots. (And wine grapes, of course, are simply the raw materials used to create a processed product.)

We surround ourselves, therefore, with fairy stories. He cited a recent mailing from the Sunday Times Wine Club, stressing that their St Chinian-Roquebrun is special because it comes “from a terroir that’s 100% unique. The secret? Schist. As the experts will tell you, some rocks make better wine. There’s the limestone that forms the Côtes of Burgundy. And of Right Bank Bordeaux. Chalk in Champagne.The gravels of the Médoc and Graves. And down south, ‘schist’ – the geological equivalent of Viennetta ice cream…Comes in green, purple, brown and black, all stuffed full of tasty minerals.” He calls this the ‘passive-descriptive approach’. “You describe the geology and wine from place A (preferably with lots of nice maps, pictures, and big words) and then the geology from place B where, oh!, the wines are different! You then take it as read that it is the geology that is responsible for the differences, ignoring everything else and making no attempt to explain what it is the geology is supposed to be doing. It’s so misleading, at so many levels.”

Maltman’s painstakingly argued critique has certainly made me aware of the difficulties inherent in drawing any direct inference about aroma and flavour from vineyard soil and geology. I’m happy about using ‘mineral’, ‘stone’ or ‘earth’ in a strictly metaphorical sense, of course, to allude to a certain sensorial repertoire we associate with worked earth or rocks, just as we use cat’s pee, cream or cassis in similar metaphorical sense. (Though note that the smell of warm earth or wetted stones derives from organic compounds in the soil or on the rocks, not the ‘minerals’ themselves, which have no sensorial identity at all.) The problem with wielding these metaphors, though, is that if I describe a wine whose vine is growing in slate as ‘slatey’, the metaphor is quickly gobbled up by the literal image, and the trusting reader assumes a direct line of transmission.

We need to wield these terms with care, then. What we can all agree on is that such non-fruit uniquenesses exist in wines from certain places, and that as Maltman says “it is conceivable that physical geological factors do have some role in giving typicity.” The transmission role from geological minerals to nutrient minerals is complex, though, and it is still far from clear whether or not tiny variations in nutrient minerals (by further complex transformative processes) eventually play any kind of a role in the acquisition of aroma and flavour compounds in wine grapes. There is, in sum, no granite in wine. Party time, ladies and gentlemen, is over.

Written by Andrew Jefford

To celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Decanter World Wine Awards, we're profiling a number of this year's judges, who are some of the world's most renowned wine experts. Our 'Meet the Judges' interview series offers a rare insight into the world of wine and judging from the key industry experts choosing this year's best wines.

Mary Gorman MW was born in Ireland and has a background in business. Now living in America, read about her life as New York-based Master of Wine…

Tell us a little about yourself – where are you based and where do you work?

I am a Master of Wine, Irish, but living and working in New York. I have several areas of interest in wine: I am an independent consultant with a major focus on education and business strategy; the wine columnist for Apartment Therapy – a successful blog; a wine judge, and a seminar/conference speaker.

Tell us a bit about your expertise and how you got into wine?

In 2002, after I moved to New York with my husband, I decided to follow my passion for wine. Prior to this, I held various Senior Management positions within the management consulting and technology industries, as well as spending some time in the academic world as a business school lecturer in International Marketing. My expertise today very much marries my ‘old life’ in business with my wine knowledge and finely tuned palate.

What’s the most valuable lesson you’ve learned while working in wine?

Remain humble and be open and always ready to learn.

Who has been your biggest inspiration during your wine career?

There have been too many to mention just one, but a few in particular stand out…Firstly Jean-Baptiste Lecaillon, Chef de Cave at Champagne Louis Roederer, and Jean-Michel Comme, General Manager at Château Pontet-Canet – two incredibly passionate, innovative and insightful leaders.

Also, I have to mention the many Masters of Wine, who helped and encouraged me throughout my journey towards becoming an MW.

What are your most memorable wine moments from the last ten years?

Two especially stand out – September 2011, on learning that I had become a Master of Wine, and last year (2012), when I was honoured as a Dame Chevalier de L’Ordre des Coteaux de Champagne.

Which kinds of wines do you think should be given more attention in 2013?

Hungarian Furmint, Beaujolais (as it has never been better), Trocken German Riesling, Greek wines beyond Assyrtiko, affordable good Bordeaux, and Sicilian wines beyond Nero d’Avola.

Which wines are you drinking at home at the moment?

I enjoy a huge variety of wines, and therefore a well-stocked wine fridge. I probably lean more towards the Old World – I’m loving the Jura and indigenous Italian varieties, and Chablis always has a place at my table. That said, I have developed a love of good Pinot Noir from the cooler parts of California’s Sonoma Coast, as well as older Napa Cabernet Sauvignons (at least 10-12 years old).

What’s your desert island wine?

I have two actually, and both are Champagne:

• 1996 Cristal Champagne, which would meet my need for desert island refreshment and also stand the test of time if I was stranded for a long while.
• Extra Brut Champagne from grower Marie-Noelle Ledru – wonderfully minerally and complex, it would keep me intellectually engaged if I ran out of books!

What single piece of advice do you have for people just starting out in wine?

Listen, be open to new things, explore, experiment, drop all biases and most importantly develop and trust your own palate.

When judging, what are you looking for in great wine?

I am seeking a whole and complete wine. Obviously balance, length and depth of flavour are all important, but I am also looking for something more, that extra something that pulls me back to the glass.

Finally, what are you looking forward to most about judging at the Decanter World Wine Awards?

The opportunity to taste with such a phenomenal panel of judges, as well as the opportunity to experience current wine trends, and to further understand what is happening in wine around the world. I am also looking forward to meaningful and dynamic banter and exchanges with my judging panel colleagues.

The Decanter World Wine Awards 2013 is now open for entries. Click here for more information and to enter wines into this year’s competition.

Written by Decanter.com

The Greek grape variety Assyrtiko has been planted for the first time on Australian soil.

Santorini: home of Assyrtiko

Peter Barry, of Clare Valley winery Jim Barry Wines, has planted vines on half a hectare of land at the winery’s Lodge Hill property.

He first came across Assyrtiko on visits to the grape’s native island of Santorini, where it ‘immediately stood out as a variety suited to the modern Australian palate,’ he said.

‘The fresh, crisp acidic qualities of the wine are perfect accompaniments to contemporary Australian food.’

Known for its vigour and resistance to drought and disease, Barry believes that Assyrtiko is a good choice for the future of South Australian winemaking.

‘Clare is a cool district with good rainfall but we must face up to climate change and water scarcity and adapt our management appropriately.

Varieties which can grow on minimal irrigation and still produce contemporary wine styles is what we all look for.’

Barry sourced the cuttings from Argyros Winery in Santorini – where the vines range from 50 to 300 years old – a process which required patience.

‘The laborious process of importation and quarantine has discouraged many growers in Australia from trying something new,’ said Barry.

The winery received help from the Yalumba nursery in the Barossa which is fully accredited for quarantine.

Barry’s father Jim, who set up his family-run winery in 1959, pioneered grapes like Riesling, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Shiraz in Australia.

Wines from the new Assyrtiko vines will be bottled in five years. Barry said considerable patience was needed to see the project through.

‘By the time we release this wine, I will have committed 20% of my life to this project – at least 10 years. But that’s preferable to passing from this world and wondering, “What if?”.’

Written by Christina Pickard

Gaia’s Nemea estate: ‘our products are niche’

Since the beginning of the Greek crisis in October 2009, due largely to the recession in the domestic market, many wineries have been concentrating on exports.

This strategy has paid off: Greek wine exports in 2011 rose 7.5% compared to 2010. Until 2009, around 80% of Greek wine was sold within Greece itself.

‘Greek exports are on the rise according to latest data. This is a sign of optimism,’ Sotiris Ioannou, president of the Greek Interprofessional Organisation of Wine and Vine, told Decanter.com.

The Greek wine sector is supporting individual winemakers’ initiatives by a national wine marketing program of €7m funded by the EU, Ioannou said.

Ted Lelekas, a member of a think-tank advising the Greek wine board on initiatives to stimulate the industry, said he thought the crisis, although ‘difficult and challenging in the short term’ would ‘ultimately be good for Greek wine’ by forcing wineries to be more proactive in the market.

‘Firstly, the wineries become more extrovert, engaging more with social media, taking more interest in road-shows and competitions around the world. At the same time, the Greek wine body has put together a strategic plan spearheading the four indigenous grapes that best represent our terroir and heritage – Assyrtiko, Moschofilero, Agiorgitiko and Xinomavro.

‘We then actively choose the most suitable examples of each one to promote as ambassadors for the industry. This is perhaps the first time that the whole industry has worked together so effectively – and not just with the EU funding, but with wineries’ own funds.’

Yiannis Paraskevopoulos, owner of Gaia wines, winner of two Regional Trophies and a Gold Medal at the Decanter World Wine Awards, with 60% of the production exported, said one of the reasons for wine exports’ success was their quality.

‘Our products, by our very size, are niche, which means they have to be exceptional – and this is now being recognised internationally. At the same time, the banking sector’s ability to give loans is close to zero at this point, and if you are not a solid company, with solid economics, you will not survive.’

Vangelis Gerovassiliou, of Domaine Gerovassiliou (winner of one Gold and six Silver Medals at DWWA), has seen the direct impact of the domestic collapse.

‘Our winery is very well known in Greece, but our domestic wine range has lost between 20-50% of customers over the past few years. The Greek market is now focusing on cheaper wines, so we are looking overseas. Our exports to the UK, for example, have gone up 100% over the past year alone.’

My joy in wine is predicted on its origin, vintage and variety

It’s natural to hoard. Perhaps it’s instinctual? Twenty thousand years ago, the decision to stow a mammoth haunch or two in the snowdrifts outside the cave rather than scoffing the lot with your mates in a week-long blow-out might have meant the difference between survival and death over a hard ice-age winter.

It is our happy fate to replace those haunches in the snow with cases of Pichon-Baron in the cellar, but the principle is the same: provision against later scarcity. The 2010s look good, but it may rain throughout September in Bordeaux for the next seven years.

Most collectors accumulate their favourite wines, though a modern, speculative variant on the theme is to accumulate the favourite wines of others. The man I am going to refer to as The Collector, though, is different. His cellar is full of wines which he knows may taste awful.

He didn’t buy them on The Wine Society website or by chatting to a nice young man at Tanners; he bought them in dingy corner stores in Portugal or Greece, or from dyspeptic, underpaid employees at struggling Eastern European airports. His quest is certainly not for profit, and barely for pleasure: knowledge and discovery is all.

The Collector collects wine made from the world’s obscurest grape varieties. ‘When you’re next in London,’ he said, with the kindness proper to disinterested scholarship, ‘come round and we’ll open a few.’

Which is how, one sunny morning this spring, I came to sample my first Dutch Johanniter, a Georgian Mtsvane and the Swiss Gwäss I’ve wanted to wrap my lips around for so long.

My friend Brian Croser, Australian winemaker and 2004 Decanter Man of the Year, once confessed to me that he was a varietal elitist: there are the great varieties, and then there are the rest, and the rest may be good when grown in a few key locations, or they may not be much good at all.

His point was that as a winemaker, you simply don’t get enough time in one life to squander on anything but the best. Brian’s a hard man to disagree with, but I felt I had to try.

My joy in wine is predicated on its complex multiplicity. Origin, vintage and variety are the chief sources of that. I’m reluctant to abandon the third.

Indeed encouraging greater varietal diversity in non-European vineyards seems to me to be an evolutionary imperative just now. I don’t believe that the world’s greatest winegrowing locations will reveal all their splendours via a mere half-dozen varieties.

Some of the 25 wines I tasted with The Collector made Brian’s elitism seem like common sense. I’d give blood never to have to retaste a wine like the Greek Vostilidi we tried; there were a few dreadful Italian Tai (Tocai) Rossi; and I wasn’t keen to swallow the herbaceous, spiky Chinese Cabernet Gernischt.

But this may not have been the fault of the grapes themselves, but rather of careless hands at the winemaking tiller. The Vostilidi was both dirty and heavily oxidised: tavern wine from the Dark Ages. One of the Tai Rossi was more like pink cider than wine.

The best, by contrast, were discoveries. The 2008 Diego Seco from Bodega Bermejo in Lanzarote was profoundly mineral, both graceful and refreshing: an Atlantic cousin to the great Assyrtiko of Santorini. The white Georgian Mtsvane (non-vintage, from Marani), meanwhile, tasted like Furmint’s aunt, full of vinous thrust.

Not for the first time, I warmed to an uncompromising Kakhetian Saperavi (Telavi’s 2006 Satrapezi): challengingly deep and wild, another dense, explosively mineral wine. I loved the fresh, crunchy Persan from Savoie (the 2009 of Domaine Grisard): a mountain sylph.

Italy is full of treats: the white Nascetta from Langhe (2007 Anas-Cëtta from Cogno) would have been great for lunch, as would the beautiful 2007 Calabrian Mantonico (from Statti), which tasted like apricots dusted with powdered marble. The Dutch Johanniter was light, clean and pleasantly off dry (the 2008 from Colonjes), though low on personality.

The Gwäss, though, intrigued me most of all: you have to respect the mother (Pinot is Dad) of Chardonnay, Aligoté, Melon and Gamay. It’s known in France as Gouais Blanc.

Like many of the whites in The Collector’s tasting, this wine (the 2006 from Chanton Visp in the Valais) had neutral fruit, but made up for it by its bready, mealy, chewy palate: a food vocation for sure. The whites of Meursault and Montrachet are famously rich and structured. That mid-palate texture surely comes from Mum.

Nothing in this tasting rocked the established foundations of the wine world, but it still struck me as important research. We shake off any form of genetic diversity at our peril, especially given the climatic uncertainties which lie ahead. My own aesthetic boundaries, moreover, have changed with time.

As a drinker, I no longer want to recognise familiarity or be overwhelmed by intensity; I prefer the gentle interrogation of the subtly strange, and revere those unshowy, stealthily beautiful wines which reward repeated sipping over the course of a meal.

Given all that, I wonder if, somewhere in the depths of The Collector’s cellar, the perfect wine may be lurking? I’ll have to request another look.

Written by Andrew Jefford

A new film about the Greek island of Santorini has been selected for the Los Angeles Greek Film Festival.

Pelican’s Watch is a documentary about a small winemaking community on the island and its battles to stop vineyards being sold off for development.

The film is co-produced by Lea Binzer and Nico Manessis, Decanter writer and author of the Greek Wine Guide, and stars the 83-year-old Christos Dalmiras, and Nikos Pelekanos, both growers, and winemaker Paris Sigalas.

Following the nine months of the vintage from February to September, its ‘main message is that the land must be protected from development, and zoning laws must be introduced. It shows reality, you see the political situation in Greece, the cronyism,’ Manessis told Decanter.com’

But he made clear the story was told ‘with humanity and humour – it’s not a polemical film.’

Santorini, famous for its powerful white wines, was formed from a volcanic eruption 4000 years ago.

Some 1200ha of its extraordinary black volcanic soil are planted to Assyrtiko vines trained in the unique ground-hugging ‘basket’ system where shoots are woven around each other to protect the vine from the constant wind and sun.

The wines are deliver ‘a Chablis minerality’, Manessis said. ‘They’ve been described as “Chablis on steroids”.’

‘These are some of the most ancient vines in the world,’ Manessis said. ‘The soil analyst Claude Bourguignon has said the oldest vines are 400 years old.’

Andrew Jefford, in a 2008 article, said Santorini produced ‘the most pronounced vin de terroir in the world. In no other wine can you smell and taste with such clarity the mineral soup and the bright sunlight which, gene-guided, structures the grape and its juice’.

As well as being selected for the Los Angeles Greek Film Festival., Pelican’s Watch was given an honorary mention at the Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival.

To see a trailer go to pelecanswatch.gr

Written by Adam Lechmere

The brown bears of the Balkans and the wines of northern Greece have both benefited from the energy, vision and passion of Yiannis Boutaris. In 1993, Boutaris founded Arkturos, a sanctuary dedicated to the conservation of the brown bear. The reserve now houses 13 bears and 21 wolves and, as a result, Greece has one of the most important bear populations in Europe. His boost to the wines of his country has been equally welcome, and necessary. Viewed by many as leader of the Greek wine industry, Boutaris split from his brother – and the huge Boutari corporation – in 1996 and set up a new venture with his son Mihalis, who studied at Davis and is tipped by many to be the great new hope for Greek wine. The wines resulting from their efforts, produced under the umbrella of The General Wine Company, are a good illustration of the quality, energy and confidence that can be found now in wineries across the mountainous region. ‘We’ve got the climate and the winemakers; now we just need the markets,’ says Yiannis.

Like many other producers, Boutaris recognises that the Greekness of the wines is both a help and a hindrance. Limited production and the absence of mechanical harvesting mean that these wines will never compete on price with the wines of the New World, and must sell themselves by their unusual indigenous grape varieties. But the image of Greek wine abroad means that the industry must first establish its quality credentials with its interpretations of the familiar international grapes. ‘We want to sell good wine that just happens to be Greek. The Greekness shouldn’t be the identifier,’ he continues. ‘We use the international grapes as passports, but these should be there primarily to complement our native grapes.’

He is frustrated by the entrenched cynicism with which the wines of his country are usually approached. ‘Bad Italian wine is considered better than a good Greek wine. We call it the retsina stigma, and I don’t know if this will ever pass.’ Try the wines produced by the rising stars of this mountainous region, and it’s hard to imagine that these producers will have much difficulty in getting the message across. There’s still a great deal of bad wine made in Macedonia, make no mistake, but the good is very good indeed. This was clear to Oddbins buyer Steve Daniel when he visited the region three years ago and scooped the cream; the high-street chain now has one of the strongest Greek portfolios in the UK, with some 40 wines, and Daniel is a fervent believer that the wines are getting better every year.

‘These wines offer consumers something different; they’re like French or Italian wine, but with more fruit and warmth. We’re not expecting them to take on Chile or Argentina – most of the producers are boutique wineries and aren’t going for the mass market. They don’t want to take on the world, simply to get a presence and to show the world that Greek wine can be excellent. The best

producers have a buoyant domestic market and could sell everything at home easily, but they want international recognition.’The efforts of Yiannis and Mihalis Boutaris mean that the winemaking region of Macedonia is very much the centre of attention. Some 500 miles north of Athens, the Balkan influence is marked up here – the former Yugoslav republic of Macedonia lies just over the mountains. With a continental climate and frequent rainfall, this northerly area has extreme heat in the summer and often bitterly cold winters.

Piedmont of Greece

The grapes that fare best in this harsh climate produce wines with crisp acidity. The main focus is on red wine, usually made from the Xinomavro grape. To earn an appellation in the mainly red producing region of Naoussa, the wine must be 100% Xinomavro; to the east in Goumenissa, this can be softened with Negoska, which lowers Xinomavro’s natural tannins and acidity when vinified together. Xinomavro is a wine lover’s wine, rather than an easy drinking crowd pleaser. With a low colour and flavours of game and sun-dried tomatoes, the grape is often compared with Nebbiolo in its youth, largely due to the high tannin and acidity. The wine improves with barrel ageing, and has the potential to age for between five and twelve years – with time, it takes on a more Burgundian character, with Pinot Noir soft fruit flavours. Red wines generally work better than the rosés made from Xinomavro.’Macedonia is the Piedmont of Greece,’ says Daniel. ‘It’s even similar scenically. We’re seeing a stylistic change now as the best producers get to grips with Xinomavro and learn how to soften it slightly and get the grapes ripe without losing the character. Don’t forget that it’s only in the 1990s that the Piedmontese grasped how to harness and tame Barbaresco and Barolo.’ White wines of note are also emerging from the region, sometimes from Chardonnay but usually from aromatic grape varieties – these work best, adding intense flavours to the streak of acidity always present. Alongside international grapes such as Sauvignon Blanc and Gewurztraminer, the native grape Roditis is widely grown. This is the grape of retsina when grown elsewhere in Greece, on the plains. When grown at altitude in Macedonia, however, Roditis really comes into its own and the resulting wines display concentrated aromatic, fruity flavours.

The big boys

Though most producers in the region are small, with limited production, there are a handful of large companies dominating the landscape. Kostas Lazaridis is one of only two Greek wineries to be publicly listed, and produces the most expensive Greek wine on sale in the UK. Amethystos Cava costs £15 and yet is classified as a table wine under Greek wine law since it is made from Cabernet Sauvignon. With only around 10,000 bottles produced annually, the wine is made from old vines, aged in oak for 18 months and then in bottle for two years. The 1997 vintage, just released, is delicious (see above). The other listed company, and former home of Yiannis, is Boutaris, founded in 1879. With wineries across Greece, this mammoth operation bottles many of its wines at its Stenimachos premises. The wines, varietally labelled, are easy drinking, mostly unexciting and aimed at the mass market. The best are the whites made from aromatic varieties.

Equally large is Tsantalis, a huge, high-profile négociant which led the Greek market for 10 years before deciding to buy vineyards and start growing grapes itself. It now controls about 1,500ha in northern Greece, and owns around 200ha. Though volume driven, the wines Tsantalis produces are of a high standard and represent good value for money. The range focuses on native grapes and includes a new-wave retsina.

Smaller in size

Much smaller in size is The General Wine Company, the company formed by Yiannis and Mihalis Boutaris. The father and son produce outstanding wines at two wineries in northern Greece – reds at Kyr-Yianni and whites at Vergoritis. The 28ha planted at Kyr-Yianni is mostly Xinomavro, with a little Merlot and Syrah. The Merlot is used to give the Xinomavro a more ‘feminine’ side, in the words of Mihalis. The wine is aged in barrel for 12–24 months. ‘We also bottle age the wine for six to 12 months,’ he says, ‘as the Greeks aren’t ready to buy to lay down.’ Further east, beside the vast expanse of water that is Lake Vergoritis, a PortaKabin stands as HQ at the father and son’s latest venture. ‘Good materials and equipment are more important than a glamorous winery,’ shrugs Yiannis. ‘I hate glamorous wineries.’

This cold part of the region lies at 700m altitude and has sandy, silt soil. Yiannis Boutaris explains that they are looking for an expression of terroir, and typically, here, this means spicy. Traditionally a red wine area, the Boutaris have introduced Roditis, Chardonnay, Sauvignon and Gewurztraminer. The wines being produced here are excellent.

Another small producer making waves in Macedonia is Gerovassilou, based near Thessaloniki airport. Production is limited here as plantings amount to 30ha and no grapes are bought in. The yields are very low for Greece at just 40 hectolitres per hectare (rather than the usual 60–80). Too warm here for Xinomavro, the reds are made from Syrah and Merlot. The whites are excellent, with an emphasis on Malagousia. A 100% Viognier barrel sample also showed huge promise.

Rare commodity

As you’d expect in a region of mostly small producers, there are many excellent wines being made that are nearly impossible to get hold of. One such wine is Chisohoou’s 1998 Special Cuvée, one of the best Xinomavro and Merlot blends made in northern Greece; but only 7,000 bottles are produced annually and Germany is the only export market. Another excellent winery is Aidarinis in Goumenissa. The vineyards are just 5ha, and the winery sells 80% of its wine unbottled. What it does bottle, though, is extremely good, both the red (Xinomavro and Negoska) and Roditis/Sauvignon Blanc blend. None of the 30,000 bottles produced annually are yet exported. If you’re ever in Macedonia…

Xinomavro (red)

2000 Tsantalis Xinomavro

Fresh, appealing style – a good beginner’s Xinomavro. Red fruit and slightly leathery flavours. Fairly sweet tannins, well balanced with acidity. Lean. N/A UK

2000 Boutari Moschofilero

Very pale. Lean, green, grapefruity and melon aromas; slightly perfumed. Aromatic, fresh with bold lemon flavours. Good length.

2000 Kostas Lazaridis, Chateau Julia Assyrtiko

Pale gold, with a peachy hue. Rich, spicy nose. Rich palate with a silky mouthfeel. Spice and apple on palate; dry with lively acidity. £6.45

2000 Tsantalis Athiri

A pale unoaked wine, almost clear. Light, crisp fruity aromas of apples, slight lemon, with a floral edge. Crisp and tangy with good acidity. Fresh and fragrant. N/A UK

2000 Vergoritis Grypas Samaropetra

75% oak-aged Roditis, with Gewurz and Sauvignon making up the rest. Elegant and fragrant nose. Rose petals and spice follow to palate, which also has broader spicy, fat notes. Lively acidity and zingy crispness. N/A UK

1997 Kostas Lazaridis Amethystos Cava

Dark, almost inky, ruby to purple colour with a nose of big, minty ripe black fruit and coffee. Full bodied and juicy, with a smokey flavour, sweetish but firm tannins, and spice. £14.99

1997 Tsantalis Metoxi

Jammy, leathery black fruit on the nose, with a touch of cedar. Soft and elegant on the palate, with black cherry bitterness. 75% Cabernet Sauvignon and 25% Limnio. £7.49

1997 Kyr-Yianni Syrah

Complex, delicate fruity nose. Good balance of fruit and spice on the palate, with a real bite to it. £8.99

1999 babatzim merlot

Deep ruby-purple. Very ripe black fruit and vanilla nose. Fruity and well structured, with a herby, long finish. Excellent Merlot. £8 approx

Greek wine growers may have indulged us and planted Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon and the rest of the grape tribe; and their wines may well be the height of New York fashion, but the truth is that they are largely unpronounceable and a tad on the mysterious side.

We know we ought to love them, but the mere fact that Manhattanites have learnt their idiosyncrasies doesn’t make us feel any more comfortable. It’s the grapes, of course, that hold the answers; but if you want to understand what Greek wine is really about, it is not the aforementioned varieties you should be trying, but Xinomavro, Aghiorghitiko, Assyrtiko, Moschofilero, Roditis and Mavrodaphne…

The author and spreader of the good word on Greek wine, Nico Manessis, has developed an excellent system for learning how to pronounce the apparent horrors. So now the excuse: ‘Well, I can’t even pronounce it in my own head’, is no longer going to cut ice. And once this is mastered, you’ll find that the rest is relatively easy.

Greek grapes are, in fact, very simple mirrors of their terroir; and so an explanation of aromas, flavours and the actual wines themselves are no more complicated than a geography field trip. North to south. And to make matters really straightforward, the Greek wine-growing authorities have adopted the same system as the French, with specific grapes (often just one) for each appellation: just as there’s Pinot Noir in Burgundy, there’s Xinomavro in Naoussa. The growers themselves are none too pleased about these restrictions but, for now, they make the job of understanding Greek wine an awful lot simpler.

Greek white wines to drink this summer

Cantankerous Greek

Starting off in the north, Macedonia is the coolest region. This is the true Balkan country, home to bear and boar (still), oak and pine forests, mountain streams and mills. Tucked into the hills is ‘Naoussa’, the appellation where Xinomavro is king. Xinomavro is a bit like Pinot Noir – a grape full of minerally strawberry fruit, crisp acidity and fine tannins. It is also decidedly cantankerous in the vineyard – rather prone to cloning and diluteness if it isn’t watched carefully.

The two grape varieties are not related, but at the Ktima Kyr-Yannin winery, Mihalis Boutaris likes to develop the analogy. ‘My father likes burgundy. It isn’t that he doesn’t like Bordeaux – he adores Haut-Brion – but he wants more intricacy and much more of a challenge,’ he explains.

On its own, the Xinomavro grape has great intricacy; otherwise it seems to miss the point. At Kyr-Yanni, the Boutaris make some fine Merlot (a vin de pays), but when this is blended with Xinomavro ‘for femininity’, the result is of cherries and strawberries sitting rather clumsily together.

Single-vineyard ‘Ramnista’ Xinomavro, on the other hand, is a revelation – raspberry and strawberry sweetness on the nose, and some fleshy, minerally flavours following through. What marks it as authentically Greek is an extra hint of dark raisin and a whiff of smokey coffee. What marks it as a ‘cool climate’ wine is its delicate framework and mineral complexity.

As with Pinot, winemakers need to watch out for stark tannins. ‘To me, tannins are like nails and wood,’ says Boutaris. ‘You have to make sure they go together well and aren’t scratchy and separate.’ The Boutaris suspect Xino’s tannins – when phenolically ripe in good vintages (94-97 in 2000) – can take maceration up to three weeks.

Journey south past Athens, and the Peloponnese is the next quality vineyard area (a round tour takes you to appellations Nemea (pictured), Mantinia and Patras). This is land of vast, dry Mediterranean hills, made of red soils and marl on limestone, outcrops hiding churches and villages, settlements that developed from the governing Turks hundreds of years ago, encouraging a population known for wiliness and cunning.

Hotter climate

Nemea’s only permitted variety is the black Aghiorghitiko grape, which makes anything from rosé to rich, ebullient red wines. Pretty much like a Greek Cabernet Franc, in fact. Georges Papaioannou makes a ‘Super- Loire’ version called Ktima Papaioannou, which has a black peppery clove and incense nose, followed by broad-fruited, rich flavours on the palate, firm, with velvety-smooth tannins. It’s bigger than a Loire wine and richer than a Macedonian Xinomavro, but hen the climate is hotter.

Where Papaionannou alternates between Loire and Bordeaux styles, ‘Big George’ Skouras down the road at Gymno goes from Bordeaux to Napa – that’s also the impression you get driving up to his new-age winery.

George Skouras would like things in Greece to be more ‘New World’ than they are. ‘The law is a horse’s arse,’ he says with an effective mastery of the English language; but ultimately he agrees that Aghiorghitiko is by far the best grape for the region. ‘Our business is Nemea,’ he says, ‘but we use cosmopolitan varieties as a passport. They have been good for Greece as they closed the doors on foreign wines coming in, and they also opened up people’s’ minds.’

Skouras’ 1998 ‘Nemea’ (produced from Aghiorghitiko) is supple and plummy on the nose – supple from its year in oak (one-fifth new), and with dense plum and blackcurrant flavours that reflect the good slopes of part of this district. The ‘grande cuvée’ wine from further up those Gymno slopes, is the most Napa-ish of all and takes on a vanilla and coffeeish finish from new oak (winemaking tricks are the same in Greece as they are anywhere else). As well as the familiar, New World roundness, there is an extremely pleasing crispness to the fruit. Definitely worth leaving the valley floor for.

Climb further into the hills to the sub-AC Asprokambos (650m) or White Valley, and the temperature drops. More humidity and foliage (sloes, brambles, even oak trees replace cypress and olive), and Aghiorghitiko reverts to Loire-like tendencies.

The Octana Winery (brand new with the 2000 harvest) adds to these a blueberry note with fresh acidity, while at the Gaia estate you begin Aghiorghitiko lessons with the basic ’14-18h’ (a gently cherryish rosé named after the number of hours it spends on skins to get its colour) and build up to ‘Notios’ – denser cherry and mineral wine with a touch of liquorice on the finish.

Right at the top of the range is Gaia’s Estate ‘vin de garde’, which shows all the skill of winemaker Yannis Paraskevopoulos: rich, dense fruit, as appealing on the palate as any top New World wine, yet with a twang of minerals that can only be Greek. Not too ripe, not overblown, just interesting. This is the wine that’s put Gaia on the world wine map, and it should do the same for Aghiorghitiko.

So if Greece is really ‘getting modern’, why persist with such an unpronounceable name for this understandable grape? Why not make it easier and translate it directly to ‘St George’? ‘People have to learn the reality of Greek wine,’ says Paraskevopoulos. Take it on the chin.

Travel to the centre of the Peloponnesian peninsular, higher up into the hills, and the surroundings are no longer Mediterranean but decidedly Balkan again, even if there is the odd ski resort.

A hint of pear drops

Here lies the prized cool-climate appellation Mantinia. Mantinia’s grape is Moschofilero, and local people can’t get enough of it. ‘We could sell 15% more than we have,’ exclaims grower Yannis Tselepos. Moschofilero is a blanc de gris grape which has black skin yet white, lightly aromatic juice and was thought to be a cousin of Gewürztraminer (the theory is that it arrived with the Bavarian kings in the 1840s).

It is very easy to understand why this mistake was made as the two are not only similar in colour but also have similar aromatics. Tselepos makes wine from both grapes. While Gewürz has the almost classic rose-petal aromas, Moschofilero also has something of these, but is also distinctively pearish in flavour. Tselepos mantinia from the 2000 vintage has soft pear and pineapple on the nose, pears again on the palate, and a pervading crispness along the lines of Riesling – it is tangy and refreshing, and much more refined than its supposed cousin. The Greeks adore Moschofilero, and with very good reason.

Curving the northern Pelponnesian coastline is the next appellation, ‘Patras’. Roditis, Mavrodaphne and Muscat are the trio of permitted varieties here, and Roditis, without any doubt, is the star (the other two are mostly found in sweeties).

If you meander up from the coastline, where Muscat and Mavrodaphne make bigger, warmer wines, to the folding valleys of the Côtes d’Egion, Roditis Alepou shows its true potential. Take care not to mistake this for an American hybrid – instead it is something steely and Germanic, and so called for its foxy colour.

At the Oenoforos winery, which is perched on the hillside like a monastery, Anghelos Rouvalis is a true believer. ‘I want to show the uniqueness of Greek grape varieties, especially Roditis. But we need critical mass before we can really get going,’ he explains.

In his Asprolithi (White Stones), Roditis is crisp and creamy, with eucalyptus and dry herbs on the nose, followed by an expansive ‘palate-waking’ burst of flavour. There is more ‘Rieslingness’ about this grape than with Moschofilero, and it’s a fantastic one for a hot summer’s day drinking. Here, and at the Antonopoulos winery, flavours run from melon to lemon, to kumquat oil and orange peel, all delicate but ever so insistent.

South again, out into the Aegean sea, Santorini’s permitted grapes are the three ‘A’s: Assyrtiko, Athiri and Aidani Aspro. The first is renowned for retaining its crisp acidity despite the heat and tantalising lack of moisture – on Santorini it barely rains, and the moisture that the vines get is that which condenses as the strong winds that sweep the island cool the land. Assyrtiko is the star, while Aidani lends semi-aromatic delicacy, and Athiri rounds out any angularity.

Vinsanto territory

The wines vary in strength and style from light, fragrantly wild-herby aperitifs to heady, biscuity sage, vanilla and aniseed mouthfuls. Of course, you can always leave the grapes in the sun for longer to get Vinsanto. This is the power-packed wine you might expect from the hot, arid climate; but the fragile conditions (lean volcanic soils and vines cowering into basket coils flat to the ground to fend off the winds) can promote the development of a decidedly delicate side to the grapes, too. Paris Sigalas definitely makes the finest fragrant style wines. As for the more heady style, a glorious 1895 essence shows just how very fine Greek wine can really be.

Greece has 250 of its own grape varieties. And they all have equally mind-bending names – this part of the world is the cradle of all wine growing, so it is unsurprising that there are as many as there are.

As more new, virus-free clones are becoming available, many winemakers are naturally keen to work on these authentic vines. Karrapappas (which is known as ‘the Black Priest’) is a rather fascinating dark grape but there are only three of these plants, and of Kidonitsa (‘the little Quince’) there are few more.

We should count ourselves lucky. Now is a good time, before these new plantings proliferate, to get to know Greek wine in its simplest form!

Greek wine reviews