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Greek Gossip - A Rough Guide!

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When Kate and I attended SITT (Specialist Import Trade Tastings - basically an opportunity to meet new suppliers and drink with old friends) tasting in February, the last thing we thought we'd do is come away with a new supplier of Greek wines - in fact we only tasted them out of some sort of sense of duty! But the Greek wines shown that day blew us away and launched us on a new crusade to get everyone drinking these unique but brilliant tipples.
We've all had our rough-red-wine-from-a-petrol-can nightmares in Greek tavernas, but when you dig beneath these horrors you find a plethora of fascinating wines, boosted by a new generation of winemakers injecting life into the Geek wine scene.

Greece is one of the oldest wine producing countries, in fact evidence of winemaking in the agean has been found from 6,500 years ago, and it was the Greeks who introduced Vitis Vinifera (the species of vine responsible for all table wines) to the Italian mainland and thus to France.

The vine is found growing throughout the mainland and islands of Greece, and the varieties used need to be well suited to the hot conditions and long, dry summers. The best wines come from the hills in the mainland where altitude cools the vineyards and the volcanic island of Santorini. Winemakers often have to do things in a counter-intuitive way such as planting on North-facing slopes to reduce exposure to the sun (where most Europeans would plant on a southerly aspect to get maximum ripeness from the sun) and training their vines in unusual ways so that the leaves shade the grapes. Greece has over 300 native varieties, plus the inevitable (and in some cases very successful) invasion of international grapes. The majority of their wines though come from their own varieties, so it's worth knowing a bit about them - and a bit about one or two of the key regions:

Santorini is a fascinating wine region because of its unique and fascinating soils. Scene of one of the most powerful earthquakes in history, the soil is so bizarre that the dreaded Phylloxera bug can't survive in it. This means that the native rootstocks of the vines may be the oldest in the world. They've certainly dug incredibly deep into the soil and pick up the most intense and complex minerality you could wish for, perfectly expressed by the Assyrtiko grape

Macedonia in northern mainland Greece is home to its most famous red 'Appellation' - Naoussa. This is the home of Xinomavro, but also of international red grape varieties. The altitude and mountainous terrain are perfect for fine wines here.

Thessalonika is home to the legendary Evangelos Gerovassilliou, who works both with native varieties such as Malagousia (which had nearly died out before he turned his attention to it) as well as international superstars - his Viognier is remarkable.

The key Greek Grapes are:

White

Assyrtiko Native to Santorini, but has recently been exported to some of the other islands. Often compared to Riesling, it blends very well, especially when blended with Sauvignon Blanc

Roditis Elegant and light, typically citrus flavoured

Malagousia A long time resident of Macedonia, Malagousia is elegant and full bodied; perfumed and aromatic.

Red

Agiorgitiko Saint George originated in Nemea in the Pelponnese, but is now grown throughout Greece. It is quite flexible, but key characteristics are plums and cherries with soft tannin

Xinomavro A tricky Macedonian grape, often compared to both Nebbiolo (for its troublesome nature in the winery and its tannin) and Pinot Noir for its fragrance and medium bodied style. The name translates as 'acid black' but 'tannic black' might be closer - even the best require several year in the bottle to mature and soften.

Mavrotagano Another Santorini resident with high sugar levels, tannins and storng flavours in its dry expression

Mavrodaphne Early maturing red found in the northern Pelponnese, often used to make sweet wines but delicious in its dry form too.

So there you have it. Now all you need to do is grab some from the Reserve shelves and try for yourself! If you want to check out our small but perfectly formed range, Click Here