Have you tried Greek wines lately?

To truly appreciate the Greek wine culture, you need to know a little about Greek wine history. Greece has been considered the cradle of wine culture through the ages. The Greeks were making wine 6,500 years ago, and they were the first to develop the art of trellising in the vineyard and eventually carried their technology and wines to Italy, Sicily, southern France and even Spain. They concentrated on using the native or indigenous grape varietals for most of their wines, and their early wines were prized in many countries.

Unfortunately, Greeces wine industry suffered under two world wars and a variety of economic problems over the years. Perhaps the greatest problem today for Greece has been the challenge created by the international market and the growth of the New World wine trade in popular varietals like chardonnay and cabernet. I would like to offer you a simple grape glossary for white and red Greek wines that you may find useful in your search.

White wines: The Assyrtiko comes from Santorini, with its dry volcanic soils and hot climate, which gives a vibrant white wine with good acidity and minerality. The Athiri is grown throughout Greece and Crete and produces a fresh, crisp typically warm-climate white wine. The Malagousia produces a complex white wine with floral notes and has an affinity for oak. The Moschofilero has been the most successful of all the Greek varietals. It exhibits sweet floral aromas like a Muscat or Gewurztraminer and is used to make sparkling wines. The Robola is most important on the Ionian Islands and produces a floral, lemony fresh and crisp white wine. The Savatiano is perhaps the most widely planted grape varietal and is used to make the famous Greek Retsina wine with its unique flavor of pine resin.

Red wines: The Aghiorgitko is the major grape variety in the southern Peloponnese region and is used to make roses, light reds and full-bodied more tannic red wines. Look for Nemea on the label. The Limnio is perhaps the oldest grape varietal in Greece and produces red wines of moderate color, with red berry fruit flavors and spices. The Mandilaria is a red grape that produces deeply colored red wines that are heavy bodied and are often blended with some white wines. The Mavrodaphne is one of the better known Greek varietals and is associated with a sweet tawny port or Banyuls style of red wine. The Xinomavro grape produces pinot noir style red wines that have high acidity and complex aromatic flavors and spiciness.

Now, I am not an authority on Greek wines and was not surprised to find that the local supermarkets and grocery stores do not typically offer a selection of fine Greek wines. I also noticed that the latest editions of several of the more prominent wine magazines had a wide variety of selected wines from all over the world, including Israel, Slovenia, and Lebanon, but no Greek wines. Why am I not surprised? I did however find several Greek wines at the local Total Wine shop and decided to bring a few home to sample and do a little tasting on my own. I can recommend these wines with just a few comments about each one.

The 2007 Erasmios Moschofilero dry white wine was very refreshing with good acidity and hints of honeysuckle, citrus and grapefruit for a soft mellow finish. Its a wine that would pair well with fresh seafood, chicken and pork dishes. My second white wine choice was another Moschofilero wine which carries the Hermes label. It was also a 2007 vintage but had a slightly deeper color that I assumed was either the result of some oak aging or some degree of oxidation. It was indeed somewhat oxidized but still quite pleasant on the palate. It exhibited delicate fruit flavors and a subtle rounded finish. Both of these wines carried the designation Appellation of High Quality which is in essence some attempt by the Greek wine industry to assure the consumer of the quality of the wine.

The first red wine was the 2003 Hermes red wine from the Nema region in Greece and is made from the Aghiorgitko grape. It is described as a smooth, elegant dry red wine with hints of spice on the finish. It is in a Bordeaux style bottle which suggests a medium to heavy bodied red wine and it went quite well with our standing rib roast which had a mustard, garlic, rosemary coating. The second red wine selection was in a Burgundy style bottle which suggested a softer more Pinot-like red wine. It was the 2005 Naoussa from the Boutari wine company and was made from the Xinomavro grape varietal. It was indeed a lighter colored red wine much like a Pinot Noir and the flavors were subtle and soft on the palate. Of the two red wines, the Naoussa was my favorite. Both of the red wines also carried the Appellation of High Quality designation.

All of these wines were less than $20, making them value-added wines that you might enjoy. These were new wines for me and I truly enjoyed them with our meal. I can recommend them to you as a way of tasting a little bit of Greece.

Roy Williams is professor emeritus in Old Dominion Universitys chemistry department. Write to him at [email protected].