WINEMAKING IN GREECE IS SO ANCIENT THAT IT IS NOT DEFINED BY MODERN CONVENTIONS

Although anthropologists have found traces of winemaking in Greece that date back 6,500 years, Greek wines have not figured prominently in the modern era of viticulture. And when we say “modern” we are not referring to the 20th century when winemaking truly became global, nor even the 19th century when it began to be widely exported from Europe, nor even the 18th and 17th centuries when Europeans planted Vitis vinifera vineyards outside of Europe within the earth’s wine belt. No, we are referring to the 4th century when Greek wine began to lose ground to the Ancient Romans whose unprecedented empire was a vehicle for their own viticulture proliferation throughout fertile Europe. Before this, though, Greeks had a couple of thousand years as the center of viticulture, helping to spread it to the world’s first sophisticated expansive human civilizations, including the Romans. Of course, the Roman Empire wasn’t the only factor. There was also a 400-year period under the Ottoman Empire in which winemaking was essentially suppressed, and then successive wars that followed the Second World War that kept Greece in a constant state of economic and societal turmoil.

Not until 1971 did Greece even develop a modern (and this time we’re referring to the last couple of centuries) appellation system, which is still evolving. Currently there are 33 separate Greek Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) wines. Yet, because wine is so ancient and integral to Greek culture and Greek life, they do not think it has much need to be defined by modern conventions. In fact, they created their appellation system just to conform to European Union norms to make their application for membership more attractive. Viticulture remains so ubiquitous in Greece that is found in every little cranny of the country where Vitis vinifera grows.

https://winefolly.com/deep-dive/the-wine-regions-of-greece-map/

Given that appellations are an afterthought in Greece, we decided to approach the wine regions as described in an excellent article in Wine Folly: “The Wine Regions of Greece (Maps)” written by Wine Folly founder Madeline Puckett. The article delineates the Greece’s viticulture by dividing the country into four climatic zones: 1) the wet, sometimes continental climate of Northern Greece; 2) the hot, arid Aegean Islands; 3) the quasi-Mediterranean climate of Central Greece; and 4) the reliable Mediterranean climate of Southern Greece.
For those who have vacationed in Greece, you will have undoubtedly been exposed to wine from the Aegean Islands, which are also what is mostly imported to the United States as a result of the tourism familiarity: Samos, Santorini, and Limnos are some of the destinations, and Assyrtiko, Malvasia, Athiri, and Muscat Blanc are some of the more popular grape varietals (note: varietals in Greece are generally not confined to regions and appellations). But since we have three wines for the wine club, we decided to skip the Aegean Islands region and we selected wines from the other three geographical climate regions: a white from Northern Greece, a red from Southern Greece, and a red from Central Greece.

Macedonian amphora, 4th century BC

NORTHERN GREECE

Similar to two of the Iron Curtain countries we covered in previous monthly installments of the Amaro Wine Club, Croatia and Slovenia, Northern Greece sees influences from the Mediterranean but with a healthy dose of Continental weather, such as ample rainfall, and/or cold winters with snowfall, and windy mountain microclimates. For historical and geographical reference, Macedonia, the home of Alexander the Great, is a large part of Northern Greece (the other two being Thrace and Epirus). As testament to its ancient viticultural influence, Macedonian amphorae dating back to the 5th century BC have been found across Europe and throughout the Mediterranean.

As a result of the shorter growing seasons in the northern regions, white wines tend to fare best, although the lean red varietal Xinomavro also does well and is often compared to Nebbiolo, with a certain area even referred to as “the Barolo of Greece.” The white varietals of the region, mostly Malagousia and Assyrtiko, are often blended with non-native French varietals, such as Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay. Fun fact about Malagousia; it was thought to be extinct until the 1970s. A professor of Oenology, Vassilis Logothetis, essentially re-discovered it in Nafpaktia, a region around the port town of Nafpaktos, and (re-)introduced it to one of his students, Vangelis Gerovassiliou, who planted it in his family estate near Thessaloniki. Since then, it has become a widely appreciated varietal for its depth and variability. 

Featured July Amaro Wine Club Greek wine: Buketo White (2022)
VARIETALS: 40% Malagousia, 30% Assyrtiko, 30% Sauvignon Blanc

A small group of boutique organic winegrowers near Mount Pangeon in Northern Greece contribute their best grapes to create two wines every year as a collective, a red and a white. This is their white wine. The name is essentially a metaphor as they envision each winegrower’s contribution to be a flower that contributes to creating a bouquet, “buketo” in Greek. Although the relatively recently popular Malagousia comprises the bulk of the blend, it only does so by a slim margin. Almost one-third is another famous native varietal Assyrtiko, and the last almost one-third is the French varietal Sauvignon Blanc. The result is a masterpiece at an incredible value.

FOOD PAIRINGS: Grilled chicken, seafood pasta, baked fish with a tomato puree and olive oil, shellfish, white fish, Lobster, Crab, roasted turkey/thicken/tam, tapas, sushi, hors d'oeuvres

Vineyards with Pangeon mountains in the background

Ancient ruins among vineyards in Nemea.

SOUTHERN GREECE

Southern Greece is essentially the Peloponnese peninsula, and unlike Northern and Southern Greece, which have areas where Vitis Vinifera does not grow, pretty much the entire peninsula is winegrowing territory. However, Nemea and Mantineia are standout regions for making exceptional wine due to their unique hilly microclimates. Nemea is surrounded by massifs that lead to small hills and smooth slopes that are carpeted with vineyards. The dominant varietal in the region is Agiorgitiko. The color of the grape’s juice after macerating with the skins is such a deep red that it is compared to blood, referred to as “the blood of Hercules” in keeping with Greece’s ancient past. The varietal is quite versatile and can produce different types of wines depending on the microclimate in which it is cultivated.

Featured July Amaro Wine Club Greek wine: Driopi Nemea Classic (2019)
VARIETALS: Agiorgitiko

Yiannis Tselepos owns and operates vineyards in two regions in Southern Greece, Nemea and Mantineia, and one in the Aegean Islands in Santorini. Ktima Nemea Driopi near the town of Koutsi is a rather recent purchase, in 2003, with vineyards about 380 meters above sea level. Tselopos macerates the Agiorgitiko grapes for 25 days and ages the wine for 12 months in French oak barrels (70% new and 30% in barrels that have been used for two vinifications) and then a further 6 months in the bottle.

FOOD PAIRINGS: Grilled steak, lamb chops, charcuterie platter, roasted meats, tomato sauces, spiced cuisines, savory vegetables

Featured July Amaro Wine Club Greek wine: Driopi Nemea Classic (2019)
VARIETALS: Agiorgitiko

Yiannis Tselepos owns and operates vineyards in two regions in Southern Greece, Nemea and Mantineia, and one in the Aegean Islands in Santorini. Ktima Nemea Driopi near the town of Koutsi is a rather recent purchase, in 2003, with vineyards about 380 meters above sea level. Tselopos macerates the Agiorgitiko grapes for 25 days and ages the wine for 12 months in French oak barrels (70% new and 30% in barrels that have been used for two vinifications) and then a further 6 months in the bottle.

FOOD PAIRINGS: Grilled steak, lamb chops, charcuterie platter, roasted meats, tomato sauces, spiced cuisines, savory vegetables

Kitma Driopi in Nemea

Summer in high elevation vineyards near Mount Olympus

CENTRAL GREECE

The Central Greece winegrowing region starts well inland on its eastern border but the western part extends right to the coasts that jut into Aegean Sea. The climate throughout the region, from north to south, is considerably more arid than Northern Greece and with longer growing seasons. In the north of the region, the nights are cooler while the climate becomes considerably hotter closer to Athens. The northern part of the Central Greece winegrowing regions tend to produce more red wines while white wines predominate in the southern part around Athens.

The best vineyards in the northern regions are at elevations above 250 meters, such as the slopes of Mount Olympus, and the highest quality wines are from vineyards at altitudes above 500 meters. In the south, the white varietal Savatiano is what defined Greek wine in the 20th century for most non-Greeks, and a type of wine called Retsina in particular, which is essentially wine infused with sap from an Aleppo pine tree. The origin of this type of wine itself speaks to the antiquity of viticulture in Greece. It developed because before barrels and (much later) glass containers were developed, the Greeks sealed their amphora storage containers with pine resin to delay spoiling. Some of the resin seeped into the wine and became part of the flavor profile of stored Greek wine. Once the technology of barrels made resin-sealing unnecessary, there were still those who sought the resin taste and purposely infused it into the wine during fermentation calling the finished product Retsina. Modern-day Retsina wines come mostly from Attica and are typically made with the Savatiano varietal, although Roditis and Assyrtiko are also used.

Featured July Amaro Wine Club Greek wine: Domaine Zafeirakis Tyrnavos Limniona (2020)
VARIETALS: Limniona

The Zafeiraki Winery is located in the Thessaly region in the municipality of Tyrnavos in the northern part of Central Greece about 26 miles south of Mount Olympus as the crow flies. Although the Zafeirakis family has been involved in viticulture in the area for over 100 years, fourth-generation family member Christos Zafeirakis was the first to make and sell wine from the grapes they grew. After Christos completed a degree in Oenology in Athens, he continued studying at University of Milan for a master’s degree in Oenology, and worked on estates and wineries in Piedmont, Alto Adige and Tuscany before returning to the family estate in Greece with the goal to produce quality wines through organic farming.

Although cultivated throughout Greece, the Limniona varietal is thought to be native to Thessaly and specifically Tyrnavos and Karditsa. The vineyards are 300 meters above sea level. Christos follows PGI Tyrnavos guidelines for vinifying the Limniona grapes, fermenting them in 3,000-liter and 5,000-liter Austrian oak tanks in which they are extracted from 17 to 24 days, where malolactic fermentation is also encouraged. He then ages the wine in a mix of 1,200-liter, 2,400-liter, 3,000-liter and 5,000-liter new and old barrels and sometimes amphorae. After bottling, the wine is aged for another 12 months.

FOOD PAIRINGS: fatty meats, e.g., lamb and pork; steak with Béarnaise sauce, moussaka, pastitsio