Greek Wines

I haven't had much experience with Greek wines since the 1970s when Retsina was the wine of choice at Greek Town in Chicago and Detroit. On a recent three-week trip to Athens and the Greek islands, I gained a very positive impression of Greek wines, both white and red. We never ordered expensive bottles (actually at 25 to 30 Euros a bottle not really expensive by US standards) but routinely ordered the house wine by the glass or half liter, usually 5 to 6 Euros for even for half a liter. I was never disappointed. The wines were always drinking beautifully with good balance and surprisingly complex flavor profiles. Many restaurants had barrels from which the wine was drawn so maybe the wines had gained some barrel aging complexities on site.

Most house reds were from the indigenous Agiorgitiko grape. They were medium to full bodied with a flavor profile similar to Merlot or Nero d'Avola. When available, I usually went for Xinomavro, a bolder wine with high acid, high tannin and intense smells and flavors reminiscent of Nebbiolo. Back home, it is now on my buy list.

Most house whites were Moschofilero--medium bodied with floral aromas and flavors of citrus and stone fruits. After visiting the island of Santorini and going to a tasting at Santo winery, I quickly became enamored of Assyrtiko, a wine with incredibly deep and complex mineral and fruit flavors. At restaurants, I was more than willing to shell out 50 cents extra for a glass of Assyrtiko, well aware that back home I would be paying dearly for the pleasure. Assyrtiko also goes on my buy list, although I am probably too cheap to find any in my price range.