In Good Spirits
Greece is the word
After 4,000 years, Greek wine is finally the Next Big Thing
By Mark Spivak
Wine consumers are always eager for the next new thing, ever anxious to explore an emerging region coming over the horizon. In the case of Greece, this emerging region has been making wine for more than 4,000 years.
The hero of Homer’s Odyssey took wine from his native Ithaca with him on his voyage. He also used potent wine from Thrace to subdue Polyphemus, the Cyclops poised to devour him. Even in those days, the islands were regarded as producing the best wine, and Chios is sometimes referred to as the Bordeaux of ancient Greece. Sweet wines were the norm, and grapes were dried on mats in the sunshine to raise their sugar levels prior to fermentation.
More than anything else, retsina has probably caused Greek wine to have a bad rap. The practice of lining amphorae with pine resin originated in ancient times, and many Greeks came to prefer the taste of resinated wine. Retsina died out after the Romans introduced barrels in the third century A.D. It was revived in the modern era, became ubiquitous in the 1960s, and soon was the definition of Greek wine for many people outside the country. Today, most retsina originates in Central Greece, and is made from the native Savatiano grape variety.
After Greece joined the European Community, the country instituted a strict set of appellation laws in 1971 and 1972. Similar to rules in countries such as France and Italy, these laws control many aspects of the winemaking process and guarantee a quality
product to the consumer. As a result, Greek wine is being taken seriously in America and around the world. Even though production is still dominated by large companies such as Boutari, artisan producers are doing interesting work in many parts of the country.
The Peloponessos is one of the largest wine regions on the mainland, with many interesting sub-regions. In Patra, the iconic winery Achaia Clauss dates to the 1860s. The second-generation Mantinia estate of Spyropoulos produces a classy white wine from the Moschofilero grape, which has excellent minerality and an elegant finish.
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