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Not since the times of Homer have Greek wines received as much attention as
they have in the last few months. The reason, of course, is the Olympics,
which begin in Athens on Aug. 13. For Greek wines the time is right for
discovery.
So, recently. a tasting panel decided to sample a range of Greek wines. We
suspected that some great and pleasing bargains lay hidden within the
largely unknown universe of these wines, made up of unfamiliar winemakers
working with obscure grapes.
In the last few years, I had tasted some bottles that were surprisingly good
- crisp, dry whites and sturdy, robust yet fruity reds - at Greek
restaurants. Our two guest tasters, Beth von Benz and Scott Mayger, both of
whom have been wine directors at New York restaurants, had explored Greek
wines and developed some perspective on the range of wines available.
We divided our tasting into two parts, first whites, then reds. We found
quite a few tangy, refreshing whites, exactly the sort of elemental,
uncomplicated wines that ought to be served cold in hot weather. But we also
found wines that tasted tired if they were not from the most recent vintage,
or that smelled of sulfur dioxide, a compound widely used by winemakers as a
preservative.
The use of sulfur - detectable not by the rotten egg smell of hydrogen
sulfide but by an aroma like a freshly struck match - indicates that the
Greek wine industry is in a fledgling state. Not literally; the rich history
of Greek wine extends back into ancient times, thousands of years before
Christ, and no doubt achieved glory back when the Olympic Games were played
for the gods. But only recently have modern Greek winemakers given serious
thought to competing in the world marketplace. Like most Mediterranean white
wines, the Greek versions are made for quick consumption, not for aging or
for distant destinations. The aroma of sulfur indicates an effort to
stabilize the wines for time and travel, but perhaps the winemakers haven't
quite hit on the right formula.
"It's important to remember that Greece is a Mediterranean country, with
simple whites," Mayger said. "They show little or no longevity, so look for
young wines."
Nonetheless, our top white wines were immensely likable. The 2003
Samaropetra from Kir-Yianni had a fascinating aroma, grassy and floral but
meaty too, and at $12 it was a great value. I guessed it was made from the
sauvignon blanc grape, and I was partly right. The wine is a blend of
sauvignon, Gewürztraminer and roditis, a pink-skinned varietal that is often
a component in retsina, the pungent, piney wine that reflects just one of
the Greek winemaking traditions.
"There's been tremendous improvement in the last eight years," von Benz
said. "The whites are terrific summer wines, they're great values, and
they're only going to get better."
Another pink-skinned grape, moschofilero, contributes the beautiful pinkish
color of our No. 2 wine, the 2003 Tselepos from Mantinia, in the
Peloponnesian hills not far from the Greek city of Tripoli. This wine had a
distinctive floral aroma that reminded us of Gewürztraminer.
When people think at all about Greek wine beyond retsina, they generally
think of whites. So it is understandably surprising that the Greek reds we
tasted were as good as they were. Like the whites, they are earnest rather
than complicated, straightforward, meaty wines that would go well with
peppery grilled lamb or a hearty stew.
The wines we liked best were all made with the agiorgitiko grape, also known
as the St. George, which is native to the Nemea region of Peloponnesus. Our
top red, from the Gaia Estate, was graceful enough to remind me of a
Bordeaux, though it was made entirely from agiorgitiko.
Other reds, like the Spiropoulos and the Katogi-Averoff, were blends of
agiorgitiko with one or both of the major Bordeaux grapes, cabernet
sauvignon and merlot. Either way, the Greek reds can stand a few years of
age much better than the whites and seemed to travel better, too.
While Greek winemakers have worked hard over the last few decades to bring
their viticulture and cellar practices into the modern world, they have
clung to indigenous grapes. Even wines that blend Greek grapes with
international varietals, like the bright, fruity 2000 Katogi-Averoff among
the reds and the Kir-Yianni among the whites, retain their particular Greek
character, a wonderful thing in a world of increasingly homogenized wines.
Incidentally, the Katogi-Averoff comes from the Sterea Ellada region, which
stretches northwest of Athens. It was there that the Greek god Dionysus was
said to have introduced the culture of wine to the Greeks. The ancient
Greeks must have been especially attentive to Dionysus. They made wine all
over their world, up through southern Italy, where many of the grapes, like
the greco bianco, still reflect their origins, and over to the Black Sea.
Nowadays, vineyards are planted throughout Greece, from Macedonia in the
north to the Ionian Islands to the west to the Aegean Islands to the south.
The vineyards may be widespread but the wines are not, at least if you are
looking for them outside of Greece in retail shops.
That's too bad, since the whites especially depend on freshness and swift
turnover. If only the Olympics were in Greece every time.
The New York Times
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