WELCOME TO GREEK WINES

This dessert wine, Ktima Montofoli from the estate of the same name (known internationally as Montofoli Estate) in the small PGI Karystos (where only two wineries produce wine under this appellation), is a powerhouse! That the 2013 vintage, which we too got to taste, was recently awarded gold at the Decanter with a corresponding 95 points comes as no surprise whatsoever. In the cuvée of sun-dried grapes, Assyrtiko dominates at 60%. You can make very good dessert wine from thi

Alongside Xinomavro, Agiorgitiko is surely the best-known Greek red grape variety. Through the PDO Nemea it has achieved international fame. We've already discussed several notable Agiorgitikos from Nemea and the rest of Greece here on the blog (see, for instance, here (in German)). When it comes to cuvées, though, one can't shake the impression that the Agiorgitiko grape lags well behind Xinomavro. You don't get the sense that many winemakers place a great deal of trust in i

In this article (in German) we already talked about the remarkable history of the Malagousia grape variety, which stood on the brink of extinction just a few decades ago and has since become a fixture of the Greek wine market. One of its strengths is certainly its aromatic versatility: in some wines it comes across like a classic aromatic variety, yet when harvested early it can also present a very fruity side. Then again, there are wines, such as the one from Giannikos Winer

The Assyrtiko grape is regarded as the queen among Greek white wine varieties. Only recently we tasted (in German) a broad range of Assyrtiko wines from the Greek mainland. A larger tasting devoted to the more aromatic and lower-acid Malagousia is to follow before long. As a bridge between the two, we thought it would be rather interesting to taste some blends that make use of both varieties, Assyrtiko as well as Malagousia. The basics on the grape – taste, Santorini versus t

Assyrtiko from the Greek island of Santorini is a serious force, internationally as well. Lobenberg too awards it as much as 99 points on occasion. It is also impressive (or rather somewhat unsettling?) that in the new round of the competition for the 50 best Greek wines (“50GGW”) Assyrtiko is placed no fewer than 17 times – and only once with a wine that does not come from Santorini. So we deliberately wanted to taste wines of this variety from the Greek mainland once again

After Sauvignon Blanc (in German), it's now time to discuss the only white variety that sees even wider use internationally – and thrives quite wonderfully in Greece too. The following examples from a whole range of different winegrowing regions (PGI Epanomi, PGI Messenia, PGI Ilia, PGI Atalanti, PGI Drama) show as much. A textbook example is, and remains, the Chardonnay from Ktima Gerovassiliou, which we profiled (in German) in great detail here. It's one of the first Chardo