The Perfect Greek Wine for Christmas

In the last post (in German), I talked about the possibility of brightening cold winter days with the exotic aromas of Greek Sauvignon Blanc. That strategy naturally doesn't work for Christmas itself, though – there you want something classic, something that fits the mood, more cosy than exciting, contemplative, sure, but please not a wine that demands a lot of brainwork, more delicious and suited to the whole family than totally out there. For this post, then, I went back through our already-published and not-yet-published tasting notes – on the hunt for the perfect Greek wine for Christmas, of course.

It doesn't always have to be the heavy classics from Italy...

Granted, there are also flavour profiles, and corresponding international varieties, that have become established. You can't and shouldn't replace an Amarone with a Greek wine. And the most popular Christmas wine up and down the country, Primitivo, with its residual sweetness and Christmas-spice aromas, is likewise many people's darling – whether or not it deserves to be. If you want to imitate that while still having some standards, you're probably best off with one of the rather rare high-quality off-dry wines Greece has to offer, such as perhaps the Arothimies from Ktima Kelesidi. And if you want something a bit more exotic, you might reach straight for the sweet communion wine Metochi Mylopotamos Nama.

If at Christmas you like to reach for Nebbiolo – Barolo and Barbaresco above all – then this year you might perhaps give Xinomavro a chance, which is very similar above all in structure. With steak in particular, you can hardly go wrong there, if you reach for a quality producer. A big Xinomavro tasting is something we've been putting off for a long time now, thanks to Corona. Highly recommended, though, are definitely the cuvée versions from Alpha Estate (in German), which we presented here (in German). The blending partners also mean the wine will likely fare even better with less seasoned wine drinkers than a somewhat demanding Barolo or Barbaresco from Piedmont would.

Fancy a little chocolate?

Likewise fairly international in style is the Avaton cuvée from Ktima Gerovassiliou (in German), which we presented here (in German). With this wine you win over every guest – and convince them of Greek wine at the same time. For Christmas, its wonderfully lovely nougat notes make it a superb fit!

Areti 2013 from Ktima Biblia Chora

That brings us to wines that captivate not least through their clear fruit. And this is now the perfect opportunity to introduce the red Areti from Ktima Biblia Chora. In a small comparison of Agiorgitiko wines outside PDO Nemea (as you can see from the photo, in not exactly Christmassy temperatures), it came into the glass after a rather young Agiorgitiko with a strongly oxidative style of ageing from Giannikos Winery (in German) (see here (in German)) and an already somewhat older Agiorgitiko that was, however, still thoroughly dominated by oak (from Ktima Pavlidis, the tasting note is coming soon).

Rather tentatively, against this backdrop, we turned to the somewhat more mature vintage from the Biblia Chora estate. (Details on that here.) Quite sceptically, we opened the bottle from 2013, which is adorned with a picture of the winemaker's daughter – Vassilios Tsaktsarlis – depicting her father coming back from the vineyard. The wine is named after her, too.

Any fears that the wine might already have its best years behind it, though, quickly proved entirely unfounded. Wonderfully fresh fruit aromas and a lightly bloody minerality captivate the nose. On the palate, too, the wine shows soft tannin, decent pressure, and fairly strong complexity for the variety – but above all with the drinkability typical of it, which here doesn't come at the expense of a long finish at all. A simply magnificent wine that easily earns its 18 points.

A mature wine that will surely still hold up for a few more years, but that can also now be opened without any wistfulness at all. There's only one thing you should do: empty it quickly once you do. Because a day later it already shows noticeably weaker. With a wine that has this much drive, though, that problem is hardly likely to come up in practice… and certainly not at Christmas.

If you like cherry and otherwise like to reach for Sangiovese to entertain the relatives, you can happily leave the Chianti in the cellar this year. The Areti from Ktima Biblia Chora is guaranteed to satisfy everyone – both those who simply enjoy tasting cherry, and those who want something more demanding.

Our partner shops sadly don't carry this wine, so we can't earn any commission here. If you look around a bit, though, you'll still find it in Germany for around €20 (and feel free to cite our blog as your reason for ordering – maybe we'll still get a little Christmas present from the retailers after all).

White alternatives

Oh, and with white wine the matter is simple. There, your heart should already feel a little warm for Christmas. With an oak-aged Chardonnay like the Plagios/Sideways (see here (in German)) from Ktima Biblia Chora or the Tramonto (see here (in German)) from Alpha Estate (in German), you'll be left wanting for nothing.