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Greek wine Tag

HomePosts tagged "Greek wine" (Page 5)

  Today is International Xinomavro Day! This new grape holiday was established only last year. While I missed my chance to post about it in 2019, I'm very excited to talk about Xinomavro this year. I previously wrote about Kokkinos Xinomavro (which was lovely). And while several bottles languish in my wine room, I do not often drink Xinomavro. At least not as often as I'd like! Today is a good reason to bust out some tasking notes though. But first, let's talk about the grape itself. Xinomavro Xinomavro (ksi-NO-mav-row) grows mainly in Northern Greece. The PDO most famous for this grape is Naoussa but it grows well also in Amyndeo, Goumenissa,

  While probably half the wines I buy in Greece invariably end up being Assyrtiko, or Assyrtiko-lead blends, I am always on the lookout for new (to me) grapes. Last year at a wine festival in Athens I tasted a 100% Athiri. Could I find it anywhere to buy? No of course not. Not on that or any subsequent trip. I did, however, get my hands on another grape often blended with Assyrtiko, Aidani. Aidani One of Greece's many indigenous white grapes, Aidani grows mainly in the Greek islands, particularly the Cyclades and Rhodes. Finding it on its own is a rarity. Most often, Aidani gets blended with Assyrtiko as part

  [caption id="attachment_14586" align="alignright" width="300"] At Cinque with Baby[/caption] For most people Greece, especially Athens, means ancient gods, lots of marble columns, islands, and maybe gyros. I've been to the ruins. I've been to an island (although just the one). And I must eat two or three pork gyros (seriously, go to Royal Souvlaki) every time I visit. But for me, Greece means friends and wine. E&M, two of my best friends, moved to Athens a few years ago. For a while I was visiting once every six to eight months. Then this last September they had a baby. Suddenly I'm tia Andrea to a baby who lives geographically much closer than my

  Assyrtiko. The most iconic of Greek grapes immediately brings to mind images of Santorini, the distinctive vines, and the smell of the sea. Assyrtiko is most at home in the volcanic soils of Santorini; where the vines are trained into baskets low to the ground to protect the fruit from the island's harsh wines. However, it is also grown as far north as Drama in Macedonia. It's a versatile grape used in Vin Santo sweet wines as well as dry varietal wines. As a dry wine, Assyrtiko displays a yellow-gold color with mineral, pear, apple, and citrus blossom aromas and flavors. Assyrtiko can also be found blended; often

  Over the last couple years I've visited Greece once or twice a year. However, I have to make it to Santorini. The most famous of Greece's islands definitely has a place on my bucket list but I am waiting for a convenient off-season time to visit. As much as I'd love to see the picturesque views most people associate with the island; what I really want to see are the vineyards. Assyrtiko is easily one of my favorite grapes. I very much want to pilgrimage to its home to visit producers large and small alike. Like Art Space Winery. Art Space is a unique art gallery, museum, and winery

  Nestled in the sunny slopes of Megara, just 60 km from bustling Athens, lies Ktima Evharis. In 1992, owners Eva-Maria Boehme and Harry Antony began planting Assyrtiko, Malagouzia, Sauvignon Blanc, Roditis, Chardonnay, Agiorgitiko, Syrah, Merlot, and Grenache. Part of PGI Gerania, the vineyards cover about 12 hectares between the Gulfs of Salamis and Corinth, surrounded by tall pine trees and old olive groves. Vines here, many of them traditional goblet, are interspersed with rosemary, lavender, colorful roses and fragrant mimosas, lustrous almond trees and pomegranates; lending the vineyards a Garden of Eden atmosphere. With its limestone soils rich in lava, sand, and fossil shells, cool summer and mild winters, the

  Since I am back in Athens, I thought it a good time to dig out some old notes on Greek wines I've drunk. Because I'm lucky enough to be a 90 flight from the city where my two best friends live (free accommodation!), I get a lot of opportunity to explore Greek wine. While I nearly sweepingly love the white grapes native to Greece, finding my red wine has not been as easy. Both my friend M and I prefer more powerful, muscular, tannic red wines. Which means Agiorgitiko hasn't been our favorite. However, with that profile as a goal, Greece's "sour black" Xinomavro is a sure bet. The most

  Each time I begin to explore a country's wine; there has been one wine that sticks in my mind as the one that made me think: okay, this country makes good wine! For Turkey that was Prodom's flagship blend and Vino Dessera's 190. For Greece it was a Seméli Moschofilero. Six-seven years ago during my first trip to Greece I drank whatever wine got plunked down on the table. It was not awesome. But at least it was better than the "dog killer" wines I was able to access in my conservative outer Istanbul neighborhood. Since then I've been to Greece several times during which I've attended small

  Ever having tried Domaine Porto Carras' sparkling wine Yliana I've been wanting to try more of the winery's wines. During my next trip to Greece I kept a look out for the domaine's wines and happily found one. And not just any wine, my new (Greek) obsession Malagousia. Malagousia (or Malagouzia) is an aromatic white grape grown primarily in central Greece and Greek Macedonia. The pale yellow wines which are given by Malagousia have intense aromatic content that refers to white flesh fruits such as peach, fresh aromatic herbs, green pepper and citrus, while some notes of muscat stand out. According to Konstantinos Lazarakis MW, Malagousia's resurgence started in

  For something like 15 years I worked in DC and abroad on international development programs. My specialty was media development. While I focused the longest on the Balkans, shifts in funding priorities also had me working around the Middle East, Afghanistan, Cuba, and elsewhere. While I no longer do that work, it's because of it that I landed in Turkey. Where, after a fair few years of adulthood, I finally figured out what I want to be when I grown up. Hint: it's about wine. People haven't cornered the market on self reinvention. While it requires human intervention to do so, wine also goes through transformative periods. Take