Yiannis Tselepos is one of the great pioneers of winemaking in Greece. He received a degree in oenology from the University of Dijon in 1979 and went on to work for several wineries in Burgundy. In 1989, he established the Domaine Tselepos in Arcadia (Peleponnese) as a high quality boutique winery. The first varieties planted [...]
Limnos, the 8th largest island of Greece, is located in the northern Aegean. The vast majority of its vineyards are located at low altitudes. Only one grape is allowed for the two existing appellations: Muscat of Alexandria produces the dry Limnos PDO white wines, as well as the sweet Muscat of Limnos PDO wines. It [...]
Retsina is a part of Greece’s heritage. I am using the term heritage, as it refers to “something inherited from the past”. Wine with added resin has been made in Greece for about 2500 years. That is a long time! Despite its long history, it took all but 10 years for Retsina to become a [...]
Nemea, Santorini and Naoussa are acclaimed by wine lovers. The best known Greek wine appellation however is Mavrodaphne of Patras – known to the masses for its fortified, sweet port-style red wines. It is one of the strongest wine export products of Greece. Sadly, it might also be one of the most underperforming wine appellations [...]
Konstantinos Lazarakis MW wraps up his insightful mini-series about the history of Greek wines by examining the developments that have taken place over the last six decades. Please refer to the earlier instalments Part 1 and Part 2. “The renaissance of Greek wine came late in the 20th century. The Second World War left a [...]
The collapse of the local Greek wine market is picking up in speed. While at first the high end segment was hit hard, prices now erode quickly in the middle section. Greece’s largest supermarket chain, AB Vassilopoulos, has been discounting wines up to 40% on a weekly or bi-weekly basis for months now. Their offerings [...]
Indigenous grape varieties from Greece are unique and authentic. Who needs Greek wines made from international grape varieties? Why bother to highlight those Greek producers that do excel with non-Greek varieties? My recent post “The Greek Rhone Rangers” triggered an email exchange with Kim Ginsberg, a New York based Wine Consultant/Spirit advisor. With her permission, [...]
The Boutari Iouliatiko is a sweet wine made from the indigenous Cretan red variety “Liatiko”. It ripens early and matures in July (hence the VII on label, reference to the 7th month of the year). The freshly harvested grapes were sun-dried for 11 days, which results in an increased acidity due to concentration. The wine [...]
If I had to name just one winery from Greece that defines multiculturalism while staying true to its Greek roots, it would have to be the Manousakis winery. Ted Manousakis was born and raised in the small village of Vatolakos, close to Chania in Crete. After the Second World War and the ensuing Civil War, [...]
Konstantinos Lazarakis MW continuous to explore the history of Greek wine in this guest article. The first part can be found here. I am extremely grateful for his support – his writings have truly added a remarkable level of education to elloinos. Thank you Konstantine! “In 146 BC, Greece became part of the Roman Empire [...]
