Greek red wines receive high praise in Germany

While Greek wines have received a lot of solid press in the English speaking parts of the world over the last few years, reporting in their most important export market, Germany, is still only a trickle. This is a harsh fact, despite there being interest by German wine critics to publish material. These critics/wine journalists need information and samples, which are sadly not easily obtainable. I have for years now talked to the Greek wine industry about these issues, but little has changed since.

I was contacted a couple of months ago by one Germany’s most respected wine journalists and critics, Herr Eckhard Supp, who was looking for my help to organize samples of the finest Greek red wines. Herr Supp recently launched a new print magazine in Germany, enos, which has received much praise from some of the best-known personalities from within the German wine trade.

In a private effort, I selected wines that I deemed worthy, contacted the wineries, and organized for samples to be shipped to Herrn Supp. I also selected wines from an existing stock that are with a PR agency in Germany that is working with the Greek wine industry.

Today, the tasting report was made available online. The article will also be included in the next print edition of the enos magazine. Herr Supp writes:

“No, there was no real surprise with these Greek red wines, not in regards to their high quality…This tasting proved again that the Greek viticulture has become highly competitive in terms of quality… The native varieties showed their great potential. Agiorgitiko, Xinomavro, Mavrotragano, alone, or blended with other varieties, represented a large part of the winning wines. Those who are very familiar with Greek wines know names like Kir Yianni, Biblia Chora, Sigalas, Costas Lazaridis, Alpha Estate or Gerovassiliou. It is deeply regrettable that their reputation has not yet reached beyond the smallest of circles that are made up of Greek wine enthusiasts.”

As for the results, 28 wines from 23 producers were evaluated using a five star rating. Ten wines reached a full five star rating; another thirteen wines received four stars, the remaining five wines scored three stars. Boom!

You can read the German article here, the list of the individual wines here.

Wine buyers from across the country will read the above reports. Will this change anything about the poor perception of Greek wines in Germany? Hardly, if there are no regular follow up articles. The last time Herr Supp wrote extensively about Greek wines was six years ago. It was the first Greek wine tasting that I ever organized.