By Larry Mogelonsky, MBA, P. Eng. (www.lma.ca)
Maybe it’s cheesy to borrow from a Marvin Gaye song, but while the snow beats down against my window pane, all I can think of is sunny, hot days against calm, azure water. And if a nation like Greece happens to have a god of wine its pantheon (Dionysus), then you know the grapes are good. In fact, Greece’s wine culture goes all the way back to its time as Mycenae (Greece before it was called even that) when our modern pedigree of grape vine was developed and perfected for growth in the dry summers, ample sunlight and mild winters of Southern Europe.
While the country fails behind three big in terms of total European output (Italy, France and Spain), that hardly precludes it from offering an eloquent drop or two. Greece currently boasts more than 300 varietals from 28 appellations, all with quite uncommon names. This means that whatever your choice of acquisition from this land, the label is destined to be a niche product and a head-scratcher for almost all patrons who come across it on a wine list.
Some will be more adventurous and seek out esoteric bottles from smaller countries like Greece while others will be outright intimidated and stick to the more internationally renowned grapes. As our focus in this series is on education but also, and more importantly, heightening the purchase of wine in your hotel restaurants, let’s narrow our focus on a few key selling points and the four top varietals for you to consider.
Firstly, Greek wines make a good case for appealing to people’s sense of heritage. After all, who wouldn’t want to share a bottle from a region with over 6,000 years of winemaking? Next is terroir; many Greek wines are cultivated on islands laden with volcanic ash-rich soil, imparting a distinctive earthy flavor and mineral structure. Lastly, many of these same islands were unperturbed by the phylloxera blight of the latter half of the 19th century, meaning that several of the nation’s varietals in use today are truly original in terms of delivering a quintessentially firm and acidic ‘old world’ taste.
As for the four grapes to remember, these are Assyrtiko, Moschofilero, Agiorgitiko and Xinomavro, two whites and two reds respectively. Originally from the former volcano that is now the island Santorini, Assyrtiko is a steely, aromatic (and phylloxera-resistant) white with dry, citrus-blossom characteristics similar to Riesling. Second comes Moschofilero, which is lighter and quite floral relative to Assyrtiko, making it a better match for desserts or sugar-dominant snacking foods.
On the darker side, Agiorgitiko is the most popular export, with a transparent ruby body and composite flavor profile akin to Pinot Noir. Xinomavro, the other red, is bolder with its opaque violet color and generous burst of sour fruit and tannins in the same vein as many reds from Piedmont. It also ages quite well if you’re looking to sit on some cases for a few years.
I could go into more detail here, but this is the cursory level of knowledge your servers should be able to quickly pass on to guests. Anything information beyond this can be quite intimidating and should be left for the aficionados and sommeliers amongst us. Any way you put it, though, there’s lots to discover in this ancient land, so do Dionysus proud and pour yourself a glass!
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