When I ponder Greek wines, a word comes to mind: abstruse. The Greek wine world is certainly hard to understand, and the names of the indigenous grapes are a challenge for someone like me who has difficulty with pronunciation. A simple grape name like Viognier took me two wine guys and a couple of weeks to get right. Yes, today, it flows off my tongue like a pro, but it took some practice. Now, as our trip to Greece has come to an end, I’m doing my best to understand the Greek wine culture and the names of the grapes that grow there. Two red grapes considered their premier varietals are Agiorgitiko (ah-yor-yee-tee-ko) and Xinomavro (ksee-NOH-mah-vroh). Their premier white grape is Assyrtiko, hands down. One of the reasons I know this is not just what I’ve read, which confirms this, but it’s what I experienced in the restaurants that Susie and I went to while we were there. The wine lists are drenched with Assyrtiko as an option for white wines. Yes, there are other choices of course, but Assyrtiko dominates. Being the wine nerd I am, I listened as others ordered their wines. I never overheard someone ordering Retisina, a white wine unique to the Greek culture. No, it seemed that Assyrtiko was the word I overheard the most. Of course, there is a good reason for this. Assyrtiko is a grape varietal that produces dry white wines that cover an array of flavor profiles, from bone dry and mineral-driven to a white that is a bit more tropical with a touch of viscosity. This makes sense since seafood is a staple in Crete and most of Greece in general.
Although the two aforementioned red varietals are a big deal in Greece, it is becoming a trend there to see a lot of GSM (Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre) style reds on the wine lists at restaurants and in wine shops. Grenache and Syrah, in particular, are taking hold in this country. In my opinion, there is nothing wrong with this, especially since the wines in this category I tried while I was there were very impressive. However, Xinomavro has a special place in my heart. It will be a subject I focus on in upcoming YouTube episodes. It is so much like a Nebbiolo; it is almost uncanny. I plan on doing a blind-tasting episode in which I will pit Xinomavro against Nebbiolo to see if I can tell the difference. Yes, they are that close in flavor profile. There is so much to write about now that I’ve had the Greek wine experience. I will spend some extended time on this blog expounding on this subject. I hope you enjoy the upcoming articles.
I spend some time watching other wine critics/educators on YouTube. I have three that I like the most, and although I don’t watch all their posts, I find them very interesting. However, something disturbs me, and I’m not exactly sure how to broach the subject. When does making money doing what you love, start to override your passion? This is something I ponder quite a bit. I have an intense passion for helping wine drinkers find wines that are well-made and fit most people’s budgets. I also have an aversion to receiving favors from distributors and wineries in return for spending my time reviewing their wines. This is a bit of a sticky wicket that I grapple with regularly. I know there are folks in the wine world who make a career out of education and entertainment in this field. Many of them are on YouTube. The question is, how many become greatly influenced by what they receive from distributors or wineries? I’m not sure, of course, but it is something I want to spend time writing about on this blog and talking about on my YouTube channel.
Cheers!
Stan The Wine Man
