By Matthew DeBord
HQ 120 | WINTER 2023
Over the summer, I took a family vacation to Greece and was once again reminded that a country that figures heavily in the history of wine is rather shamefully overlooked by modern-day wine lovers. Unfortunately, for folks who live outside of Greece and particularly in the United States, it’s almost impossible to track down anything other than Retsina, a traditional Greek white that, frankly, is quite weird. The wine is made from an obscure grape variety and infused with resin to prevent oxidation, yielding a quaff that tastes of pine. It’s never been my thing; and as it’s the sole Greek wine that most Americans even vaguely know, it isn’t many other people’s bag, either.
I’m not going to sell Greek wine short, however. The best way to enjoy it is to actually go to Greece, a wonderful nation that has the ancient lineage of both Plato and Aristotle, iconic ruins, one fantastic city in Athens (where most of the population lives) and a vast number of islands offering everything from rustic getaways by the beach to 24-hour parties at high-end nightclubs.
As far as wine goes, Greece’s culture is a throwback to a time well before Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay were household names. I’ve been around fine wine for decades and know next to nothing about the wide range of grapes the Greeks transform into their bottlings. In this respect, Greek wine resembles some offbeat U.S. regions, where so-called “native varietals” — grapes that originated in the U.S. rather than being brought here from Europe — predominate. Ultimately, this means that Greek wine is intensely local and not defined by any particular heavy-hitters. In Greece, wine is for enjoying, not socking away for decades as one might with premium California, French or Italian examples.
That said, the basic red-white distinction prevails; and if you favor one type over the other, you have abundant choices. Assyrtiko has fetched international acclaim, possibly due to hailing from Santorini, one of the best-known Greek isles for international tourism. Experts have highlighted Matthew Argyros as the producer to seek out if you’re in their region, with the wine itself coming off as a sort of Hellenic Sauvignon Blanc: crisp, refreshing, defined by aggressive citrus flavors, an ideal accompaniment to the seafood that draws culinary visitors to Greece.
As for reds, Agiorgitiko, produced in the Peloponnese, the southern Greek region that can boast of staging the first Olympic games, gets serious props for being a serious wine that discerning global wine enthusiasts can compare with the rich, full-bodied wines they might be more familiar with.
The bad news is that unless you’re incredibly dogged, locating the best Greek wines in America is a challenge, although I was able to find a range of Agiorgitikos online, priced from about $15 to upwards of $50.
So, once again, the best way to discover the wines of Greece is to visit the country. This might sound like a lot of work, but the effort will return you to the lost art of exploring wines in the places they were created, alongside the foods with which they were meant to be drunk. In my view, this is what makes Greek wine so appealing. None of the major European wine regions have remained so amazingly un-international. This means that Greek wine continues to be distinctive, while popular global varietals like Merlot or Pinot Noir have in many cases lost the qualities they had when they were developed in France hundreds of years ago.
The plus here is that Greek wine can stoke a spirit of adventure. The minus is that a lot of unevolved regional wines aren’t good for much more than washing down some grilled octopus. Remember, it wasn’t always safe to drink water, so people learned how to turn grapes into a delicious beverage that wouldn’t make them sick!
In my experience, drinking wines in this old-school manner, as long as it’s done where the wine is made, can be astoundingly memorable. The wine becomes a part of the overall experience, rather than the star of the show. It’s also worth noting that in a country like Greece, where there are dozens of wines to try that you’ve never heard of, you aren’t going to be spending a lot of money. But the quality, given how much winemaking has advanced since the fourth century B.C., should be impressive. Sure, there will be some disappointments. But if you’re gazing at the Parthenon and eating the best piece of fish you’ve ever had, how disappointed can you really be?
