This Blog is 'A plea for Diversity'. We don't love complexity for its own sake but as Stockhausen would say, "Alles, was vielfach ist, ist schoen" - everything diverse is beautiful. So we love Italy where every region and every province has its own speciality. There are other countries where this is so. Portugal for instance. Even Switzerland. France to a lesser extent but still strong. Spain has it but it needs to be teased out because like Germany with Riesling the Spanish can't ever seem ever to have enough of Tempranillo. Things go a bit downhill from there. Hungary puts on a gallant show - then maybe Croatia too. but the New World? As we have pointed out, the Loire has more diversity than the whole of South America.
Among the most diverse of all are Georgia and Greece. Not surprising as they have had plenty of time to become so; perhaps 6,000 years' or more continuous winemaking. Both these countries are difficult for us in the West to get a handle on but we knew we would make the attempt one day and the opportunity to attend a Greek Wine Fair, Oenorama in Athens coincided with a trip to Budapest we needed to make. Well, Hungary is halfway there from the UK and there are some handy no-frills airlines offering cheap flights to Athens from Budapest which made it irresistible to prolong our trip by another couple of days.
In preparation we read the now outdated Mitchell Beasley The Wines of Greece by Konstantinos Lazarakis (2005). It is a fine book but considering the incredible speed at which the world wine scene is developing - and nowhere faster than in Greece we would suggest - 9 years is a long time, even without Greece's economic disaster so soon after publication which must have changed the scene a great deal.
Our visit to Oenorama was enormously instructive. A few things became immediately apparent. Wine production is obviously a bright spot in Greece's industrial activity. Apart from the successful international brands such as Boutari, Naoussa and Tsantali, there is a plethora of medium sized and smaller companies and co-operatives already making an impact internationally such as Gaia, Nemea Group, Semeli, Hatzimichali, Samos Coop, Cavino, Nico Lazaridi, Biblia Chora, Gerovassiliou and so forth.
But the obvious strength of Greek Wine is in the number and excellence of the small producers. These people are not peasants or country folk but typically those who have had or still have a profession with no connection to wine. They may be successful business people who have decided to return to the area where their family came from and buy some land or use land which may have come down to them through their family. Most are highly cultivated and speak English and no doubt other languages. They typically have only a few hectares and may buy in grapes from nearby growers on a similar acreage. Quite a few have studied Oenology themselves or have a family member who have done so. Quite a lot of these outfits are family affairs. When they don't have the expertise themselves they engage those who do. We got the impression they are highly indivdualistic and independent - thank goodness.
Oenorama had a large area given over to shiny equipment of all kinds,
corks, capsules,
barrels and even some dubious oak 'solutions.'.
One suspects winery standards are super-modern. Certainly none of the wines we tasted exhibited faults which might be associated with old fashioned practises or an unhygienic environment. One producer proudly went into detail about the quality of the corks he uses - the first time we have had a Cork seminar!
Practically none of these wonderful small producers had international distribution or sales. Some may have had an agency here or there but the fact that their production is small and then the sad fact that the time has not yet come for Greek wine leaves these treasures to the local market and to the tourists.
That local market is not large. Only 8 million Greeks in Greece and according to our sources, there are few independent wine merchants. People buy their wine in supermarkets.
We are infrequent travellers to Greece to say the least. We hadn't been there since well before the economic collapse. Driving along it is quite clear which businesses have survived and which haven't. On the coast road there was an entire Armada of sailing and motor boats for sale, having been marooned in yards for what looked like a very long time. Empty storefronts abounded. Goodness knows what they had offered. The remaining concerns consisted mainly of food shops, ironmongery and petshops.
We discussed in a general way why the world was not yet ready to embrace Greek wine the way it embraces say Spanish wine. From the wines we tasted at Oenorama, we believe Greek wine is as good as Spanish wine and quite a bit more interesting for our taste. Supply is obviously going to be a problem with so very many small and diverse producers and then there is the image of the economic collapse which leads people to think there might be something wrong with the wine or perhaps it should be cheap.
The opposite seemed to be the case. Greek wine on this showing is what thy call a Premium Product. It is going to be a struggle to persuade people used to cheap Greek or Cypriot wine in Greek restaurants that they should spend the same as they would for any other kind of wine but hopefully shear quality will out and we will acquire a taste for Xerolithia, Mirambelo, Mavrotragano and Avgoustiatis.
An acquaintance or ours was the first to bring Australian wine to the British market in the early 70s. It didn't work out then and he had to turn to other things. In only a very short time, Australian wine arrived big time and it hasn't looked back. We are sure the same will happen to Greek wine. There have already been some false starts and rumblings. Oddbins were very enthusiastic not so long ago. They have reined in their range but are still active we're glad to say. Santorini seems to have broken through to peoples' consciousness in quite good measure. Now for the rest. What will it take? Certainly some major lobbying by the wine press and more of the kind of initiative Marks and Spencer have been taking recently by stocking some lovely Greek whites. One bright spark had a solution: "You give us the Elgin Marbles and we will send you wine!" Sounds fair.
Here is a list of Greek varieties taken from Lazarakis's book. almost 100 of them. Some (quite a few) are unknown to "Wine Grapes" at least to their first edition. To be fair, "Wine Grapes" has a number of varieties unmentioned by Lazarakis. No doubt there are many others unknown full stop. In fact the Greeks have a word for some of them: "Asproudes" (generic "whitish" grapes - any unidentified white variety)
Agianiotiko
Agiorgitiko
Agrioglikadi (aka Glickerithra)
Aidani
Amoriano (aka Mandilaria)
Ampelaitis (aka Valaitis)
Ampelakioritiko
Ampelakioritiko Mavro
Araklinos
Arahovas (aka Mavroudi)
Arahovitikos (aka Fokida)
Areti
Asproudi (see above. Some do have names however: Asprouda Mykinon, Asprouda Patron, Asprouda Ariloghi, Asproda Halkidos, Santorini, Zakyntho etc.)
Assyritiko
Athiri
Athiri Mavro
Avgoustiatis
Batiki
Begleri (aka Thrapsathiri)
Dafnato
Dafni
Damiatis
Derbina
Dermatas
Diminitis (aka Diminitiko)
Fileri (aka Moscofilero)
Flaska
Flaskatsyritiko/Flaskassyritiko
Fraoula Kokkini (aka Mavrodafni)
Fokiano
Fthiodita
Gaidouria
Galano
Glikedi
Glikerithia (aka Agrioglikadi)
Gustolidi (Robola, Thiako)
Hopsathiri
Kakotridis (also Kokkino Kakotrygis)
Karampramis
Kalambaki (aka Limnio)
Kaloniatiko (aka Chidiriotiko)
Karditsa (aka Rosaki)
Karnahalades
Katsano
Katsakoulias
Kidonitsa
Kipreiko
Koklyonovostitsa
Kondokladi (also Kontokladi)
Koriostafilou
Korinthiaki
Koumari (also Koumaria, Koumantari aka Xynisteri)
Koundouro (aka Kontouro = Mandilaria)
Kritiko
Kritiko Mavro
Kseromaherouda
Laconia
Ladikino
Lagorthi (the Verdeca of Puglia!)
Latino
Lesviako Krasostafilo
Liatiko
Limnio
Limniona
Malagoussia
Mandilaria (aka. Kontouro/Koundouro)
Mavraki
Mavroudi
Mavrathiro
Mavro Messenikola (aka Karditsa)
Mavrotragono
Migdali
Monemvasia
Moscomavro
Moscofilero
Mothonios
Opsimo (Opsimo Edessis)
Pamidi
Pavlos
Petrokorinto
PetroulianosPlatani
Plyto
Potamissi (aka Potainisi)
Potainissi Mavro
Ritino
Robola Rouge (colour mutation of Robola)
Roditis
Romeiko
Rosaki (aka Karditsa)
Santameriana
Savatiano
Sideritis
Skiadopoulo (aka Foriano)
Skilopniatis
Skiotis
Smirneiko
Stavrohiotiko
Stavroto
Sultanina
Thiako (aka Theiako Mavro)
Thrapsa
Thrapathiri (aka Begleri)
Tsaoussi
Tourkopoula
Tsardana (aka Romeiko)
Vafta (also Vaftra)
Valaitis (aka Ampelaitis)
Vertsami (also Vertzami)
Violento
Vlatiko (Vlachiko)
Voidomatis (also Voudomato)
Voinoumatos
Volitsa Mavri
Vradiano
Xiroliotiko
Zoumiatiko (Dimyat in Bulgaria)
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