Grape Varieties Flashcards
Agiorgitiko
Red
tranlates to “St. George’s grape”
-Greece’s best known red variety
-high yields managed through close clusters
-small clusters of thick-skinned berries that are prone to mildew and disease
-planted primarily in Attica and central Peloponnese
-most famous as the solely permitted variety in the PDO of Nemea (Peloponnese)
-deeply colored, soft plummy fruit, tinged with spices and cocoa, high acid and tannins
-many winemakers seek to produce wines with lower tannins through carbonic maceration or late harvesting
Liatiko
Red
-indigenous variety of Crete
-creates both still and sweet wines
-early ripener
-low in tannin and color, medium acidity, floral aromatics
Notable PDOs:
Daphnes (Crete)
Sitia (Crete)
Limnio (Lemnio)
Red
-takes its name from the island of Limnos (likely takes its name from here)
-disease and drought resistant
-late ripening
-produces tight bunches that mature unevenly
-produce light-to-medium colored wines that can be austere, with higher tannin and alcohol, moderate acid, and an herbal nose
Notable PDOs:
Limnos (Aegean Islands) - 100%
Slopes of Meliton (Macedonia) - 70% and the rest blended with Cabernet Sauvignon
What PGI area in Macedonia is Liminio famous?
Mount Athos Vineyard
Mandilaria
Red
-important grape of Greek Islands
-dark hue, low in alcohol and aromatics, high in both tannin and acid
-ofen blended
Notable PDOs:
Archanes (Crete)
Candia (Crete)
Peza (Crete)
Sitia (Crete)
Paros (Aegean Islands)
Rhodes (Aegean Islands)
What is Mandilaria usually blended with in Crete?
Kotsifali or Liatiko
What is Mandilaria usually blended with in Paros?
Monemvasia (a white grape, though the finished wine is red)
Mandilaria is the most planted red grape of what island? What is it blended with?
Santorini
-Mavrotragano
What is the only PDO that features uncut Mandilaria?
Rhodes
(Aegean Islands)
Mavrodaphne
Red
-both a grape and a brand name
-grown primarily on the Ionian Islands and the west Peloponnese
-through extended oak aging, it is commonly made into an oxidized sweet wine comparable to a Tawny Port
-vigorous variety that requires strict yields to retain quality
-sets loose clusters of thick-skinned grapes that, when vinfi ed dry, produce a deeply colored, tannic wine with a slightly herbal nose
Notable PDOs:
Mavrodaphne of Patras (Peloponnese)
Mavrodaphne of Cephalonia (Ionian Islands)
What Italian grape variety is Mavrodaphne blended with? Who does this?
Refosco
Domaine Mercouri
What two PDOs are associated with dessert wine made from Mavrodaphne?
Mavrodaphne of Patras (Peloponnese)
Mavrodaphne of Cephalonia (Ionian Islands)
What is the flagship red grape variety of Northern Greece?
Xinomavro
Xinomavro
Red
-difficult to grow
-when treated well find similarities to Pinot Noir and Nebbiolo
-tannin and acid levels are naturally very high in Xinomavro, color tends to be light, sensitive to oxidation
-tomato, herb, olive, and sour cherry
Notable PDOs:
Amynteo (Macedonia)
Goumenissa (Macedonia)
Naoussa (Macedonia)
Rapsani (Thessaly)
What is Xinomavro blended with in Goumenissa?
Negoska
What is Xinomavro blended with in Rapsani?
Krassato and Stavroto
Aidani
White
-Santorini most notable PDO - likely its place of origin
-drought-tolerant
What is Aidani blended with in Santorini?
Assyrtiko and Athiri
What is the dessert wine made from Min. 51% Assyrtiko, plus Athiri, Aidani in Santorini?
Vinsanto (not to be confused with Vin Santo in Italy)
What % must Assyrtiko represent in Vinsanto?
51%
Assyrtiko
White
-considered by many to be the nest of Greece’s indigenous varieties
-high in alcohol
-rocky, chalky undertone
-drought tolerant, adaptable, and disease resistant
-sets compact clusters of large berries, and the wood of its trunks is especially hard, which helps it resist the intense winds that batter Santorini
-Naturally high levels of tartaric acid keep the wines crisp despite hot conditions
-prone to oxidation
Notable PDOs:
Malvasia Paros (Aegean Islands)
Santorini (Aegean Islands)
Slopes of Meliton (Macedonia)
What is the minimum % of Assyrtiko required in the blend in Santorini? What is it blended with?
70%
-Aidani and Athiri
Athiri
White
-native to Santorini
-most neutral of the island’s three flagship white varieties
-drought resistance and ability to retain quality at high crop levels
-medium acid and alcohol, and oral, citric, but somewhat neutral noses
Notable PDOs:
Rhodes (Aegean Islands)
Santorini (Aegean Islands)
Slopes of Meliton (Macedonia)
Debina
White
-sets big, compact bunches and is sensitive to drought
-does well in Epirus because it gets high rainfall
-tend to be elegant and refreshing, aromatic noses of green apple and lemon
- Alcohol levels are generally low and acidity is high
-good for sparkling
Notable PDOs:
Zitsa (Epirus)
Malagousia
White
-difficult to grow and sensitive to disease
-distinctive and aromatic
-medium-to-elevated acid with high alcohol, a creamy texture, and a spicy, oral nose reminiscent of Muscat
Notable PDOs:
Rhodes (Aegean Islands)
Who is responsible for bringing Malagousia back from extinction?
Evangelos Gerovassiliou
- While working at Domaine Porto Carras in the 1980s and 90s, he got ahold of cuttings from an experimental vineyard
-When he started his own brand in Epanomi (a northern coastal town near Thessaloniki), he took some Malagousia with him, and it is now one of his most famous wines.
Moschofilero
White
-pink-skinned variety
-reaches its apogee in the PDO of Mantinia
-produces both dry white and sparkling wines
-late ripener
-high yielding
-prone to mutation, several clones exist
-elevated in acid with light-to-medium body
-strongly oral and citric
Notable PDOs:
Mantinia (Peloponnese)
Muscat Blanc
White
-oldest vinifera still cultivated today
-Due to its long lineage and mutable nature, Muscat has spun off a whole family of offspring and clones
-The two most important to Greece are Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains and its offspring, Muscat of Alexandria
-Muscat Blanc is considered the finer and boasts smaller berries and more complex aromatics.
-moderate-to-high yields
-quite disease prone
-can easily be overripe
-perfume, which is rich in terpenes and smells of roses, orange water, and honey
-only appears in the PDOs for dessert wine
Notable PDOs:
Muscat of Cephalonia (Ionian Islands)
Muscat of Patras (Peloponnese)
Muscat of Rio Patras (Peloponnese)
Muscat of Rhodes (Aegean Islands)
Samos (Aegean Islands)
Muscat of Alexandria
White
-considered second in quality to Muscat Blanc
-susceptible to disease
-sets a bigger crop with huge clusters of large berries - compared to Muscat Blanc
-Acidity is low to medium, and sugars can get high
-heady and floral
Notable PDOs:
Lemnos (Aegean Islands)
Muscat of Lemnos (Aegean Islands)
Robola
Little brother of?
White
Notable PDOs:
Robola of Cephalonia (Ionian Islands)
-Late Flowering yet Early-maturing (there are typically only 60 days between flowering and harvest), Prone to Grey Rot
-Assyrtiko’s little brother
-naturally high in acid, with medium-to-high alcohol, a penetrating mineral tone, and a rather neutral, if lemony, nose
Roditis (Rhoditis)
White
-second most widely planted grape in Greece, largely due to its regular use as a base wine for Retsina
-pink-skinned and very vigorous
-neutral wine
-in Patras it is vinifi ed into a dry to medium-sweet white wine that tends to be medium-to-high in acidity, relatively high in alcohol, broad, creamy, and redolent of melon
-In the Slopes of Meliton PDO, it is blended with Assyrtiko and Athiri
-in Anchialos, it is blended with Savatiano
Notable PDOs:
Anchialos (Thessaly)
Patras (Peloponnese)
Slopes of Meliton (Macedonia)
Savatiano
White
-the mostly widely planted variety in Greece, due to its long history as the base wine of Retsina
-Late-maturing (mid- to late September), Disease-Resistant
-At their best, the wines are dense and creamy, with medium acidity and a concentrated nose of peach, banana, and white flowers
Notable areas: Attica and Central Greece
Vidiano
White
-native to Crete
-ability to retain acidity in extreme heat
Notable PDOs:
Candia (Crete)
Malvasia Candia (Crete)
Malvasia Sitia (Crete)
Vilana
White
-Native to Crete
-Vilana is the most widely planted white grape in Crete
-high-yielding variety
-susceptible to disease
-prone to oxidation in the winery
-medium in both acid and body, with moderate-to-high alcohol
Notable PDOs:
Peza (Crete)
Sitia (Crete)
