Greece Flashcards
Retsina wine facts
An aromatized wine flavored with Aleppo pine resin
Produced from Savvatiano grapes, flavored with the addition of pine resin, Roditis as well
It cannot be labeled with a vintage
A traditional appellation protected by the EU (as a PGI), and rarely encountered outside of Greece
The two largest producers of Greece
Boutari and Tsantali
What year was most of Greece’s appellations established?
1971
What are the two levels of PDO quality wine?
Controlled Appellation of Origin - A status reserved for traditional sweet wines
Appellation of Superior Quality
PDO wines may carry an aging designation such as
“Reserve” for whites - A minimum 1 year aging with at least 6 months in barrel and 3 months in bottle.
“ Reserve” for reds - A minimum of 2 years aging with at least 1 year in barrel and 6 months in bottle
“Grand Reserve” for whites - A minimum 2 years aging with 1 year in barrel and 6 months in bottle
“Grand Reserve” for reds - A minimum 4 years of aging with at least 18 months in barrel and 18 months in bottle
What is Verdea?
An oxidative white wine produced on the island of Zakynthos in the Ionian Sea
What does the term “Cava” indicate?
At least 1 year of aging for white and rose PGI wines including 6 months in oak prior to bottling.
A minimum of 3 years of aging for reds including a minimum 1 year in barrel prior to bottling
“Palaiomenos se vareli” may be added to the label of Cava, Reserve, or Grand Reserve wines to indicate what?
Oak aging beyond the required minimums
The PDO regions of Macedonia include
Amynteo PDO
Goumenissa PDO
Naoussa PDO
Slopes of Meliton PDO
Xinomavro
A firmly tannic red grape (“acid black”)
Naoussa PDO
Established in 1971, home to Boutari
Produces tannic reds solely from Xinomavro
Amynteo PDO
Greece’s coolest region and one of the few PDOs allowing production of rose wines. Roses may be dry to semisweet, and still or sparkling
Goumenissa PDO
Produces lighter Xinomavro wines with the addition of at least 20% Negoska
Slopes of Meliton PDO
(Plagies Melitona) is a single appellation for Domaine Carras, an ambitious Greek estate
Red and White varietals from Domaine Carras estate
Reds are blends of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and the native Limnio
Whites are blends of the Greek varietals Assyrtiko, Athiri, and Rhoditis
Evangelos Gerovassiliou
The winemaker who launched Domaine Carras under the guidance of Émile Peynaud
The native white Malagousia grape
Evangelos Gerovassiliou helped revive the grape and now produces it at his own domaine in the PGI district of Thessaloniki in northern Macedonia
The PDOs of Thessalia
Anchialos PDO
Messenikola PDO
Rapsani PDO
Rapsani PDO
The appellation is the southernmost outpost of the Xinomavro grape
Tannins and acid structure are softened by the warmer climate and mandatory blending with the lighter Krassato and Stavroto grapes
Messenikola PDO
Produces red wines in similar style to Rapsani
Anchialos PDO
Only allows white wine blended from Roditis and Savvatiano grapes
The region of Epirus contains only one PDO. What is it?
Zista
Dry, semisweet, and sparkling wines are produced from the Debina grape
Central Greece or Sterea Ellada
The region of Attiki is the center of production for the Retsina grape here
The PDOs of Peloponnese
Nemea PDO
Mantinia PDO
Patras PDO
Monemvasia-Malvasia PDO
Nemea PDO
Produced exclusively from the Agiorgitiko (St. George) grape. A softly tannic, intensely fruity black grape
The commume of Koutsi is one of the most famous subzones
“Blood of Hercules” (or “blood of the lion”) is sometimes attached to the wines of Nemea
Mantinia PDO
Moschofilero is the principal component, an aromatic resemblance to Muscat
Patras PDO
An appellation for dry white wines produced from 100% Roditis
The three dessert wine PDO zones of Patras
Muscat of Patras
Muscat of Rio Patras
Mavrodaphne of Patras
Muscat of Patras and Muscat of Rio Patras
May be either vin doux naturel or naturally sweet in style
Produced from Muscat Blanc a Petits Grains
Mavrodaphne (“black laurel”) of Patras
A sweet fortified red produced from Mavrodaphne and Mavri Korinthiaki
Aged at least 1 year in wood prior to release and sometimes aged in cask for a decade or more prior to bottling
Both vintage and nonvintage versions may be encountered
The estate of Achaia-Clauss
Has a Mavrodaphne Solera dating to 1882
Monemvassia-Malvasia PDO
Did not come on the market until 2012, a small zone on the southeastern coast of the Peloponnese
Monemvassia is the name of the grape used and also the name of an old port town
The wines must be aged in an oxidative environment for at least two years
The four wine-producing Ionian Islands of the west coast of Greece
Cephalonia
Kerkyra (Corfu)
Lefkada
Zakynthos
Cephalonia
The only Ionian Island to warrant a PDO for dry white wines produced from Robola
PDO sweet wines are also produced from Mavrodaphne and Muscat
Zakynthos
The home to Verdea Traditional Appellation Wines
Produced from obscure grapes like Skiadopoulo, Pavlos, and Avgoustiatis may share similarities to Jura’s vin juane and Sherry
Aegean Islands
Santorini PDO
Paros PDO
Rhodes PDO
Limnos PDO
Samos PDO
Muscat of Rhodes PDO
Muscat of Lemnos PDO
Malvasia Paros PDO
Santorini PDO (Cyclades Islands)
Whites from Assyrtiko, plus Athiri and Aidani
Volcanic soils
The vines must be trained close to the ground, in the stefani shape of baskets or wreaths in order to protect them from the fierce Aegean winds and to collect the little moisture that becomes available as morning dew.
Vinsanto - A sweet dried grape wine
Paros PDO (Cyclades Islands)
White from 100% Monemvassia
Reds: Mandilaria
The only Greek appellation that mandates use of a white grape (Monemvassia) in red blends
Rhodes PDO
White: minimum 70% Athiri
Red/Rose: minimum 70% Mandilaria
Muscat of Rhodes PDO wines are rarely encountered
Limnos PDO
Whites: Dominated by Muscat, May be dry or sweet
Dry Red: Limnio, ancient red grape utilized by Domaine Carras originated on Lemnos
Samos PDO
Home to one of the nations most famous wines: The famed Muscat of Samos, now a PDO
Authorized Variety: Moschato Aspro (Muscat Blanc a Petits Grains)
Styles:
vin de liqueur
vin doux naturel
naturally sweet - Called Samos Nectar, similar to vin de paille. Produced from dried grapes and aged a minimum of three years prior to release
PDO regions of Crete
Sitia PDO
Peza PDO
Daphnes PDO
Archanes PDO
Candia PDO
Malvasia Candia PDO
Malvasia Sitia PDO
The Vilana grape
Crete’s most cultivated white grape
Comprising the majority of dry white Sitia wines and Peza whites
The Liatiko grape
The dominant grape in the red Sitia and Daphnes PDO wines is found only on Crete and a handful of neighboring islands
Delivers distinctively “orange” wine
The grapes Mandilaria blended with Kotsifali
Produces the Archanes and red Peza wines
On Crete, many winemakers are more excited to blend Kotsifali with what other varietal other than Mandilaria.
Syrah
