Greece and Eastern Mediterranean Flashcards
Name four Eastern Mediterranean countries where wine production is on the rise.
1) Turkey
2) Cyrus
3) Israel
4) Lebanon
What crippled Greece’s wine industry in the Middle Ages?
Heavy taxes imposed by Ottoman rulers on wine sold to outsiders.
What traditional wine is Greece well-known for and what is it favored with?
a) Retsina
b) Pine resin
Describe the geography and topography of Greece.
A peninsula surrounded by over 3000 islands and seat on all sides (Aegean, Ionian, Mediterranean). Tall mountains, especially to the west, rain shadow to the east.
What does Agiorgitiko mean what place is it identified with?
a) Saint George’s Grape
b) The town of Nemea in the Peloponnese
What does Xinomavro mean and what region is it closely identified with?
a) black acid
b) Naossa in Macedonia
What does Mavrodaphne mean and what wines is it typically used in?
a) black laurel
b) sweet, fortified wines such as Mavrodaphne of Patras or Cephalonia
Name a widely planted, easy drinking grape in Greece?
Roditis
Describe Athiri and where is it generally grown?
a) low acid, good weight, high aromatics
b) Rhodes and Santorini
What is a signature, high acid white gape originally from Santorini?
Assyrtiko
What is a floral, pink-skinned grape from Greece, and where is it generally grown?
a) Moschofilero
b) Mantinia in the Peloponnese
What ancient grape variety is used to produce wines in Patras and Samos?
Muscat
How is basic table wine categorized in Greece?
Epitrapezios Oinos
What is the equivalent of PGI status in Greece?
Topikos Oinos
What two categories are PDO level wines divided into in Greece?
a) Onomasia Proelefseos Anoteras Poiotitos (dry)
b) Onomasia Proeslefseos Eleghomeni (sweet)
What is Verdea?
A traditional Greek oxidative white wine
What special category is used to protect Verdea and Retsina without tying them to a specific place?
Onomasia Kata Paradosi
What are three appellations in Macedonia built around Xinomavro?
1) Naoussa
2) Goumenissa
3) Amyndeon
What appellation in Macedonia is used for both Greek and French varietals?
Cotes de Meliton
What Peloponnese appellation is known for dry white wines made from Moschofilero?
Mantinia
What’s the largest red wine appellation in Greece, centered around Agiorgitiko?
Nemea
Where is Mavrodaphne of Patras located?
In the Peloponnese
What is made in the appellation of Patras?
Dry white wines made from Roditis
How are vines often trained on the island of Santorini?
In a basket or wreath shape called Stefani.
Dry white wines from Santorini PDO must be made from ______________ % _______________.
a) 75%
b) Assyrtiko
What sweet, typically unfortified wine is allowed in the appellation of Santorini?
Vinsanto
How is Vinsanto produced in Greece?
Dried grapes, typically unfortified, barrel aged for two years
What wine is Cyprus mainly known for?
Commandaria, a sweet, amber wine dating back 4 millennia
What is the aging system used to make Commanaria?
mana
What is Turkey’s most well-known producer?
Kavaklidere
Where are most of Lebanon’s vineyards located?
Bekaa Valley
What is Lebanon’s best known producer?
Chateau Musar
What grapes are grown in Lebanon?
Obeideh, Merwah and French varietals
What winery was established in Israel in 1855?
Cremisan Wine Estate
What is Israel’s largest-producing winery and how did it come about?
a) Carmel Winery
b) Baron Edmond de Rothschild purchased land around Mount Carmel and imported cutting from Chateau Lafite
Name 3 grapes indigenous to Israel?
1) Argaman (Carignan X Sousao)
2) Marawi
3) Dabouki
Who is Simcha Blass?
An Israeli water engineer who made irrigation–and therefore wine production–possible in Negev in the mid-20th century
