Hi, native Greek here. Retsina is supposed to accompany fast food, at least in the north of Greece, where it traditionally comes from. Souvlaki, gyro, grilled cheese, tomato salad, fried fish. Easy-going drink for easy-going cuisine, always to be taken lightly, without seriousness
It is also recommended putting a little bit of soda or cola in it to sweeten the flavour. Not the fanciest "cocktail" by a long shot, but a very good drink for taverns and fast food restaurants.
Moreover the retsina that you have tasted has a very intense pine flavor. If it is possible you should try the regular retsina from the same brand "Kechris" which is called "kechribari" and has the common taste!
Just came back from a wine-filled trip in Corfu, and the diversity is insane. The wine that surprised me the most was the 2020 “Orgion” from the Sclavos estate (100% Mavrodafni). The wine that I preferred was the 2022 “Earth and Sky” Xinomavro from Thymiopoulos. My wife and I were so enthusiastic about the wine there that we gladly paid for the suitcase weight supplement at the airport because of some extra bottles 😅
Earth and sky is one of my favorites as well. You should try mavrotragano from sigalas or gavalas wineries in Santorini. A fantastic local variety that very few produce.
Sclavos winery is probably the best in kefalonia rn. They have a lot of labels and they also experiment with different methods to create unique bottles. Foivos also used to have a great οινολόγος (oinologist I guess) getting a real big amount of medals and awards but I don't think they still produce anything.
Earth and sky of 2007 was ohne of the best. And 2007 was the best year of xynomavro of Naousa. Thymiopoulos is ohne of the Top Wine producers in Greece.
Sklavos is my my favourite winery of kefalonia. Petrakopoulos though has the most serious, European standard wines(according to European people's taste) but sclavos' zakynthino is one of the most fine well rounded white ones ive ever tried
As a greek myself I agree! A malagouzia or malagousia is a must add on the list! Let''s see a review of this divine white whine! What about rose as well?
I visited Greece in March and drank a variety of indigenous wines, and the average level was high. I was especially impressed by Red Liatiko and Sinomavro on Crete, not to mention the white variety Assyrtico.
As the specialist said in this video, Greece has a very diffferent climate and soil than all other major wine makers including Italy, let alone France and Spain, hence the local varieties are quite different to the ones cultivated in France... or South Africa, Australia and California. Hence, most people do not know what to do with them. The other main factor is the price. Greece cannot produce large quantities hence unavoidably its wine is expensive and can be only "acceptable" at the restaurant where the price includes the profit of the restaurant that makes it an equaliser for Greek and foreign wines. At the shop the story is different though : you can get decent French wine at 5 euros per bottle but you'll need to jump to 8 and 10 euros for a Greek one. That is a big difference. A French bottle at 15 euros is already as good as a Greek one at 25 to 30 euros. Hence to find good Greek wine you need to head to specialised wine-shops, and that holds true even in Greece where the good winemakers prefer to sell to the wine-shops that feed the good restaurants rather than selling to the wine sections of supermarkets. The mass produced Greek wine is of average to even below average quality. Drinkable, OK with food but nothing that you will want to remember. However if you eliminate the pricetag and you just compare the taste, Greek wine is up there at the top with the best, even more so when it makes all the difference. These are wines that match perfectly with meat and fish and salads and sweets and everything. They say wine can take you on a voyage, don't know if it is true but Greek wine is the closest thing to that due to its uniqueness, even if you can find French or Italian wines matching better your taste.
Thank you for this amazing review! Can’t list all of my favorite Greek wines but some of them are: Pyritis Mega Cuvee - Artemis Karamolengos Antigone Red Dry - Economou Limniona - Zafeirakis Skitali - Hatzidakis Assyrtiko de Louros Vignes Centenaires - Hatzidakis Viognier Eclectique Spilitsa - Skouras Aftorizo - Thymiopoulos Vinsanto - Argyros Thalassitis Submerged - Gaia Dafnios - Liatiko & Vidiano Robolo - Thymari Petras Clos Stegasta - Assyrtiko T-oinos Goumenisa - Hatzivariti
Good list. I've tried Karamolegos, Economou, Zafeirakis and Hatzidakis. The Antigone was one of the most memorable and unique reds I've had over the past year, almost like an aged Northern Rhone. Will seek out the rest.
The best Greek wine I ever tasted was at the birthday party of a school friend of mine and it was from Crete. When he was born, his father put a barrel from their vineyard in a village near Chania, and left it sealed to be opened when his son would turn 20. Marouvas is a great wine anyway but 20 years old was something else. We all got plastered that day but next day no headaches or any hangover feeling. Generally the best wines in Greece are not to be found bottled in liquor stores or super markets. They are to be found in small taverns with house wine or the small family vineyards of friends. No fancy pansy labels, no pompous names. I characteristically remember one time we were on vacations in Crete. The tavern had a fantastic house wine, coming straight from the barrel in the classic copper pitchers at a ridiculous price really (no more expensive than a bottle of beer). We had ordered the catalogue 3x and a couple of German tourists were looking at us with disapproval. They had two steaks, a salad and two bottles of expensive imported wine (can’t really remember what now) that probably cost as much as our lamb chops overfilled table. Being posh doesn’t mean that you know how to live.
this, we make our own wine and dont bottle or sell it,. we drink it. it can get you drunk very easy. no crazy filtering and dryness, the wine is rich like juice.
It's pretty hard to pick one favorite Greek wine as the quality is so high and the variety so vast. I think to find dry Greek wine you have to go to specialist wine shops/merchants as supermarkets and large retailers tend to only carry the sweetish ones at this point. This was a pretty impressive tasting, as you don't regularly give so many 93,94 points to different wines. Hopefully Greek wine will become more mainstream and popular in the years to come. Cheers!
Good remarks. And there is an explanation of why Greek wine is not as known : 1. Small quantities produced, though of very high quailty 2. Any attempt to mass produce in Greece ended up unavoidably in average and below average quality wine. 3. Local varieties, uknown to foreigners even to wine connoisseurs So while you can get a decent French wine at the supermarket at 5 euros you have to double that to get a decent Greek one. A French bottle at 15 euros tends to (statistically) offer a good wine but for the equivalent level in Greek wines you need to pay more than 25 euros. Hence, Greek wines are not competitive straight on at price tag levels. They can only offer uniqueness. French and Italian varieties and their equivalents you find them all around the world, in Australia, in South Africa, in California, in Argentine etc. But Greek varieties, you can only find them in Greece, and they are quite unique in taste - once you have tasted them you will be able to recognised them any time on blind testing even years later. Hence, if you are anywhere outside Greece and you want to surprise your guests with some unique high quality wine, a good Greek wine is your best bet.
Hi. Greek wine lover here. I think Greece produces (some) world class wines, however we lack big quantities to export. Therefore, you won't find easilly Greek wines abroad, not even in Greek super markets! Every region has plenty of wines to discover (only) locally...
When the soils, mainly of southern mainland Greece, can create perhaps the best virgin olive oil on the planet, it would not be surprising that they can create unique and award-winning wines worldwide. We find some such samples in Messinia: Υπογραφή (signature in Greek) from Psarouliswines or the exquisite and unique Fileri variety from Nestorwines!
At the moment the best olive oil in Greece is produced in Chalkidiki, Macedonia. That is North Greece. And of them, Yannis estate, the best producer, produces his oil with the Chalkidiki olive variety which was up to recently supposed to be a "for-eating-only-not-for-oil" olive. BTW this was also admitted to me in person by Giannis Kampouris, the very owner of ELAWON estate who produces the most expensive olive oil in Greece in his estates in Peloponesus.
Great video, as always! This time, I enjoyed it even more, being Greek myself. My family has been producing wine for generations, for our own consumption. My favorite Greek wine experience is a bit unique. While I was a student, I had a side job with a friend where we searched for the best locations to build photovoltaic plants across the country. We had the brilliant idea that if a place produced good wine, it should be the right one for our project. So, we had to taste a lot of wine. It wasn’t very scientific, but it was a lot of fun!
Was in island of Samos last week and tested their Muscat wines. Sweet wines are not for me but the dry ones were actuallyquite tasty. I tasted one which was produced at an altitude of 711meters on the Island, was absolutely amazing
Whichever good Retsina you make, there is always that pine resin in the recipe. Historically speaking, Retsina was the cheap wine in Greece, and still is in a sense, because the producers could hide a low quality wine behind the pine resin taste. It was the wine in the everyday meal of the workers class until many decades ago, where Greek salad and Retsina were together on the family or the tavern table. It is best served as cool as it gets, and is preferred to accompany fat or salty meals, potatoes (french fries, chips, etc), some kinds of soups, fried fish, and legumes.
Γεια χαρά! Hi! Totally agree, but some recent endeavors in vinification are raising retsina to high quality levels, while they are beginning to win major awards at international, prestigious competitions something that, a few years ago it would have been unthinkable for retsina to even participate. Fine aromas of pine or mastic and lemon aroma. Great labels are highlighted, with awards and this is a good development, which let's hope it goes even further.
Great to see some love for Greek wines! The newer generations taking over have studies winemaking and many have worked in wineries in France, etc., and the jump in quality is visible. Great picks as well for the tasting! There are some world class wines there. Unfortunately volume of production is not enough for wide distribution worldwide though.
Different places in Greece also have unique protected geographical viraeties like the kefalonian robola. Other varieties you can look for is moschato (white, they also use this for sparkling wine) and mavrodafni (red, common in Peloponnese and eptanese)
I thought this was a Zakynthos exclusive. Makes great wine but it's the absolute worst grapes to handle because it's very sensitive to transportation and movement in general
Really enjoyed this video !! Was waiting like for ever to see one Greek wines tasting, and pretty good lineup! Hoping to see more Greek wines tasting in the future!!! As for retsina pairings, it can pair well with vegetable based traditional food like stuffed wineleaves, as well with meat like pork barbeque or grilled fish like sardines, pretty flexible and gastronomical wine type. Cheers!!!
In Chios island they revived a wine called Ariousios ... A variety described by Homer in Ulysses Odyssey...🤯 2000 + years old..... Greece has many hidden gems due to the small production they are not known around the world...my Favourite is Naousaia by Fountis winnery in Naousa Red Ksinomavro
I buy every year 30+ Greek wines. And playing around with their many many wine varieties. I LOVE Greek wine. There are so many wonderful ones with layers of flavors and aftertastes that are stunning. And yes. Greece is not the nation to scale up wines to massive scales. But Greece is a place for amazing wines that are unique anywhere in the world. It's a exotic place for wines because it has hundreds of native grape varieties. But also Greece has endless microclimates that all helps make it's many distinct flavors. Greece is a very exciting wine destination because of it
@@kristofergirhammar4457 absolutely.especially with souvlaki,gyros and dips.drink it with short traditional retsina glass not wine glass.you will end up drinking liters
Some etymological info of the variety names since it must be hard for non-Greek speakers to follow or remember: Assyrtiko (Ασύρτικο): No solid evidence on the etymology of the word, a theory suggests that it might derive from the word "Ασσύριος" (Assyrian) showing some evidence that it might derive from Phoenician roots. Just a theory though, no solid evidence whatsoever. Moschofilero (Μοσχοφίλερο): Combines two Greek words: "μόσχος" (móschos) meaning "musky" or "fragrant," and "φίλερο" (fílero) which is a local term for "leaf" or "foliage." A translation in English would be "Musky-leaf". Limniona (Λημνιώνα): Likely originates from the region of Limni in Greece, which literally means "Lake". Since it is of a geographic origin it cannot be really translated. Xinomavro (Ξινόμαυρο): Comes from two Greek words: "ξινό" (xinó) meaning "sour" or "acidic," and "μαύρο" (mávro) meaning "black." A literal translation could be "Sour-black". Agiorgitiko (Αγιωργίτικο): Derives from "Άγιος Γεώργιος" (Ágios Geórgios), which means "Saint George". Also possible to be named after a town called Saint George that it is quite common in Greece and Peloponnese. The name translates to "Saint George's". "Retsina" (Ρετσίνα): Not really a variety but a style that involves mixture with "ρετσίνι" (retsíni) that literally means Resin. In English can be understood as "resin wine" or "resin-flavored wine". And yes there is a notorious cocktail that some people call "Tuba Libre", coming from the area of Tuba in Thessaloniki, that is a mixture of Retsina and Coca Cola :)
Lucky me: I have both wine 1 and wine 3 at home and can't wait to try it. While in Greece I found that retsina was a versatile pairing with most things that contained hard herbs like rosemary, thyme and oregano. But the most memorable wine that I tasted was Lyrarakis Dafni - dafni, meaning laurel/bay leaf in Greek, a variety that was rescued from extinction by the Lyrarakis family in Crete. It smells of all of the herbs: bay, sage, rosemary, lavender overlaying some stone fruit character. A very individual and memorable wine.
Fun fact: Lyrarakis have revived 3 indigenous grapes, not just Dafni. There's also Plyto, and Melissaki. Next time you're around, I urge you to try them, and I'm not going to spoil them for you, but Plyto could be called a "poor man's Chardonnay", and Melissaki means "little bee", with its main element on the nose being beeswax. And since you're there, check out "Aggelis", a red Liatiko that quite possibly puts "Antigone" to shame, (iykyk), and their Cab - Merlot vintages, that are a fusion between Bordeaux and Tuscany. (it feels like there's a touch of Sangiovese in that blend, based on the notes of fig and quince on the mouth, but I think that is owed to the terroir.)
@@djtraxem I've tried them all (including their Thrapsathiri, which they call Cretan riesling). At the time of my visit (October 2023) they were focused exclusively on Greek / Cretan varieties.
@@GarthScholtz Awesome! That winery is my special happy place. I always go there at least once a year (usually early May or late October) and buy wines from them, as well as spend some time among the vineyards. The colours are insane, there's such natural beauty even when the vineyards are empty, and the atmosphere is electrifying & mystical. Near the winery is also a very ancient (and very protected) Minoan grape press, where people would pay respects to Dionysus by winemaking, and oh man do the hairs of my neck stand up when I'm there.
A wonderful report Konstantin.My favourite Xinomavro is the one from Rapsani region.I hope you’ve read Luprand’s (bishop of Cremona) meal in Constantinople .He describes retsina as a frightening experience
Im a simple guy who actually loves base level Retsina. I have never even tried higher quality in that style. Kir-Yanni Xinomavro is fantastic and very affordable, easy to get here in Sweden too. Fun tasting, looking forward to your next vid! Emil
Some interesting varieties out there with Xinomavro, Kotsifali, Robola and many more. Been drinking a Xinomavro rosé by the Markovitis Winery this week.
Crete is buzzing f.e, while the Peloponnese is really impressive as well as Macedonia (Drama especially), I can't wait for the Cretan wine fair in Cyprus again. It was amazing last time! I'm working on importing some amazing Greek and Cypriot wines to Central Europe, cz people don't know what they lose...
It was really charming hearing you pronouncing the Greek names! Sometimes a little bit difficult to understand though. Regarding Santorini my favourite is Aidani from Chatzidakis. Kechris retsina, can also be found, actualy it is easier to be found, in smaller bottles tear shaped. Regarding Nemea, my favourite are those from Papaioanou, in plenty of different labels (I am talking for agiorgitiko) but also Aivalis is making wonderful agiorgitiko, especially "4"!!! Last but not least, as others mentioned it, Malagouzia is a noteworthy grape variety!
Spot on as always Konstantin. 👌🇬🇷 Favorite red is La Tour Melas, favorite whites… would be a very long list. You should try some of the wines made from indigenous grapes on the Cycladic islands. They’d take your breath away.
Since you tried the greek wines you should also try the Cypriot ones: (Xinisteri, Koumandaria - sweet wine -, Maratheftiko, Vasilissa, Mavro, Prwmara. Would love to see you dive in one of the oldest wine making countries
Thanks for the video! Allow me to correct some pronunciations: - savvatiano: the acent is on “no”. - moschofilero: it’s a regular “l”, not the spanish “ll”, and the accent is on “fi”. - xinomavro: accent on “no”. - naoussa: accent on “na”. - vermion: accent on “ver”. Fun fact: “meth' imon” (12:23) is ancient greek for “with us”.
I’m constantly amazed at your level of knowledge when it comes to wine and all its intricacies. Is there any region out there that you can honestly say you don’t know???
I always enjoy doing a Greek wine tasting! I can't say that there is a particular varietal that I like more than others as there are some very good winemakers producing great wine as well as interesting wines. Douloufakis on Crete has resurrected several interesting and rare varietals, or young guns like Thymiopoulos who just specializes in Xinomavro. But I have to say, sipping a glass of Assyrtiko while watching a Santorini sunset is something very magical.
my favorit wines are assyrtiko Gaia, moschofilero gaia, malagouzia gerovasileiou, kidonitsa ieropoulos, Aras or Daemon Ieropoulos from Nemea. Earth and sky Xinomavro Thimiopoulos. and roze also wine from ieropoulos with agiorgitiko grape and province style.
Hahaaa, I said exactly the same 93 points for the Santorini. Maybe 94 points with a bit of age. I guess you have sort of calibrated my palate as well😊. Well done Konstantin! I think you should have started with the more elegant Moschofilero😊 Great selection of wines, nevertheless!
Hi there Konstantin, great video, full of interesting information and your opinions on the wines are very approachable and discreet. Your respect is well perceived. My Grandfather was a chef and he used to accompany oily and fatty foods with retsina. For example, with a wonderful portion of Moussaka, stuffed tomatoes and peppers, lamp chops, pork chops, small fried fish, oven baked fish etc you would always get bread, a salad and a glass of retsina.
I think you should try out some wines from Achaia Clauss, they are a very old winery in the Peloponnese. And they have a Castle which you can visit. 601 grand reserve is very underrated but it is actually made from one of the oldest variaries we have.
Really nice video! Thank you for showing up some of the Greek wines. Regarding Retsina, yes most common choices are really cheap ones and the base wine is just cheap wine, of course people that looking for quality wine will hate it. Having said that while Retsina is technically a wine even us Greeks often we consider it as something different and in my personal opinion it is, you either love it or hate it but when we setting up a meeting with friends to enjoy some drink we say "let's have some Retsina" while when we say "let's have some wine" it will not be Retsina. I really like Retsina but to me it's a different special drink. The last decades Greece started exploring and innovating Greek wine based on unique local grapes, we still exploring and Greece is coming back with so many serious choices. I believe that in the future it will only get better and better. P.S.: Retsina as someone else suggested goes well with simple food like olive oils, tomato, rusks Greek salad type of food, but personally I like it with sea food or BBQ as well.
Retsina has a certain purpose in the greek food culture. It fits perfectly with grilled meat, especially grilled lamb chops. It is like if the resin resolves the grilled fat from the lamb. So greeks like it even if foreign wine experts dont like it.
Wonderful vid, I love our Greek wine and there's definitely more varieties and places to taste/drink from. I will suggest a very nice wine, Ousyra from Syros island, it's fantastic and excellent. And I will suggest Malvasia wine; but specifically from Monemvasia itself.
Hi there iam from Nemea Korinthia Region..From the area agios Georgios many french companies came and buy our product to sell it as french,italian also buy our wines to sell them as italian.
I adore Gaia's Assyrtiko from Santorini, it pairs really well with grilled fish. It is a bit expensive though, around 35 euros where I live. However, Gaia also produces an Assyrtiko in Nemea called Monograph, which is a lot cheaper and - though not as good as the Santorini one - still has great quality.
In Ktima Theopetra, they produce vintage malagouzia sur lies in bubbly form. Edenia features strong buttery bubbles with bergamot and herbs in its character, making it ideal to accompany smoked seafood, caviar, smoked trout, or salmon.
Theopetra Estate lost the rights to the name "Edenia" quite some time ago. As far as I'm aware, the winery became quite corporate and the family of Tsililis (who were the founding members) stepped away, and took their trademark with them. You can now find the Edenia wines in the Tsililis Terres winery (which is owned by ms. Tsilili and her father), but they no longer produce sparkling versions of it, unfortunately. Such a shame too, sparkling Malagousia is such a dope concept for a wine.
@michaeltraxem7755 my other regret is the discontinuing of Babatzimopoulos' Erwdios. That xinomavro rosé topped off with Hamburg Muscat was a passepartout wine. I distinctly remember how poignantly it stood next to and underlined the flavor of some excellent fried red mullets.
@@vassilisvouris6269 If you're a fan of jacks-of-all-trade, I can recommend Muscat of Tirnavos by D. Migas, and Rock & Rose by Bairaktaris. Former is semi-sparkling, resembles moscato d'asti (aka. Hamburg Muscat, or Black Muscat), and the latter is a very well made and structured semi-dry rose Merlot.
Konstantin, on your question on retsina, it is a relatively "versatile" wine of the "less serious" type as you said combining excellently with fish, sea food, summer salads but also roast meat, especially pork. Basically any type of food with which you would chose a dry acidic white wine. You would not chose retsina of course to accompany sweets, you would rather want to pass to a sweeter, less acidic white wine which you can do in spite of retsina's strong flavour. Retsina can be drunk on its own pretty much as beer and that is how it is often consumed in Greece, this is not a "pretentious wine" even on its better qualities. Retsina is a very misunderstood wine variety and it is so even here in Greece. Initially it was a local type of wine, an oddity in spite of its long history, mostly produced in north Aegean islands and NW Minor Asia as well as in Macedonia. But due to the addition of the pine resine it got to be associated with the label of "cheap wine with pine flavor". This unflattering label was accentuated since the 1960s when wineries such as Malamatina mass produced and advertised retsina not really as a wine but as a refreshment, dropping the prices to be comparable to beer, hence the consumption of it "as a beer". It got to become the choice of older men at the local town cafe and prior to the increase of consumption of beerr since the 1980s, retsina was the No1 alcoholic refreshment of the country. Even on its lower qualities, it is still a pleasant drink, albeit it won't please wine lovers who will approach it as "just another type of white wine". Said this, in the past 1-2 decades there are producers such as the one you presented that make retsina wine with higher qualities of grapes, which is still retsina but which also stands as a wine, not just a cheap refreshment. For novices though I would suggest they opt to taste it on the table first, with fish/sea-food rather than stand alone due to its higher alchoholic content compared to beer.
Really enjoy Xinomavro, especially from Alpha Estate (they make a lovely Malagouzia too!). Thymiopoulos young vines quite yummy as well. Have you ever tried/do you know much about Verdea? It was mentioned in my CSW study materials and I’d never heard of it before!
♥️ Robola/ Kefalonia & Assyrtiko/Santorini. In my hometown we drink a lot of Moscofilero and red Cabernet Sauvignon (obviously not Greek but really adapted) . Thank you for your video.
Thank you for the showcasing of the excellent white varieties (of which there are a few more), the assessment of Xinomavro which is certainly agreeable, and the very interesting spin on a grape variety that has historically kept the weight of the Greek wine industry (we Greeks love our wine!!) for decades, to the detriment of its opportunity to shine in the context of good craftsmanship. I will try and get myself some of that Agiorgitiko! With regards to the ‘favourite’, I can only give you a recommendation, from quite a few: try the Assurtiko-Malagouzia white from the Papakonstantinou winery in the island of Kos, with vines grown almost at sea level in the rich soil of the valley of Kos, besides its biggest mountain. Thank you again for a great assessment and the hint for the Agiorgitiko, also totally aligned with you on the concept of Retsina, it is a cultural route of course, but it can also become an opportunity to optimize a process and try to improve it to yield variable results? Aïnte viva!
Hi Kionstantin, native Greek like some below. You are spot on with Agiorgitiko being the best velvet red in Greece and Moschofilero being an easygoing white thats amazing with fish but also light and fruity enough to be drank at the bar. There are many producers and examples even better than the ones you tasted of course. Xinomauro for me is great in producing almost-but-not quite sweet Rose especially when mixed with Merlot and/or Syrah. If you want to be blown away try also a good quality Mavrotragano (if you havent already that is). It is a lost grape (some was used as a supplament in Santorini sweet wines) that has been re-invented lets say and it will be blow you away. In fact very similar with an Italian re-invention that you may have taster the Primitivo Di Manduria - I tried an Elegia reserve wine from this type and it may well be the best wine I have ever tasted ...
@@katerinafrilingou2470 I was working with Ovilos, I sold the shit out of it. I'm extremely good with Greek wines including the small estates as well 😉
High fat and salty dishes like gyros and grilled meat are usually paired (or they used to be) with retsina in Greece, but you can also have it with some very traditional soups like fasolada or patsa. Fasolada is a thick soup we make out of beans and patsa is a stew made from beef leftover like stomach and legs. Patsa is almost extinct from Greek tradition same as retsina but once upon a time was the standard late night meal for the poor folks of the cities
Very nice reviews. We are going to Greece in a few weeks with wine loving friends so very helpful. We also love wine from the Vertzami grape grown on the island of Lefkada. Also like your Bembel 😊
You might have heard that a well established, old Greek winery, Tsantalis, just filed for bankruptcy. While Tsantalis traditionally concentrated more on mass consumption wines - it was probably one of the 2-3 large mass consumption wine makers in the past, together with Kourtakis and Boutaris - but it also had some more upmarket wines too. I do not know what they did in the last twenty or so years as I haven't been following them. Maybe they decided to diversify their product portfolio like most large wine makers in Greece did, notably Boutaris. It just goes to show what the risks of this business are. If an established mass market wine maker cannot make it, then who can? Note that, if I recall correctly, back in the 80s-90s, Tsantalis was the only one of the big wine makers in Greece that actually had a more up-market line up too. I doubt the others had one, concentrating fully on the lower end of the scale.
I agree about retsina. Usually we don't find good one easily , however if you try it with a Greek BBQ, and typical Greek food and you might find it addictive. It just accommodates the smokiness of the charcoaled meat to perfection!
I was recently introduced to Xinomavro from Naoussa, it's a lovely grape! I love its reserved style. Thanks for the video, I'm going to have to hunt down some Retsina now... it seems fascinating! Sounds like it'd make a great winter holiday wine.
You pair retsina with anything that's deep fried and crunchy. It's also very frequently served with 'ladera' which are olive oil-cooked vegetable stews, so to speak. :) Oh! And may I suggest the authentic, high quality Robola wines from Kefalonia.
I had a sparkling wine made from moschofilero a few years ago that I enjoyed. I believe It was made traditional method. It was called Ode Panos Spiropoulos (I think the region was Mantinia?)Since then I haven't been able to find it again! I remember it not being very expensive.
I've drunk a lot of Greek wine, having lived there in Thessaly. Some of the reds are pretty good, and the best I had was on Corfu much more recently. Retsina is an acquired taste, and in fact the Greeks mix it with coca cola believe it or not. What I always regret is never tasting the mastic liqueur they produce on Corfu.
@@bjornhosek9210 It was a few years back, but I'm pretty sure it was called Goulis Brothers. Definitely Goulis something: you know how wines linger in the memory. I also liked the sweet red they serve by the flask in restaurants.
The Mastic resin, is produced predominantly in Chios island, traditionally hand picked, and it makes a delicious sweet liqueur. It is perfect cold after lunch with a dash of lemon. Akin to the Italian limoncello but, imo, better and more fresh tasting.
I didn't know resin was used to prevent leaking in antiquity. I thought it was always used as a wine preservative. Regarding what food it should be used as accompaniment for, it goes with pretty much every kind of Greek food - within reason, e.g. you might tot choose retsina with spaghetti. It generally goes with any kind of food you can find in a Greek tavern, as long as it is slightly cooled and you can also drink it for example with cheese and possibly also combined with some really nice watermelon. I would not recommend drinking retsina on its own, it makes for really bad headaches afterwards if you overdo it.
My favorites wines - and this you forgot to cover - Malagouzia white wine variety - it is fantastic - like combo of muscat, gewurtztraminer and SauvBlanc!! from Alpha Estate, for example. also I like fantastic wine from Zakhyntos island - from Grampsas winery, Augustiadis based wine Allegro Red 2022. Really nice wine with interesting taste and style.
Another very nice tasting, thank you team Konstantin. For me rosemary olives or a piece of (rosemary crusted) cabra romero goat cheese both work perfectly with retsina. Why? After picking a branch of rosemary from the garden, you will ofte get sticky resin on your hands. The piney notes of the food will help the resinous wine to blend in and seem less freaky. On a curious note, juniper also contains resin, so perhaps you could argue retsina being the gin of wine?
Thanks a lot Konstantin for doing a tasting of Greek wines and being so appreciative!! As a Greek living abroad (11 years split between Paris and Zurich) I got focused mainly on French, Spanish, Italian, German and Swiss wines and initially neglected Greek wines. However, recently I am trying to prioritize their discovery. Greek wines can be from absolute piss to elite world-class wines. Santorini Assyrtiko is magnificent (Argyros, Sigalas and GAIA mainly), while blends of Greek and international red varieties can also be delicious. The Alpha Estate is an excellent producer and their blend of SMX (Syrah, Merlot, Xynomavro) is maybe my favourite Greek red wine. Synoro by Skouras is another interesting red, more low-profile, containing Cabernet, Merlot and Agiorgitiko. I would highly recommend you however to taste a rose wine, Idylle d'Achinos, by La Tour Melas (35% Grenache Noir / 35% Syrah / 30% Agiorgitiko). Amazing wine, much better than commercial brands like Miraval or Whispering Angel. Keep it up and thanks again!! Cheers from Zurich, the return from Greece hits hard...
Hi, native Greek here. Retsina is supposed to accompany fast food, at least in the north of Greece, where it traditionally comes from. Souvlaki, gyro, grilled cheese, tomato salad, fried fish. Easy-going drink for easy-going cuisine, always to be taken lightly, without seriousness
It is also recommended putting a little bit of soda or cola in it to sweeten the flavour. Not the fanciest "cocktail" by a long shot, but a very good drink for taverns and fast food restaurants.
Ρετσίνα και μπακαλιάρος σκορδαλιά ρε λαμόγια. Ο απόλυτος συνδυασμός.
In ancient Greece when you visited someones home for the welcome the offered the guests retsina..
Moreover the retsina that you have tasted has a very intense pine flavor. If it is possible you should try the regular retsina from the same brand "Kechris" which is called "kechribari" and has the common taste!
Yeah its also ''football stadium'' wine here in northern Greece. We mix it with cola and then you have the famous ''Toumpa Libre''
Just came back from a wine-filled trip in Corfu, and the diversity is insane. The wine that surprised me the most was the 2020 “Orgion” from the Sclavos estate (100% Mavrodafni). The wine that I preferred was the 2022 “Earth and Sky” Xinomavro from Thymiopoulos. My wife and I were so enthusiastic about the wine there that we gladly paid for the suitcase weight supplement at the airport because of some extra bottles 😅
Earth and sky is one of my favorites as well. You should try mavrotragano from sigalas or gavalas wineries in Santorini. A fantastic local variety that very few produce.
Sclavos winery is probably the best in kefalonia rn. They have a lot of labels and they also experiment with different methods to create unique bottles. Foivos also used to have a great οινολόγος (oinologist I guess) getting a real big amount of medals and awards but I don't think they still produce anything.
I live in Corfu, guess i need to try them!
Earth and sky of 2007 was ohne of the best. And 2007 was the best year of xynomavro of Naousa. Thymiopoulos is ohne of the Top Wine producers in Greece.
Sklavos is my my favourite winery of kefalonia. Petrakopoulos though has the most serious, European standard wines(according to European people's taste) but sclavos' zakynthino is one of the most fine well rounded white ones ive ever tried
Just needed a Malagoussia in the line up, but another great video on a region that needs more understanding.🍷😎👍
As a greek myself I agree! A malagouzia or malagousia is a must add on the list! Let''s see a review of this divine white whine! What about rose as well?
or mavrotragano
I visited Greece in March and drank a variety of indigenous wines, and the average level was high. I was especially impressed by Red Liatiko and Sinomavro on Crete, not to mention the white variety Assyrtico.
As the specialist said in this video, Greece has a very diffferent climate and soil than all other major wine makers including Italy, let alone France and Spain, hence the local varieties are quite different to the ones cultivated in France... or South Africa, Australia and California. Hence, most people do not know what to do with them. The other main factor is the price. Greece cannot produce large quantities hence unavoidably its wine is expensive and can be only "acceptable" at the restaurant where the price includes the profit of the restaurant that makes it an equaliser for Greek and foreign wines. At the shop the story is different though : you can get decent French wine at 5 euros per bottle but you'll need to jump to 8 and 10 euros for a Greek one. That is a big difference. A French bottle at 15 euros is already as good as a Greek one at 25 to 30 euros. Hence to find good Greek wine you need to head to specialised wine-shops, and that holds true even in Greece where the good winemakers prefer to sell to the wine-shops that feed the good restaurants rather than selling to the wine sections of supermarkets. The mass produced Greek wine is of average to even below average quality. Drinkable, OK with food but nothing that you will want to remember.
However if you eliminate the pricetag and you just compare the taste, Greek wine is up there at the top with the best, even more so when it makes all the difference. These are wines that match perfectly with meat and fish and salads and sweets and everything. They say wine can take you on a voyage, don't know if it is true but Greek wine is the closest thing to that due to its uniqueness, even if you can find French or Italian wines matching better your taste.
Mavrodafni best of the best,u should try that cute red sweat wine 🍷 💗 and then thank me later !!
Assyrtico from Santorini, in my opinion, is the best white wine. The acidity and hint of flowers apple are second to none.
Thank you for this amazing review! Can’t list all of my favorite Greek wines but some of them are:
Pyritis Mega Cuvee - Artemis Karamolengos
Antigone Red Dry - Economou
Limniona - Zafeirakis
Skitali - Hatzidakis
Assyrtiko de Louros Vignes Centenaires - Hatzidakis
Viognier Eclectique Spilitsa - Skouras
Aftorizo - Thymiopoulos
Vinsanto - Argyros
Thalassitis Submerged - Gaia
Dafnios - Liatiko & Vidiano
Robolo - Thymari Petras
Clos Stegasta - Assyrtiko T-oinos
Goumenisa - Hatzivariti
τιποτα απο λαζαρίδη απο την Δράμα;;;;
Good list. I've tried Karamolegos, Economou, Zafeirakis and Hatzidakis. The Antigone was one of the most memorable and unique reds I've had over the past year, almost like an aged Northern Rhone. Will seek out the rest.
Your dive into the Greek varieties is greatly appreciated, and especially the diversity of producers making classic Retsina wine!
The best Greek wine I ever tasted was at the birthday party of a school friend of mine and it was from Crete. When he was born, his father put a barrel from their vineyard in a village near Chania, and left it sealed to be opened when his son would turn 20. Marouvas is a great wine anyway but 20 years old was something else. We all got plastered that day but next day no headaches or any hangover feeling.
Generally the best wines in Greece are not to be found bottled in liquor stores or super markets. They are to be found in small taverns with house wine or the small family vineyards of friends. No fancy pansy labels, no pompous names.
I characteristically remember one time we were on vacations in Crete. The tavern had a fantastic house wine, coming straight from the barrel in the classic copper pitchers at a ridiculous price really (no more expensive than a bottle of beer). We had ordered the catalogue 3x and a couple of German tourists were looking at us with disapproval. They had two steaks, a salad and two bottles of expensive imported wine (can’t really remember what now) that probably cost as much as our lamb chops overfilled table. Being posh doesn’t mean that you know how to live.
Lots of fabulous wines on Crete, not got round to trying them all yet, only lived there 14 years :-)
this, we make our own wine and dont bottle or sell it,. we drink it. it can get you drunk very easy. no crazy filtering and dryness, the wine is rich like juice.
Fell in love with assyrtiko on a trip to Santorini. A beautiful wine, from one of the most beautiful places in the world!😊
U should try Mavrodafni my old time classic red sweat wine 🍷 and thank me later 😜
It's pretty hard to pick one favorite Greek wine as the quality is so high and the variety so vast. I think to find dry Greek wine you have to go to specialist wine shops/merchants as supermarkets and large retailers tend to only carry the sweetish ones at this point.
This was a pretty impressive tasting, as you don't regularly give so many 93,94 points to different wines. Hopefully Greek wine will become more mainstream and popular in the years to come. Cheers!
next time try wine made by monks the brand is agioritiko or mavrodafni but its not for brawlers is very strong with magnificent taste
Good remarks. And there is an explanation of why Greek wine is not as known :
1. Small quantities produced, though of very high quailty
2. Any attempt to mass produce in Greece ended up unavoidably in average and below average quality wine.
3. Local varieties, uknown to foreigners even to wine connoisseurs
So while you can get a decent French wine at the supermarket at 5 euros you have to double that to get a decent Greek one. A French bottle at 15 euros tends to (statistically) offer a good wine but for the equivalent level in Greek wines you need to pay more than 25 euros. Hence, Greek wines are not competitive straight on at price tag levels. They can only offer uniqueness. French and Italian varieties and their equivalents you find them all around the world, in Australia, in South Africa, in California, in Argentine etc. But Greek varieties, you can only find them in Greece, and they are quite unique in taste - once you have tasted them you will be able to recognised them any time on blind testing even years later.
Hence, if you are anywhere outside Greece and you want to surprise your guests with some unique high quality wine, a good Greek wine is your best bet.
Hi. Greek wine lover here. I think Greece produces (some) world class wines, however we lack big quantities to export. Therefore, you won't find easilly Greek wines abroad, not even in Greek super markets! Every region has plenty of wines to discover (only) locally...
Sipped assyrtiko while eating fish in Santorini’s just as you had described. Truly an unforgettable experience thanks to the bottle. Great video!
That Xinomavro is definitely my favourite Greek wine
When the soils, mainly of southern mainland Greece, can create perhaps the best virgin olive oil on the planet, it would not be surprising that they can create unique and award-winning wines worldwide. We find some such samples in Messinia: Υπογραφή (signature in Greek) from Psarouliswines or the exquisite and unique Fileri variety from Nestorwines!
At the moment the best olive oil in Greece is produced in Chalkidiki, Macedonia. That is North Greece. And of them, Yannis estate, the best producer, produces his oil with the Chalkidiki olive variety which was up to recently supposed to be a "for-eating-only-not-for-oil" olive. BTW this was also admitted to me in person by Giannis Kampouris, the very owner of ELAWON estate who produces the most expensive olive oil in Greece in his estates in Peloponesus.
Greek style salad with cucumber, tomatos, olives, pepper, onion, a little garlic, olive oil dressing. Fresh, delicous dish with fresh Retsina. Perfect!
Thats actually a really good suggestion for Retsina.
A good suggestion indeed, but also appetizers on a platter . Connecting different flavours retsina comes in to it's own
Garlic in greek salad ??😂😂 Φάε σκορδαλιά καλύτερα bro. Δεν έχεις γούστο
No garlic man, oregano though is a must
We don't put garlic in Greek salad
Fried fish and greens of the day are a fabulous Retsina pairing.
Nice video and excellent analysis. Thank you for the video, from a Greek 💙🤍
We spent two weeks on Corfu a few years back and almost exclusively drank Greek wine. Can attest there are some very good Greek wines to be had.
It is of the very best! As Greek olive oil which we sell in Italiabs and Spanish and they present it as theirs!!
Exactly!!!
The best Italian olive oil is 100% Greek, and they sell it at 4x price. As usual, others take the credit
I have also heard that we sell Ferraris to Italy and they just add the badge.😂
To Spain we just gave El Greco.
For free😥
@@ioannpapaioann7678 You're right: Our olive oil is the Ferrari!! 😁
Watching this on a holiday in Greece right now
Finally :)
Favorite: Assyrtiko From Sigalas.
Great video, as always!
This time, I enjoyed it even more, being Greek myself.
My family has been producing wine for generations, for our own consumption.
My favorite Greek wine experience is a bit unique. While I was a student, I had a side job with a friend where we searched for the best locations to build photovoltaic plants across the country. We had the brilliant idea that if a place produced good wine, it should be the right one for our project. So, we had to taste a lot of wine. It wasn’t very scientific, but it was a lot of fun!
Was in island of Samos last week and tested their Muscat wines. Sweet wines are not for me but the dry ones were actuallyquite tasty. I tasted one which was produced at an altitude of 711meters on the Island, was absolutely amazing
When I went to Greece, I made sure to try all these varietals and styles! Was quite impressed by the wines there.
Whichever good Retsina you make, there is always that pine resin in the recipe. Historically speaking, Retsina was the cheap wine in Greece, and still is in a sense, because the producers could hide a low quality wine behind the pine resin taste. It was the wine in the everyday meal of the workers class until many decades ago, where Greek salad and Retsina were together on the family or the tavern table. It is best served as cool as it gets, and is preferred to accompany fat or salty meals, potatoes (french fries, chips, etc), some kinds of soups, fried fish, and legumes.
Γεια χαρά! Hi! Totally agree, but some recent endeavors in vinification are raising retsina to high quality levels, while they are beginning to win major awards at international, prestigious competitions something that, a few years ago it would have been unthinkable for retsina to even participate. Fine aromas of pine or mastic and lemon aroma. Great labels are highlighted, with awards and this is a good development, which let's hope it goes even further.
Favourite Greek producer: Thymiopoulos! Great wines and great value!
Great to see some love for Greek wines! The newer generations taking over have studies winemaking and many have worked in wineries in France, etc., and the jump in quality is visible. Great picks as well for the tasting! There are some world class wines there. Unfortunately volume of production is not enough for wide distribution worldwide though.
Different places in Greece also have unique protected geographical viraeties like the kefalonian robola. Other varieties you can look for is moschato (white, they also use this for sparkling wine) and mavrodafni (red, common in Peloponnese and eptanese)
I thought this was a Zakynthos exclusive. Makes great wine but it's the absolute worst grapes to handle because it's very sensitive to transportation and movement in general
Really enjoyed this video !! Was waiting like for ever to see one Greek wines tasting, and pretty good lineup! Hoping to see more Greek wines tasting in the future!!! As for retsina pairings, it can pair well with vegetable based traditional food like stuffed wineleaves, as well with meat like pork barbeque or grilled fish like sardines, pretty flexible and gastronomical wine type. Cheers!!!
Retsina is amazing with garlic-heavy dishes, especially with bakaliaros (cod) paired with skordalia (mashed potatoes heavily accompanied by garlic)!
In Chios island they revived a wine called Ariousios ... A variety described by Homer in Ulysses Odyssey...🤯 2000 + years old..... Greece has many hidden gems due to the small production they are not known around the world...my Favourite is Naousaia by Fountis winnery in Naousa Red Ksinomavro
Excellent review !
Robola of Kefalonia!
I buy every year 30+ Greek wines. And playing around with their many many wine varieties. I LOVE Greek wine. There are so many wonderful ones with layers of flavors and aftertastes that are stunning. And yes. Greece is not the nation to scale up wines to massive scales. But Greece is a place for amazing wines that are unique anywhere in the world. It's a exotic place for wines because it has hundreds of native grape varieties. But also Greece has endless microclimates that all helps make it's many distinct flavors. Greece is a very exciting wine destination because of it
grilled pork with retsina. Coming from Thessaloniki and being a sommelier i will always have retsina and grilled pork. best pairing
I can see that, a grilled porksteak with some lemon. Sounds gorgeous.
@@kristofergirhammar4457 absolutely.especially with souvlaki,gyros and dips.drink it with short traditional retsina glass not wine glass.you will end up drinking liters
Interesting, thx!
Better with raki 😂 oh my days
Retsina also pairs very well with fried fish, especially gavros (similar to anchovy).
Some etymological info of the variety names since it must be hard for non-Greek speakers to follow or remember:
Assyrtiko (Ασύρτικο): No solid evidence on the etymology of the word, a theory suggests that it might derive from the word "Ασσύριος" (Assyrian) showing some evidence that it might derive from Phoenician roots. Just a theory though, no solid evidence whatsoever.
Moschofilero (Μοσχοφίλερο): Combines two Greek words: "μόσχος" (móschos) meaning "musky" or "fragrant," and "φίλερο" (fílero) which is a local term for "leaf" or "foliage." A translation in English would be "Musky-leaf".
Limniona (Λημνιώνα): Likely originates from the region of Limni in Greece, which literally means "Lake". Since it is of a geographic origin it cannot be really translated.
Xinomavro (Ξινόμαυρο): Comes from two Greek words: "ξινό" (xinó) meaning "sour" or "acidic," and "μαύρο" (mávro) meaning "black." A literal translation could be "Sour-black".
Agiorgitiko (Αγιωργίτικο): Derives from "Άγιος Γεώργιος" (Ágios Geórgios), which means "Saint George". Also possible to be named after a town called Saint George that it is quite common in Greece and Peloponnese. The name translates to "Saint George's".
"Retsina" (Ρετσίνα): Not really a variety but a style that involves mixture with "ρετσίνι" (retsíni) that literally means Resin. In English can be understood as "resin wine" or "resin-flavored wine". And yes there is a notorious cocktail that some people call "Tuba Libre", coming from the area of Tuba in Thessaloniki, that is a mixture of Retsina and Coca Cola :)
Ευχαριστούμε για την πληροφόρηση!
Thanks 👍
Αγειοριτικο προέρχεται από το αγιος Ορος τι Αγιωργιτικο μας λες 😂😂
Τι Ασσυριακο ρε 😂😂 οτι θυμασαι χαίρεσαι ρε μαγκα
@@basicinfo8786Εσύ κάνεις λάθος, δίκιο έχει.
Lucky me: I have both wine 1 and wine 3 at home and can't wait to try it. While in Greece I found that retsina was a versatile pairing with most things that contained hard herbs like rosemary, thyme and oregano. But the most memorable wine that I tasted was Lyrarakis Dafni - dafni, meaning laurel/bay leaf in Greek, a variety that was rescued from extinction by the Lyrarakis family in Crete. It smells of all of the herbs: bay, sage, rosemary, lavender overlaying some stone fruit character. A very individual and memorable wine.
Fun fact: Lyrarakis have revived 3 indigenous grapes, not just Dafni. There's also Plyto, and Melissaki. Next time you're around, I urge you to try them, and I'm not going to spoil them for you, but Plyto could be called a "poor man's Chardonnay", and Melissaki means "little bee", with its main element on the nose being beeswax.
And since you're there, check out "Aggelis", a red Liatiko that quite possibly puts "Antigone" to shame, (iykyk), and their Cab - Merlot vintages, that are a fusion between Bordeaux and Tuscany. (it feels like there's a touch of Sangiovese in that blend, based on the notes of fig and quince on the mouth, but I think that is owed to the terroir.)
@@djtraxem I tried them all and at the time of my visit (Oct 2023) they were focusing entirely on Greek / Cretan varieties.
@@djtraxem I've tried them all (including their Thrapsathiri, which they call Cretan riesling). At the time of my visit (October 2023) they were focused exclusively on Greek / Cretan varieties.
@@GarthScholtz Awesome! That winery is my special happy place. I always go there at least once a year (usually early May or late October) and buy wines from them, as well as spend some time among the vineyards. The colours are insane, there's such natural beauty even when the vineyards are empty, and the atmosphere is electrifying & mystical.
Near the winery is also a very ancient (and very protected) Minoan grape press, where people would pay respects to Dionysus by winemaking, and oh man do the hairs of my neck stand up when I'm there.
@@djtraxem very beautiful there for sure. You are fortunate to be able to visit Crete so often.
A wonderful report Konstantin.My favourite Xinomavro is the one from Rapsani region.I hope you’ve read Luprand’s (bishop of Cremona) meal in Constantinople .He describes retsina as a frightening experience
Always good to learn about new wines and regions! Thank you for the video.
Im a simple guy who actually loves base level Retsina. I have never even tried higher quality in that style. Kir-Yanni Xinomavro is fantastic and very affordable, easy to get here in Sweden too.
Fun tasting, looking forward to your next vid!
Emil
Some interesting varieties out there with Xinomavro, Kotsifali, Robola and many more. Been drinking a Xinomavro rosé by the Markovitis Winery this week.
Crete is buzzing f.e, while the Peloponnese is really impressive as well as Macedonia (Drama especially), I can't wait for the Cretan wine fair in Cyprus again. It was amazing last time! I'm working on importing some amazing Greek and Cypriot wines to Central Europe, cz people don't know what they lose...
It was really charming hearing you pronouncing the Greek names! Sometimes a little bit difficult to understand though.
Regarding Santorini my favourite is Aidani from Chatzidakis.
Kechris retsina, can also be found, actualy it is easier to be found, in smaller bottles tear shaped.
Regarding Nemea, my favourite are those from Papaioanou, in plenty of different labels (I am talking for agiorgitiko) but also Aivalis is making wonderful agiorgitiko, especially "4"!!!
Last but not least, as others mentioned it, Malagouzia is a noteworthy grape variety!
Spot on as always Konstantin. 👌🇬🇷
Favorite red is La Tour Melas, favorite whites… would be a very long list. You should try some of the wines made from indigenous grapes on the Cycladic islands. They’d take your breath away.
Since you tried the greek wines you should also try the Cypriot ones: (Xinisteri, Koumandaria - sweet wine -, Maratheftiko, Vasilissa, Mavro, Prwmara. Would love to see you dive in one of the oldest wine making countries
Yes Yes Yes!
Koumandaria while commercialized, it is my favorite Cypriot wine, and one of the most historical, as one of the favorite wines of the Crusaders.
@@keelfly the after taste is delicious
Thanks for the video! Allow me to correct some pronunciations:
- savvatiano: the acent is on “no”.
- moschofilero: it’s a regular “l”, not the spanish “ll”, and the accent is on “fi”.
- xinomavro: accent on “no”.
- naoussa: accent on “na”.
- vermion: accent on “ver”.
Fun fact: “meth' imon” (12:23) is ancient greek for “with us”.
Retsina goes well with grilled pork steaks with lots of oregano and lemon. It's not gourmet, it's a humble wine.
I’m constantly amazed at your level of knowledge when it comes to wine and all its intricacies. Is there any region out there that you can honestly say you don’t know???
this is a good and honest review and a knowledgeable person. both interesting and informative.
I always enjoy doing a Greek wine tasting! I can't say that there is a particular varietal that I like more than others as there are some very good winemakers producing great wine as well as interesting wines. Douloufakis on Crete has resurrected several interesting and rare varietals, or young guns like Thymiopoulos who just specializes in Xinomavro. But I have to say, sipping a glass of Assyrtiko while watching a Santorini sunset is something very magical.
Thanks for expanding my wine region knowledge!
my favorit wines are assyrtiko Gaia, moschofilero gaia, malagouzia gerovasileiou, kidonitsa ieropoulos, Aras or Daemon Ieropoulos from Nemea. Earth and sky Xinomavro Thimiopoulos. and roze also wine from ieropoulos with agiorgitiko grape and province style.
Hahaaa, I said exactly the same 93 points for the Santorini. Maybe 94 points with a bit of age. I guess you have sort of calibrated my palate as well😊. Well done Konstantin!
I think you should have started with the more elegant Moschofilero😊
Great selection of wines, nevertheless!
finally wines from greek vineyards! it will be awesome to have a Savatiano label too... great video in overall and well informed thanks kostantin
Grilled lambchops with oregano and fresh squized lemon, the perfect pair for retsina
I like malagousia and xinomavro
Hi there Konstantin, great video, full of interesting information and your opinions on the wines are very approachable and discreet. Your respect is well perceived. My Grandfather was a chef and he used to accompany oily and fatty foods with retsina. For example, with a wonderful portion of Moussaka, stuffed tomatoes and peppers, lamp chops, pork chops, small fried fish, oven baked fish etc you would always get bread, a salad and a glass of retsina.
I think you should try out some wines from Achaia Clauss, they are a very old winery in the Peloponnese. And they have a Castle which you can visit. 601 grand reserve is very underrated but it is actually made from one of the oldest variaries we have.
Really nice video! Thank you for showing up some of the Greek wines. Regarding Retsina, yes most common choices are really cheap ones and the base wine is just cheap wine, of course people that looking for quality wine will hate it. Having said that while Retsina is technically a wine even us Greeks often we consider it as something different and in my personal opinion it is, you either love it or hate it but when we setting up a meeting with friends to enjoy some drink we say "let's have some Retsina" while when we say "let's have some wine" it will not be Retsina. I really like Retsina but to me it's a different special drink.
The last decades Greece started exploring and innovating Greek wine based on unique local grapes, we still exploring and Greece is coming back with so many serious choices. I believe that in the future it will only get better and better.
P.S.: Retsina as someone else suggested goes well with simple food like olive oils, tomato, rusks Greek salad type of food, but personally I like it with sea food or BBQ as well.
Retsina has a certain purpose in the greek food culture. It fits perfectly with grilled meat, especially grilled lamb chops. It is like if the resin resolves the grilled fat from the lamb. So greeks like it even if foreign wine experts dont like it.
Wonderful vid, I love our Greek wine and there's definitely more varieties and places to taste/drink from.
I will suggest a very nice wine, Ousyra from Syros island, it's fantastic and excellent.
And I will suggest Malvasia wine; but specifically from Monemvasia itself.
Thymiopoulos Rosé de Xinomavro is a really nice greek wine
Hi there iam from Nemea Korinthia Region..From the area agios Georgios many french companies came and buy our product to sell it as french,italian also buy our wines to sell them as italian.
Nice wine tasting...greetings from Greece🇬🇷
I adore Gaia's Assyrtiko from Santorini, it pairs really well with grilled fish. It is a bit expensive though, around 35 euros where I live.
However, Gaia also produces an Assyrtiko in Nemea called Monograph, which is a lot cheaper and - though not as good as the Santorini one - still has great quality.
In Ktima Theopetra, they produce vintage malagouzia sur lies in bubbly form. Edenia features strong buttery bubbles with bergamot and herbs in its character, making it ideal to accompany smoked seafood, caviar, smoked trout, or salmon.
Theopetra Estate lost the rights to the name "Edenia" quite some time ago. As far as I'm aware, the winery became quite corporate and the family of Tsililis (who were the founding members) stepped away, and took their trademark with them. You can now find the Edenia wines in the Tsililis Terres winery (which is owned by ms. Tsilili and her father), but they no longer produce sparkling versions of it, unfortunately.
Such a shame too, sparkling Malagousia is such a dope concept for a wine.
@@djtraxem Strange. I purchased a bottle last year.
@michaeltraxem7755 my other regret is the discontinuing of Babatzimopoulos' Erwdios. That xinomavro rosé topped off with Hamburg Muscat was a passepartout wine. I distinctly remember how poignantly it stood next to and underlined the flavor of some excellent fried red mullets.
@@vassilisvouris6269 If you're a fan of jacks-of-all-trade, I can recommend Muscat of Tirnavos by D. Migas, and Rock & Rose by Bairaktaris. Former is semi-sparkling, resembles moscato d'asti (aka. Hamburg Muscat, or Black Muscat), and the latter is a very well made and structured semi-dry rose Merlot.
Konstantin, on your question on retsina, it is a relatively "versatile" wine of the "less serious" type as you said combining excellently with fish, sea food, summer salads but also roast meat, especially pork. Basically any type of food with which you would chose a dry acidic white wine. You would not chose retsina of course to accompany sweets, you would rather want to pass to a sweeter, less acidic white wine which you can do in spite of retsina's strong flavour. Retsina can be drunk on its own pretty much as beer and that is how it is often consumed in Greece, this is not a "pretentious wine" even on its better qualities.
Retsina is a very misunderstood wine variety and it is so even here in Greece. Initially it was a local type of wine, an oddity in spite of its long history, mostly produced in north Aegean islands and NW Minor Asia as well as in Macedonia. But due to the addition of the pine resine it got to be associated with the label of "cheap wine with pine flavor". This unflattering label was accentuated since the 1960s when wineries such as Malamatina mass produced and advertised retsina not really as a wine but as a refreshment, dropping the prices to be comparable to beer, hence the consumption of it "as a beer". It got to become the choice of older men at the local town cafe and prior to the increase of consumption of beerr since the 1980s, retsina was the No1 alcoholic refreshment of the country.
Even on its lower qualities, it is still a pleasant drink, albeit it won't please wine lovers who will approach it as "just another type of white wine". Said this, in the past 1-2 decades there are producers such as the one you presented that make retsina wine with higher qualities of grapes, which is still retsina but which also stands as a wine, not just a cheap refreshment. For novices though I would suggest they opt to taste it on the table first, with fish/sea-food rather than stand alone due to its higher alchoholic content compared to beer.
Please cover Rombola of Kefalonia and some Malagouzia!!
Retsina goes with fish bbq ,the taste of fish charcoil wine and pine resin is irresistible.
Really enjoy Xinomavro, especially from Alpha Estate (they make a lovely Malagouzia too!). Thymiopoulos young vines quite yummy as well.
Have you ever tried/do you know much about Verdea? It was mentioned in my CSW study materials and I’d never heard of it before!
Oooooh tears of the pine, its soooo good ❤
And ramnista, love that one 🇬🇷
♥️ Robola/ Kefalonia & Assyrtiko/Santorini.
In my hometown we drink a lot of Moscofilero and red Cabernet Sauvignon (obviously not Greek but really adapted) . Thank you for your video.
Thank you for the showcasing of the excellent white varieties (of which there are a few more), the assessment of Xinomavro which is certainly agreeable, and the very interesting spin on a grape variety that has historically kept the weight of the Greek wine industry (we Greeks love our wine!!) for decades, to the detriment of its opportunity to shine in the context of good craftsmanship. I will try and get myself some of that Agiorgitiko!
With regards to the ‘favourite’, I can only give you a recommendation, from quite a few: try the Assurtiko-Malagouzia white from the Papakonstantinou winery in the island of Kos, with vines grown almost at sea level in the rich soil of the valley of Kos, besides its biggest mountain.
Thank you again for a great assessment and the hint for the Agiorgitiko, also totally aligned with you on the concept of Retsina, it is a cultural route of course, but it can also become an opportunity to optimize a process and try to improve it to yield variable results?
Aïnte viva!
Hi Kionstantin, native Greek like some below. You are spot on with Agiorgitiko being the best velvet red in Greece and Moschofilero being an easygoing white thats amazing with fish but also light and fruity enough to be drank at the bar. There are many producers and examples even better than the ones you tasted of course. Xinomauro for me is great in producing almost-but-not quite sweet Rose especially when mixed with Merlot and/or Syrah. If you want to be blown away try also a good quality Mavrotragano (if you havent already that is). It is a lost grape (some was used as a supplament in Santorini sweet wines) that has been re-invented lets say and it will be blow you away. In fact very similar with an Italian re-invention that you may have taster the Primitivo Di Manduria - I tried an Elegia reserve wine from this type and it may well be the best wine I have ever tasted ...
Oh yes I’ve been waiting for the Greek wines ❤
Tear of the pine is really great with Spanakopita, Octopus from the grill, Prawn Saganaki or just grilled Halloumi starter...
Vivlia chora ,another great wine ,try it
@@katerinafrilingou2470 I was working with Ovilos, I sold the shit out of it. I'm extremely good with Greek wines including the small estates as well 😉
High fat and salty dishes like gyros and grilled meat are usually paired (or they used to be) with retsina in Greece, but you can also have it with some very traditional soups like fasolada or patsa.
Fasolada is a thick soup we make out of beans and patsa is a stew made from beef leftover like stomach and legs. Patsa is almost extinct from Greek tradition same as retsina but once upon a time was the standard late night meal for the poor folks of the cities
oooo gyros sounds like a delicious pairing for that.
Excellent ! Bravo. Really good to see the appreciation of Greek wines...Yamas x
Very nice reviews. We are going to Greece in a few weeks with wine loving friends so very helpful. We also love wine from the Vertzami grape grown on the island of Lefkada. Also like your Bembel 😊
There are some great Greek blends as well. A few I've tried are Xinomavro-Syrah, Agiorgitiko-Cab Sauv, and Sauv Blanc-Assyrtiko. Enjoyed the video!
You might have heard that a well established, old Greek winery, Tsantalis, just filed for bankruptcy. While Tsantalis traditionally concentrated more on mass consumption wines - it was probably one of the 2-3 large mass consumption wine makers in the past, together with Kourtakis and Boutaris - but it also had some more upmarket wines too. I do not know what they did in the last twenty or so years as I haven't been following them. Maybe they decided to diversify their product portfolio like most large wine makers in Greece did, notably Boutaris.
It just goes to show what the risks of this business are. If an established mass market wine maker cannot make it, then who can? Note that, if I recall correctly, back in the 80s-90s, Tsantalis was the only one of the big wine makers in Greece that actually had a more up-market line up too. I doubt the others had one, concentrating fully on the lower end of the scale.
I agree about retsina. Usually we don't find good one easily , however if you try it with a Greek BBQ, and typical Greek food and you might find it addictive. It just accommodates the smokiness of the charcoaled meat to perfection!
Δάκρυ του πεύκου (tear of pine), my favorite Retsina.
I was recently introduced to Xinomavro from Naoussa, it's a lovely grape! I love its reserved style. Thanks for the video, I'm going to have to hunt down some Retsina now... it seems fascinating! Sounds like it'd make a great winter holiday wine.
Gavalas Winery in Santorini is my favorite Greek winery!
You pair retsina with anything that's deep fried and crunchy. It's also very frequently served with 'ladera' which are olive oil-cooked vegetable stews, so to speak. :) Oh! And may I suggest the authentic, high quality Robola wines from Kefalonia.
I had a sparkling wine made from moschofilero a few years ago that I enjoyed. I believe It was made traditional method. It was called Ode Panos Spiropoulos (I think the region was Mantinia?)Since then I haven't been able to find it again! I remember it not being very expensive.
A very distinctive red is Messenicola from Monsieur Nicolas winery. 70% messenicola black, 30% syrah&caringan
I love Messenicola, too. Easy going, yet having a very special character, unlike any other Greek red wine.
I've felt them very fruity, light, and fresh😊
Some wines from the Alfa estate in Amyntaio, northern Greece, are also very interesting
I'm intrigued to try the Argyros wines. I've often seen it on the shelves but I never knew anything about it until now. Thanks for the suggestion.
I've drunk a lot of Greek wine, having lived there in Thessaly. Some of the reds are pretty good, and the best I had was on Corfu much more recently. Retsina is an acquired taste, and in fact the Greeks mix it with coca cola believe it or not. What I always regret is never tasting the mastic liqueur they produce on Corfu.
which ones did you have on corfu ? ... i really liked the QP white one ... and the theotoki ofcourse.
@@bjornhosek9210 It was a few years back, but I'm pretty sure it was called Goulis Brothers. Definitely Goulis something: you know how wines linger in the memory. I also liked the sweet red they serve by the flask in restaurants.
Corfu is known for kumquat liquer. The mastic one is from Chios island.
mastic is from chios
The Mastic resin, is produced predominantly in Chios island, traditionally hand picked, and it makes a delicious sweet liqueur. It is perfect cold after lunch with a dash of lemon. Akin to the Italian limoncello but, imo, better and more fresh tasting.
We don't export our good wine and good olive oil! I have no other reason to understand why ... You did great job!
I didn't know resin was used to prevent leaking in antiquity. I thought it was always used as a wine preservative. Regarding what food it should be used as accompaniment for, it goes with pretty much every kind of Greek food - within reason, e.g. you might tot choose retsina with spaghetti. It generally goes with any kind of food you can find in a Greek tavern, as long as it is slightly cooled and you can also drink it for example with cheese and possibly also combined with some really nice watermelon. I would not recommend drinking retsina on its own, it makes for really bad headaches afterwards if you overdo it.
Well best wine for me from Greece was one of the top wines from Manousakis Winery. Maybe Nostos Roussanne or Alexandra's
I have had the pleasure to drink The tear of the pine a few times in my local greek restaurant. Great match with grilled octopus!
OPAH !!!!!!DUDE. waiting for you to smash ur glass at end .
Thymiopoulos Rosé de Xinomavro Reserve/Late Release. I think the current vintage is the 2013. A beauty
My favorites wines - and this you forgot to cover - Malagouzia white wine variety - it is fantastic - like combo of muscat, gewurtztraminer and SauvBlanc!! from Alpha Estate, for example.
also I like fantastic wine from Zakhyntos island - from Grampsas winery, Augustiadis based wine Allegro Red 2022. Really nice wine with interesting taste and style.
One of most iconic agiorgitico is "aivalis winery, sang de la Pierre." . Also good pair for retsina are salted fishes like sardines.
Another very nice tasting, thank you team Konstantin.
For me rosemary olives or a piece of (rosemary crusted) cabra romero goat cheese both work perfectly with retsina. Why? After picking a branch of rosemary from the garden, you will ofte get sticky resin on your hands. The piney notes of the food will help the resinous wine to blend in and seem less freaky.
On a curious note, juniper also contains resin, so perhaps you could argue retsina being the gin of wine?
Thanks a lot Konstantin for doing a tasting of Greek wines and being so appreciative!! As a Greek living abroad (11 years split between Paris and Zurich) I got focused mainly on French, Spanish, Italian, German and Swiss wines and initially neglected Greek wines. However, recently I am trying to prioritize their discovery. Greek wines can be from absolute piss to elite world-class wines. Santorini Assyrtiko is magnificent (Argyros, Sigalas and GAIA mainly), while blends of Greek and international red varieties can also be delicious. The Alpha Estate is an excellent producer and their blend of SMX (Syrah, Merlot, Xynomavro) is maybe my favourite Greek red wine. Synoro by Skouras is another interesting red, more low-profile, containing Cabernet, Merlot and Agiorgitiko. I would highly recommend you however to taste a rose wine, Idylle d'Achinos, by La Tour Melas (35% Grenache Noir / 35% Syrah / 30% Agiorgitiko). Amazing wine, much better than commercial brands like Miraval or Whispering Angel. Keep it up and thanks again!! Cheers from Zurich, the return from Greece hits hard...