Greeking Out with Troupis Winery
Let’s speak Greek this week! A favorite Greek winery of ours continues to be Troupis Winery, run by the Troupis family who have been involved in viticulture since the 1970s. Before officially beginning their own sustainably run winery in 2010, the Troupis clan made wine just for family and friends, selling their surplus of harvested grapes to neighboring wineries in Peloponnese. Today, Tasos and his son Yiannis, manage the farm of 16+ acres of vines, most of which are tended to with organic farming methods.
Located in the center of the Mantinea Plateau in the Fteri region, the winery sits at an altitude of 700 meters, and is a pristine facility, boasting a sleek, new tasting room and modern equipment. Wines are unfiltered and unfined - just that good natural stuff. The main grape variety planted at Troupis is Moschofilero, a grape that is pink-hued, and can be made into white, rosé, or even light red wine. Regardless of the hue of the wine, Moschofilero is a lively, herbal, balanced wine with citrus and spice flavors.
2019 Troupis ‘Hoof & Lur’ Moschofilero is a quirky wine, iridescent orange in color, which sort of looks like it could be a rosé but has extra depth on the palate. The result is a spicy, aromatic wine with aromas of lemongrass, citrus peel, and cardamom, as well as ample acidity. We love to pair this off-dry orangish wine with crispy veggie rolls or egg noodles topped with thai basil and chili crisp. If you’re into spicy foods, this is a fantastic wine to pair!
2020 Troupis Winery 'Ekato' Moschofilero is the first of its kind as an almost ‘red’ wine, although it’s technically a ‘rose,’ made with the white Moschofilero grape. Drinking this is a bit like walking through a pine forest full of wild rhubarb. It has an intense floral nose of rose petals and quince and fig, and is slightly tannic due to one hundred days of skin contact. We recommend leaning into the floral essence of this light red/rosé and enjoying it alongside a fruit platter loaded with strawberries, pomegranate, and raspberries.
Fun fact: Like Moschofilero, Pinot Grigio is a grape with greyish-pink skin. When Pinot Grigio’s skins are removed during the winemaking process, it is made into a white wine. If the greyish-pink skins are left in contact with the grape juice as the wine ferments, a pretty pink rosé is produced. Pinot Grigio or Pinot Gris translates to Pinot ‘Grey.’