August Goes to Greece
Hi all! August here, your resident wine geek at The Cheese Shop of Salem.
This summer, Greece was the third most booked destination on the planet and I can say after spending a week there this past July, it is worth the hype! I visited Greece for a week with four other wine professionals to learn more about our favorite drink: wine! A big thank you to Hogshead Wine Co., especially Jen, for hosting this incredible trip and inviting me to come along!
With 227 inhabited culturally distinct islands, Greece is impossible to see in one trip, and while I didn’t get to go to Mykonos and hang out with celebrities, I did drink an abundance of excellent wine.
Greek wine, in general, is misunderstood by the American consumer. While Greece has an ancient history of winemaking, its reputation for quality wine was tarnished by poorly made bulk wine. In the past 20-30 years (a mere moment in the history of wine) we’ve seen winemakers invest in producing interesting, organic wines that represent the unique terroir of Greece.
In Peloponnese, on southern mainland Greece, we visited Tetramythos, a winery that exemplifies exciting Greek wine today. I was startled by how mountainous Greece was; I’ve heard people rave about the oceans and volcanoes, but never the mountains that poke out of the rocky landscape everywhere on the way to Tetramythos. Apparently, Greece is the second most mountainous country in Europe! Tetramythos is nestled in these mountains with views of the Gulf of Corinth. The unrelenting sun makes it a struggle to practice organic farming; we visited during a heat wave in which younger grape skins were sunburnt. Other challenges to winemakers include the wild boars, who like to snack on grapes, and steep cliffs that make some vineyard sites difficult to reach.
Nevertheless, assistant winemaker Meli and her team make classic wines, like a balanced Retsina and a fresh Agioritko, as well as a series of natural and more experimental wines. Try their 2020 Tetramythos Sideritis, a tangy orange wine with notes of grapefruit skin, apricot, and a fistful of herbs! Made from the grape Sidertis, this wine is given five days of grape skin contact and aged in a combination of amphora, stainless steel, and barrels. Tetramythos also has a gorgeous tasting room, wonderful hospitality, and its staff is eager to discuss their unique wines.
The next morning, invigorated after a night in Tetramythos’s gorgeous guest house, we traveled to Koukos Winery near Patras, the capital of the Peloponnese, and met the charming Panagiotis and his nephew, Antonis. Immediately, Panagiotis suggested we go to the beach near the wetlands park that borders some of their vineyards. After a relaxing swim in the turquoise ocean, we went back to the winery to taste Panagiotis’ wines and enjoy a feast, including uni and calamari that he had caught fresh and prepared himself. The shellfish was so fresh and vibrant, that all of the New England seafood I’ve eaten was put to shame.
Other than incredible seafood, Greece is also the place for unique grapes. There are around 200 grape varieties grown there, and many are only grown in Greece. The actual number of distinct types is tricky to pin down since there are multiple names for the same grape. The 2020 Koukos Winery Amphora Daphne Noir is from one of these native grapes, Mavrodaphne; it is a dry red that is aged in amphora and has notes of eucalyptus, blackberries, and black currants.
After a morning of visiting the Temple of Poseidon in Sounion, we took an hour-long plane ride from Athens to Crete, the southernmost island in Greece. Vines in Crete were once traded to the Minoans around 2500 BCE. We spent a few days with sister winemakers, Niki and Emmanuela of Domaine Paterianakis, and we had a blast. We went sailing, jumped into the ocean, danced the macarena, and, oh yeah, worked really hard trying delicious wines. For a taste of Crete, try the organic 2020 Domaine Paterianakis Vidiano, a dry white from the indigenious grape, Vidiano, which is nicknamed the diva of Crete. The sisters make wine with their parents, eight furry dogs, and extended family in a beautiful winery on a plateau around olive groves.
The problem with going to Greece is that you can’t stop daydreaming about it! I’m already planning my next adventure, with a delicious Greek wine in hand, of course.
Insider’s Tip: To end or start your trip with some nerdy natural wine, visit the amazing wine bar Heteroclito Cave & Bar in Athens!