Greece’s Wine Industry Reset (Part 1)
Serious wine lovers relish suiting up for the hunt to track down something new and different. Either you can explore a new wine region or uncover a unique indigenous grape variety to show off to your friends. Or try to stump your favorite somm. Given this was my first time in Greece, I was able to do both. This post talks about some of the fascinating things our group learned about the country’s reemerging wine industry.
Let’s start with some background to give context to the topic. Then, we’ll explore one winery, each with a signature grape variety, in the three regions we visited. Going from north to south, we’ll travel together to Naousa, Nemea, and lastly the island of Santorini. To add gravitas to this topic, my favorite MW, Mary Gorman, will offer her perspective on the future of Greek wines. And to reward you for staying until the end of class, we’ll wrap up with a Greek wine “cheat sheet” created by sommelier, wine educator, marketer and raconteur extraordinaire, Anthony Giglio. Given there is so much to say, we’ll divide this discussion into two posts.
History
Last time on TarteTatinTales, we talked about Greek wines’ long history going back to the Minoans some 3000 years ago. At this time, as well as during the later Ancient Greece era, wine was stored in amphorae. These pottery vessels were sealed with pine resin to protect the wine from oxidation. Traditionally, wine was flavored with herbs or even resin, too, once the ancient winemakers discovered people liked the taste beyond its practical application. From the onset of Greece’s wine culture, the beverage was diluted with water. In fact, it was considered barbaric to drink wine at full strength.
While wine was an integral part of life way back then, especially for celebrating the gods, modern Greek wine has had a much less illustrious history. In the 20th century, not much happened thanks to the World Wars and phylloxera. During this period, Greece was mainly a source of cheap, bulk wines. Nasty pine flavored Retsina ruled. However, starting in the 1970’s a small group of serious producers took the risk of bottling better wines to sell locally.
By the time Greece entered the EU in the 1980’s and received a huge influx of funding, its wine industry took a major upswing in quality. Now in the 21st century, the country can lay claim to a growing number of high quality, premium producers with an increased focus on estate wines, many of them organically or biodynamically made. However, only recently were these better wines available outside of the country. The fact is that once Greece’s financial crisis hit, starting around 2009, locals were forced to lower their consumption. Only then were producers forced to look to the export market to sell their product.
Greece’s wine renaissance—while still on a small scale—has been to every wine lover’s benefit. We are talking about a serious price/quality relationship. Why? Because only a handful of us knows how extraordinary Greek wines can be.
Many of the country’s younger generation of wine makers have studied abroad bringing home their new knowledge to their own indigenous grape varieties—all 300 of them! Subsequently, the country has made tremendous strides of late. New estates with the latest wine-making technology are cropping up everywhere. These are exciting times for Greece’s wine industry. Shortly we’ll meet some of the key players driving this “reset.”
Geography
Most of Greece’s wine regions have a Mediterranean climate with long, hot, and dry summers. The remaining inland regions have a more moderate Continental climate. Given mountains cover 70-80 % of the county, most vineyards are planted on hills or mountain slopes. This high altitude-growing helps moderate the summer and early fall’s high temperatures. Additionally, the country’s geographic proximately to water provides it with cool sea breezes, another important moderating factor. Ironically, these two natural conditions result in an advantageous environment for organic and biodynamic grape growing.
Some fun facts for your next cocktail party “Did you know?” conversation: Greece has 66,000 hectares under vine. That’s about half the size of Bordeaux’s wine-growing area. It has 145,000 growers with an average vineyard size of one acre. Most of these small growers sell their grapes to other wineries or wine cooperatives. Greece’s annual production hovers at 2.8 million hectoliters. This represents less than half of what Portugal made last year. Greece has 33 “PDOs” or Protected Designation of Origin, like France’s AOC or appellations of controlled origin designation. Got it? Good. Let’s move on.
I was curious to know how Paddy Nicholls, our wine country tour “curator,” selected the wineries for our trip. She candidly explained the genesis of the trip. “I decided to go ahead with a wine tour to Greece after reading an article about Santorini and its dynamic Assyrtiko wines written by Jancis Robinson in the Financial Times. I always cross reference producers with Hugh Johnson's Pocket Guide before I contact the ones I have a feeling about. A French importer of biodynamic wines highly recommended Thymiopolous wines to me. He put me in direct touch with the winemaker and owner, Apostolos Thymiopolous.” That personal connection made the difference or our group as the winemaker himself—a virtual whirling dervish of youthful talent, vision, and nervous energy—hosted us for our maiden voyage in Greek wine country.
Naousa: Region # 1
After several wrong turns in precariously difficult terrain for a hulky tour bus to maneuver, we finally found the dirt road leading to Apostolos Thymiopolous’s Naousa-based biodynamic winery.
Located in Macedonia in northern Greece, the region of Naousa is best known for its dark red/black Xinomavro (pronounced ksee-no-mav-roe) grape. This variety with distinctive, rich tannins produces wines loaded with juicy red fruit flavors, hints of olive, and herbal notes. Depending on how local winemakers vinify the grape, Xinomavro can remind one of either a lighter Pinot Noir or a more robust Italian Nebbiolo. Both styles have great aging potential.
But, back to our visit! While we were late for our appointment at Thymiopolous, its winemaker was even later apparently still trudging through the vineyards when we arrived. After a short and somewhat awkward wait, Apostolos bounded up the outdoor terrace stairs where our tasting was set up. A burly, 45-year-old man, with a mass of unruly, brown curls and a beard flecked with grey, welcomed us with a full throated “Kalos irthate!” Immediately he switched to almost fluent English which he delivered at rapid-fire speed. It was obvious that this man had things to do and places to go. We were just one activity on his heavy schedule that day.
Apostolos was dressed casually in a dark blue cotton shirt with rumbled grey slacks and boots covered with vineyard dust. His magnetic personality was coupled with his excitement to showcase his talent before a group of serious wine fans. He spoke so quickly that I missed his reference to being Decanter Magazine’s “Rising Star” in 2022. But even without this impressive credential, tasting his stunning wines was proof enough that this was an exceptional, terroir-focused winemaker. His signature style, as described by the UK wine merchant Ben Greene is one of “harmony, a fine balance and tannin management.” Precisely.
Apostolos explained that for generations his family owned a small vineyard which sold its grapes to local wineries. As a child he loved working in the vineyard. After high school, he went to the University of Athens to study oenology, the first in his family to have a college degree. Upon graduating he opened a wine shop in Thessaloniki, Greece’s second largest city and capital of his region. Here, he had access to wines from all over the world to taste plus the opportunity to learn firsthand about consumer preferences.
When his father and brother died in quick succession, he closed the wine shop, took over the family grape-growing business, and before long was making his own wine. He struck up a friendship with Hatzidakis, the most influential winemaker in Greece at the time. The two men traveled extensively throughout Europe visiting other biodynamic farms to pick up ideas.
Apostolos’ first release was in 2005 with the 2003 vintage of “Earth and Sky.” This flagship wine is 100% Xinomavro made from a blend of his best parcels of vineyards which are planted on limestone with schist and clay topsoil. At $35 a bottle, this wine which is reminiscent of a fine Barolo with great aging potential, is a steal.
Using the same Xinomavro grape, Apostolos produces a lighter, fresher-styled red called “Jeunes Vignes” (or young vines) which resembles more a Pinot Noir, or as Paddy thought, a young Barbaresco. In fact, she bought a bottle to taste blind with her friends back home in France. She was convinced no one would ever believe it was a Greek wine! At under $20 a bottle, I plan to order a case!
The wine I found most intriguing was a 2019 Xinomavro rosé which Apostolos fermented in old oak barrels and then aged it in dark green bottles. He wanted to demonstrate that a rosé wine from Xinomavro grapes could age. On first impression, the wine smelled of asparagus, tomato, and ripe apricots. Later a complex nose of prosciutto developed as this wine already had four years in the bottle. Unlike most light, summery rosés meant for easy quaffing poolside, this wine had serious structure and a long aftertaste. Certainly, this was a wine capable of standing up to something substantial such as a grilled veal chop. Perhaps even a steak?
As a comparison, we also tasted the current 2022 vintage of his rosé which was lighter, slightly less complex but equally delightful. For his rosés, Apostolos macerates his grapes for 12 hours before fermentation in stainless steel tanks. Then, he ages the wine for four months in second-use barrels.
When we questioned his choice of dark bottles for his rosé wine, Apostolos scoffed. “Most rosés are bottled in transparent glass to show off the color. It’s pure marketing.” After all, he reminded us that a clear bottle lets through ultraviolet light which can affect both the wine’s color and its aromas.
Today, not only does Apostolos produce knockout delicious, world-class wines—which he also sells to multiple export markets—but he has become the leading ambassador for Greece’s new quality wines. We were told, if you can’t find him in the vineyards, you’ll find him in his car or on an airplane. No matter where, this man is going places!