“Vineyards and wines of modern Greece
Wine production in Greece reflects the country’s history. After the two world wars and the civil war, there was a major migration to Athens and abroad, and as a result, wine production found itself in a difficult situation. During the sixties, Greek wine production included branded wine, table wine and resin wine. In the early seventies, the first appellation contrôlée was granted in the Naoussa region and the first replantings of abandoned vineyards took place. Today, there are 29 appellations d’origine and over 70 vins de pays.
In 1981, Greece became a member of the European Union and obtained some of the funds needed to modernize vineyards and wineries. In the 1980s, Greece benefited from the most significant investment, enabling the establishment of small and medium-sized producers of terroir wines. The young generation of Greek oenologists who have graduated from French, Californian and Greek universities has enabled a great leap forward in quality.
LAND
Greek vineyards are divided into two categories:
– the vineyards of the islands
– the vineyards of western Greece, generally at altitudes of between 30 and 900 meters.
CLIMATE
The climate is mild Mediterranean, with strong continental influences in the mountainous and semi-mountainous regions.
PLUVIOMETRY
Rainfall is very unevenly distributed. For example, the volcanic island of Santorini is at the limit of the rainfall necessary for vine survival, with the equivalent of 200 ml per year, the Patras appellation (Peloponnese), 650 ml, and the Naoussa region (Macedonia), 900 ml. The majority of vineyards are not irrigated, and rainfall is a determining factor in the quality of the vintage and the balance of the vineyard.
SOL
There is a great diversity of soils, made up of limestone, sandy clay, volcanic ash, schist and marl. This mosaic of soils, together with the microclimate, results in the production of terroir wines.
AREA
The vineyards cover an area of 74,000 hectares.
PRODUCTION
Annual production is around 4 million hectolitres, putting us in sixth place in the European Union. There are 230 wineries in Greece, including 44 (19.1%) cooperative wineries and 186 (80.9%) independent wineries.
CEPAGES
We have an enormous wealth of grape varieties in our heritage. There are 200 vitis vinifera and 70 table grapes. The most important white wine varieties include: Assyrtico, Athiri, Debina, Malagousia, Malvasia, Moschofiero, Muscat, Robola, Roditis, Savatiano, Vilana. For red wine: Aghiorghitiko, Kotsifali, Liatiko, Limnio, Mandilari, Mavrodaphne, Xynomavro. And more recently, the introduction of cosmopolitan white wine varieties such as: Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon and Viognier.
VENDANGES
The harvest period is a long one. It begins in mid-August for white wines from the islands, mid-September for red wines, and ends in October in high-altitude regions.
TYPES
Greek wine production comprises 70% white wine (including resin wine), 5% rosé wine and 25% red wine.
There is a wide choice of different types of wine:
- light, lively, fruity white wines (alc. 11/12) harvested on hillsides with north/northwest exposure;
- dry, rich, heady white wines. These white wines should be drunk young, from 2 to 3 years, and 5 years for barrel-aged wines.
- light, fruity red wines that can be drunk between 2 and 5 years, ageing wines that can be kept between 5 and 15 years, particularly the high Nemea wine in the Peloponnese and the Naoussa in Macedonia;
- liqueur wines, produced with white grapes, naturally sweet wines, produced with sun-dried grapes, and naturally sweet wines with Muscat à petits grains and Assyrtico grapes, which age particularly well. The oldest bottle is from 1895, Vinsanto from Domaine Damigou, Oia Santorini, which I tasted in 1996 but which still needs to age. Its analysis shows residual sugar of 418 grs/liter, alc of 2.9 vol. with 14.8 grs/liter acidity (tartaric).
MARKETS
Thanks to significant Greek immigration and the establishment of some 6,000 Greek taverns in Germany, the export market to Germany has become the most important. Smaller, high-quality producers have recently developed, with strong growth in sales to Japan, Sweden and England. The competitive English market offers a huge opportunity for Greece. The only appellation that has penetrated the French market is liqueur wine from the island of Samos. Despite this, there are obstacles (little known to other exporting countries) due to the lack of government support. Exports are extremely costly for small and medium-sized producers, even though it is thanks to them that Greek quality wine has made a name for itself.
WHAT DOES THE FUTURE HOLD FOR GREEK QUALITY WINE?
Domestic consumption of resin wine (Retsina) is plummeting. This wine has become a folk wine that mainly satisfies the tourist market. The export market for this flavored wine is also shrinking. In addition, the export of quality wine (non-resinned) will be restricted as production is relatively small. The most important industry in Greece is tourism, worth US$ 8 billion (over 12 million tourists) a year. Thanks to the initiative of Greek wine producers, Agro-tourism is booming. “The Wine Routes of Macedonia”, a non-profit association, is already established and organizes visits to antique sites, medieval sites, nature reserves, wine-growing regions and cellar tastings. It has a rich cultural program including; the winegrowers’ festival with tasting of new wines held in Saint Tryphon on February 1, horse races through the town and vineyards of Naoussa on January 6 and other events during the autumn, such as the grape harvest festival.