Greek Wines: Santorini and Beyond (A conversation with Yiannis Karakasis MW), Part 2

In Part 1 of my conversation with Yiannis Karakasis MW, we covered existing and emerging Greek wine terroirs. The conversation continues and concludes in this post.

Vineyard plantings are approximately 55% white grape varieties and 45% red but, more importantly, 90 - 95% of the 65,000 ha are planted to indigenous varieties. This is important for us. We have carried the flag of indigenous vineyards for a lot of years. We are proud of our indigenous varieties.

In response to a question on the differences of Assyrtiko and Malagousia across geographic regions, Yiannis responded thusly. There are 2000 ha of Assyrtiko vines planted nationwide with 40 - 45% of the plantings in Santorini. If you have a scale with minerality on one side and fruit on the other, Santorini comes down hard on the minerality side with high minerality, saltiness, and evaporating smoke. If you go to mainland Greece, the Assyrtiko is broader, with more fruit. In the islands, the Assyrtiko is balanced between fruit and acidity.

In discussing emergent producers, Yiannis talked about waves of Greek wine producers. He saw the first wave as establishing the foundation of Greek wines and included producers such as Alpha Estate, Domaine Gerovassiliou, Ktima Kir Yianni, Ktima Pavlidis, Boutari, Sigalas, and Gaia. These were then followed by a second wave and a third wave, because we are always looking for something new (I have attached a link to Yiannis' 2016 article on a new generation of Greek winemakers here). What he is looking for are producers that are doing exciting new stuff. An example of that is Santor, the first biodynamic winery in Greece.

As it relates to the regions, most are limited in plantings. For example, Rapsani only covers 100 ha and Naousa 700 ha. Nemea, the largest PDO, only extends 2500 ha; and Santorini covers 1100 ha. He would like to see more things happening in the vineyard because everything starts from there. He is expecting to see more from Nemea in the future. Some of the areas where he expects to see new stuff happening include:

• Keffalonia
• Crete
• Peloponnese
• Several islands in the Aegean
• Rapsani
• Goumenisa.

There is an emphasis on producers going to high elevation vineyards both to change the expression of the variety as well as to combat climate change.

A lot of people are pursuing organic farming but he would like to see more. Fewer wineries are experimenting with biodynamics. Only one winery is certified in the country. They do need to do a lot more work in the vineyard. Especially in the areas of bush vines and clonal selection. He sees bush vines as a strategy to improve quality in the face of a changing climate.

In terms of varieties, you have to ask the question: Do we have a variety that can produce world class wines? Assyrtiko has answered that question. And we can say the same about top-quality Xinomavro. But Xinomavrio is a capricious variety, requiring extreme care in its handling in order to make top-quality wine. It requires good handling in the vineyard to attain phenolic ripeness and gentle handling in the winery in order to avoid a lot of aggressive tannins.

Beyond those two he thinks that:

• Agiorgitiko can produce world class within two or three years
• Robola cam produce top quality wines
• Liatiko can produce high-quality wines (as evidenced by the wines of Economou)
• Mavrodaphne can produce top quality, unique wines.

The top-level wines in Greece are mostly varietal. Xinomavro is blended in Goumenisa and Rapsani. While the law in Santorini allows for a minimum of 75% Assyrtiko, most of the wineries produce 100% wines.

He likes what he is seeing in the cellars:

• A lot of experimentation with old oak
• Moderate alcohol
• Amphorae and concrete as fermentation vehicles
• Low-intervention winemaking.

He is hoping that the natural wine regulations instituted in France is adopted by all the European countries such that confusion is minimized. There is some skin-contact wines being made in Crete, Attica, and in the north but people are still confused as to skin-contact and natural wines.

I asked about Retsina and Yiannis said "Will the real Retsina please stand up." The winemakers, he said, are using so little resin today that you cannot spot it in the wine. They go for elegant but if you don't spot the resin then you don't have Retsina. Retsina brings bad memories for a lot of people but we need to be proud of the really good Retsinas on the market.

The external markets (20%) for Greek wines are Germany (50% of exports), France, USA, Canada and the UK. The Germans are looking for inexpensive wines but beyond that, the wines are consumed in top restaurants in London, Paris, and New York. The wines are food-friendly and allow Somms to experiment freely.

As to how things will look post-lockdown, Yiannis shared that tourism is 15% of the Greek economy and, indirectly, 20 - 25%. If the lockdown ends towards the end of May, then they can work their way back slowly to where they were pre-lockdown. If it extends beyond that, "it's a big problem."

I wished him all the best on that Good Friday night in Athens and for the days to come. Thank you Yiannis.


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