The Muscat wines of Samos, Greece

The Muscat grape is one of the oldest and most widespread grape families in the world, splitting, as it did, from the main branch of vitis vinifera some 10,500 years ago. The, predominantly, white wine has a pronounced aromatic quality due to the higher-than-average presence of aroma compounds in the berry. The most planted of the over 200 cultivars in the family are Muscat Blanc á Petits Grains and Muscat of Alexandria and my survey of these cultivars began with a review of the former as implemented in the wines of Asti DOCG. In this post I continue the survey with a review of the Muscat wines of Samos, Greece.

Lying just 1 mile off the western coast of Turkey, the Greek North Aegean island of Samos shows occupation layers back to Neolithic times, has been ruled by every historical Western Asia great power, and is, today, one of the world renowned producers of wines from the Muscat grape.

Samos is the birthplace of notables such as Pythagoras (Greek philosopher and mathematician) Melissus of Samos (philosopher), Epicurus (philosopher), and Aristarchus of Samos (astronomer) and is the location of historically significant sites such as the Pythagorian and the Heraion of Samos. 

While the wines of Samos have been praised by Hippocrates and Theophiastos, it is unlikely that the mentioned wines were from the Muscat variety. The island was repopulated with peoples from all across Greece in the latter half of the 16th century and, according to samosin.gr (Viniculture at Samos), it is most likely that the Muscat grape was first brought to the island from Asia Minor around this time. According to the same source, the Muscat wine of Samos was first mentioned in the poem of Kaisarios Daponte (1714 - 1784) a priest and scholar from Skopelos.

History

In the early 18th century, Samos Muscat was traded to nearby Chios, Rhodes, Smyrna, and Constantinople. By mid-century it had reached the Russian market in Odessa and Taganrog. There is mention of a 3000-barrel Muscat wine production on the island in 1787 by a German named Friesman.

There was a decrease in production during the 1821 War of Independence but, overall, there were improvements in wine production and consumption during the 19th century. The French winemaker Faye was called to the island by the Government to teach advanced grapegrowing and winemaking techniques to Samian farmers. Shortly after, a young Samian was sent to France to learn winemaking techniques which he was expected to share with fellow winemakers upon his return.

During this period trade links expanded into the Ottoman Empire, Egypt, Italy, Netherlands, and France and foreign companies settled on the island to be close to the grape sources.

There were significant vineyard losses during the latter half of the 19th century:

• Blight during the 1850s was ameliorated by the use of sulfur
• Phylloxera struck in 1892 and destroyed most of the vineyards, leading to a switch to tobacco
• Vineyards were restored with the introduction of American rootstocks.

The foreign companies that were established on the island had pricing power over the many small growers so formation of some type of Coop had been under consideration since 1865. However, such a Coop was not founded until 1934. The now named United Winemaking Agricultural Cooperative of Samos (UWC Samos) has 2000+ growers as members. UWC Samos receives the grapes, produces the wine, and trades almost the entire production.

Physical Environment

Samos is 45 km (30 miles) from east to west, with several distinct mountain formations running across it. The mountains are separated by plains and valleys, the former of which is populated by olive groves and citrus trees. Bushes, pine forests, plane trees, cypresses, and chestnuts round out the large-scale flora on the island.

The soils are gravel, schistolistic, well-drained and moderately fertile. No irrigation is allowed. 

There are over 1400 ha of vineyards distributed across the island, with most found on the north side between Karlovasi and the city of Samos, especially on the northern slopes of the centrally located Mount Ampelos where:

• Vines are protected from warm southerly winds
• Altitudes of up to 900 m temper the warm Mediterranean climate
• High diurnal temperature is the norm
• Slows ripening
• Aids development of aroma and character
• Allows acidity retention.

Ninety-eight percent of the vines are Muscat. Vineyards are mountainous and semi-mountainous with the best wines coming from sites located at altitudes between 500 and 600 m. The cup-shaped vines are grown on dry stone terraces which are designed to hold and drain soils. The traditional vineyard architecture is illustrated in the pictures below.

Terraced Samos vineyard (Source: samoswine.gr)

Close-up of Samos stone terraces
(Source: samoswine.gr)

Training of Samos Muscat vines
(Source: samoswine.gr)

Samos Wines

The sweet rich wines from Muscat Blanc á Petits Grains are among Greece's most famous, exported as they are around the world. These wines are produced centrally in the two UWC Samos wineries located in Malagari and Karlovasi, respectively. Karlovasi produces wine from grapes grown in the northern part of the island while the Malagari winery services the grapes grown elsewhere. The Malagari site also serves as the home of the Samos Wine Museum.

UWC of Samos produces around 5 million liters of wine annually with 70% of the production exported to 25 countries. Ninety-eight percent of the wine produced is white with the remainder reds from varieties including Ritino, Fakiano, and Avgoustiatis. The sweet wines produced by the Coop are illustrated in the chart below.

The Coop does produce some dry wines (e.g., Samaina, a dry Rosé from two rare reds, and a Retsina) but they are less prominent.

Trends

Writing on Giannis Karakasis MW's Greek Wine Explained (10/28/20), Evangelie Kostaki noted a few key trends as regards Samos wine:

• Between 2012 and 2020, a number of new wineries had "popped up" and the newer ones were run by "young people"
• Creation of new wine styles
• Single-vineyard wines versus cross-island wines
• Muscat Nature Selection
• Dry wines
• Samos embracing the potential of producing quality dry wines from Muscat Blanc á Petits Grains
• Vineyard changes
• Uproot vineyards in the plains
• Close to the sea
• Diseases tend to flourish due to high humidity
• Heavy, fertile soil with high water-holding capacity not ideal for highest quality wines
• Plantings sporadically increasing in semi-mountainous areas
• Better aeration
• Large diurnal range
• Sufficient ripening.

©Wine -- Mise en abyme

Fonterenza (Sant'Angelo in Colle, Montalcino, Tuscany): Wines and winemaking

Fonterenza is located in Sant’Antimo in Colle, southeast of the town of Montalcino, where they planted their first vines in 1999. In addition to the vines on Montalcino, the sisters have been purchasing grapes from old vineyards on Mt Amiata and recently invested in their own vineyard on the mountain. In my most recent post I discussed the physical environment of the Fonterenza estate. In this post I round out the picture of the enterprise by describing its winemaking practices and wines.

Fonterenza produces eight wines (shown below): three whites, one Rosato, and four reds.

White Wines

All of the Fonterenza white wines are made with some degree of skin contact and all are IGT. The Bianco IGT is a blend of Ansonica, Trebbiano, Malvasia Toscana, and Malvasia di Candia sourced from a vineyard -- La Casa -- located in Capalbio on the Tuscan coast. The organically farmed, 60-year-old vines are co-planted in sandy, iron-rich soils. The first vintage of this wine was in 2018.

The Le Ragazze is a 50/50 blend of Vermentino and Malvasia Toscana made from organically farmed Mt Amiata grapes.

Biancospino is a Trebbiano varietal made with biodynamic fruit grown in the Casale Vineyard in Poggibonsi. Future plans call for the fruit to be sourced from the Ciliegi Vineyard on Mt Amiata.

Grapes for the white wines are hand-harvested, destemmed (partially, in the case of the Bianco), and gently pressed. The must is fermented spontaneously in stainless steel tanks (Bianco and Biancospino) and open vats (Le Ragazze) with no sulfur added. In the case of the Bianco, the must is a mix of whole cluster and destemmed fruit. The Bianco is macerated for 2 - 6 days and the Le Ragazze and Biancospino for 30 days each.

The aging regime for the wines are as follows:

• Bianco -- mix of old oak and cement
• Le Ragazze -- mix of tonneau, acacia barriques, terracotta, and steel tanks
• Biancospino -- 12 months in old oak.

The wines are all bottled without filtration.

Rosato

The Rosato is made from Sangiovese grapes sourced fro each of the estate's Montalcino vineyards. The wine is fermented by indigenous yeasts and remains on the skins for 20 hours. The wine is aged for 7 months in acacia barriques.

Red Wines

The red wines are all 100% Sangiovese (with the exception of Pettirosso, a blend of Sangiovese and Ciliegiolo) made with grapes sourced from the estate's Montalcino vineyards (except Pettirosso, the sourcing of which is illustrated in the chart below).

The Albarello grapes contributed to the Rosso di Montalcino until the decision was made to begin bottling the wine separately beginning in 2015.

The grapes for all of the Montalcino-based red wines are hand-harvested, with the Brunello di Montalcino taken in multiple passes. Once in the cellar, the grapes are destemmed and fermentation is initiated. The grapes are fermented spontaneously without temperature control, oenological products, or chemical/physical treatments. A variety of cap management techniques -- to include pumping over, delestage, manual punch downs, and submerged cap -- are employed. The grapes from the various Rosso di Montalcino vineyards are vinified separately but blended prior to aging. 

The fermentation and aging regimes are summarized below.

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The estate avers that its winemaking approach "preserves the characteristics of the vintage and express our terroir to the fullest." 

The diverse range of wines showcase the estate's versatility and dedication to expressing the unique characteristic of each variety and vineyard. From the skin-contact for the whites, to the lack of additives during the fermentation process, the estate demonstrates its commitment to minimal intervention to natural processes and minimal intervention

©Wine -- Mise en abyme

Is Fonterenza Tuscany's best kept secret?

I love both the story and the wines of Montalcino so whenever I get a recommendation of a must-try Brunello, I jump at it. Such was the case for the 2016 Fonterenza Brunello di Montalcino and I share my learnings about this wine in this post.

Fonterenza was founded in 1997 by Margherita Padovani and she was joined shortly thereafter by her twin sister Francesca. Neither of the sisters had any grape-growing or winemaking experience but the family owned property in Poggio San Polo, southeast of the town of Montalcino, and they planted their first vines here in 1999. In addition to the vines on Montalcino, the sisters have been purchasing grapes from old vineyards on Mt Amiata and recently invested in their own vineyard on the mountain. The chart below shows the properties from which the sisters source the grapes for their wines.

The Montalcino vineyards are located at elevations ranging between 420 and 450 m and are situated at the meeting point of the sea winds coming from the southwest and the cool currents from the north and northeast. The vines are protected from inclement weather by a combination of Mt Amiata and the forest surrounding the vineyard.

Early on in the process the sisters decided to pursue a minimal-intervention approach in their winemaking venture. That is represented in the vineyard by a biodynamic certification. All work in the vineyard is done by hand and diseases are treated with low doses of copper and sulfur and biodynamic solutions.

On the winemaking front, grapes are de-stemmed and vinified separately, depending on the source vineyard and intended wine type. Wines are fermented spontaneously in oak vats, 10-year-old tubs, or concrete tanks with no additives. Aging is conducted in large oak vats, oak barrels or cement tanks,

I tasted the 2016 edition of the winery's Brunello di Montalcino. This wine was introduced to me by one of my retailers who described the estate as "perhaps Tuscany's best kept secret."

The source vineyard for the wine is shown in the chart above. This wine was macerated for 20 - 30 days and was aged for 47 months in 20- to 50-hl vats. 

The wine was superb. A highly perfumed nose with ripe dark fruit, sage, underbrush, an intense and persistent beeswax, and pepper spice on the nose. It flowed beautifully over the palate. Balanced, with a rust character and a slatey minerality. Medium weight with a metallic finish which evolves to a dried tamarind over time. A beaut.

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I will cover the wines and winemaking of the estate in a subsequent post.

©Wine -- Mise en abyme

Grapevine diversification in Europe after the Western Asia domestication event

At this point, we know that there were two simultaneous domestications of vitis sylvestris approximately 11,000 years ago. We also know, based on the Dong, et al., study, that the Caucasian domesticate was not the mother of all European grapevines, being, instead, "a local effort confined to both sides of the Caucasian Mountains." We also know that the Syl-W ecotype of vitis sylvestris occupied ecological niches in Europe proper. 

Give the foregoing,  Dong, et al., needed to explore: (i) the diversification history of European wine grapevines and (ii) "when and how distinct grapevine ancestors formed in Europe with relevance to Syl-W introgressions." In this post I highlight the methodologies utilized to answer those questions and present the results.

The chart below illustrates the methodologies employed and selected results obtained.

The first observation coming out of the TreeMix analysis is evidence of a Syl-W introgression earlier than the occurrence of the Muscat split. The fingerprint of this introgression is present in all further splits. The study team screened the introgression tracts in CG3 to CG6 and found that 10 shared regions among these groups "contain genes that are involved in plant immunity, abiotic stress response and carbohydrate metabolism." This supports the position, according to the authors, that "introgression helps grapevines adapt to new environments and become more suitable for winemaking."

The Muscat split occurred within 500 years of the domestication event, suggesting that it took place within the confines of Western Asia. This split supported grapes for both consumption and winemaking. The modern-day characteristics of selected elements of the Muscat family are illustrated in the chart below.

Post the Muscat split, "... unique ancestries emerged in the Balkans, Iberia, and Western Europe with the help of V. sylvestris introgressions into CG1."

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How did the cultivars identified above make their way to Europe? I will answer that question in the next installment in this series.

©Wine -- Mise en abyme