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.


©Wine -- Mise en abyme

Greek Wines: Santorini and Beyond (A conversation with Yiannis Karakasis MW), Part 1

I held an InstaLive Chat session with Yiannis Karakasis on April 17th, the topic of which was Greek Wines: Santorini and Beyond. Given the wealth of information shared by Yiannis, I thought it important to provide the details of that conversation on this platform.

We began with background information on Yiannis. He was an officer in the Hellenic Navy where he served as a helicopter pilot. He was pursuing his WSET Diploma  while serving and made the decision to leave the military to concentrate on his wine studies. This was a big risk. He was rewarded, though, in that he was able to earn his MW in four years. Since attaining the MW he has been mostly educating, consulting, and writing about Greek and Cypriot wines. The most important thing for him currently is communicating his passion about Greek wines.

In terms of the positioning of Greek wines today, Yiannis sees the industry as being in a better place than it was 10 years ago. We have heard, says Yiannis, the Santorini story, but it is a niche market for initiated people and Somms in fine restaurants to whom Greek wines are important. The industry has a long way to go to attain his goal of it being the first alternative after France, Italy, and Spain in terms of recognition and quality. They will not play in the quantity game because production is 2.1 million hL annually. Greek wine can move towards this point with a lot of work in the vineyard.

Greek wine cannot become mainstream if we cannot expand the discussion beyond Santorini to other terroirs, other varieties. Santorini always works because they produce great wine; but there is more. He thinks that they should be focusing on these new stories, on new terroirs and new varieties. When people taste wines from Naousa, Nemea, or Keffalonia, they are immediately connected to those places.

We are only at the beginning of the terroir discussion in Greece, he said. There is some discussion in Naousa, and the beginning of a discussion in Nemea; but why are there not more single-vineyard offerings in the latter, the largest PDO in Greece. Currently there are only two or three producers crafting single-vineyard offerings in Nemea. Sigalis and a few other winemakers are producing single-vineyard wines in Santorini.

It is important that producers come up with single-vineyard offerings so that they can be sampled over time and see where they are going. Yiannis will be querying the growers in upcoming discussions (the lockdown willing) as to what are the constraints to providing these types of offerings. The single-vineyard discussion, though, is for the "sophisticated" among us. We still need to get people comfortable with three or 4 varieties at the consumer level.

In terms of important terroirs he pointed out the North, with its four PDOs for Xinomavro, the Peloponnese and Assyrtiko, the Mainland for Savatiano, and Crete for Vidiano (white) and Liatiko (red). Further, in Crete we can talk about international varieties becoming local. For example, the Rhone varieties (Syrah, Grenache, Mourvedre) have adapted beautifully to the terroir. The Grenache from Manousakis, for example, is a different Grenache, elegant and refined. If you go to Keffalonia, the western portion is prime territory for Robola and Mavrodaphne while Assyrtiko dominates to the east.

There are 230 varieties recorded in the database, according to Yiannis, but there may be 230 more undiscovered. But discussion of new varieties may be complicating things more than they should be at this time. People wanting to begin an exploration of Greek wines should begin with four or so varieties: Assyrtiko, Malagousia (or, maybe, Moschofilero), Agiorgitiko, and Xinomavro. If you go deeper into red wines, there are too many stories. He is finding new discoveries every day in the "Greek wine book."

I will continue with Part 2 of the discussion on the morrow.

©Wine -- Mise en abyme

Tasting the wines of Dougos Winery (Larissa, Greece) with Yiannis Karakasis MW and Thanos Dougos at Ammos (NYC)

I have visited, and written about, a fair number of North Greece wineries so when Yiannis Karakasis MW invited me to join him at a Dougos Winery wine-tasting dinner in New York City, I jumped at the opportunity to support him, as well as to add to my knowledge base of the region and its wines.

The dinner was held on Monday night of this week at Ammos, a Greek restaurant located at 52 Vanderbilt Avenue in New York City. The restaurant has a cozy bar oppsite the entrance, a main dining area to the left of the bar, and a small banquet/meeting room one level up. The banquet room has a U-shaped seating configuration and a large-screen TV to support video presentations if required. The dinner was held in this room.

I arrived a little early so I sat at the bar and renewed my acquaintance with the Wine Art Estate Malagouisa. Yiannis arrived a little while later and we had a joyous reunion. At this time he introduced me to Thanos, the owner of Dougos Winery.

After a while we were summoned upstairs for the dinner and tasting. Before I describe the event, some background on the region and the winery.

The Region
The wines featured in the tasting are primarily associated with the Rapsani PDO appellation. Rapsani is a protected designation of origin (PDO) in the Greek appellation schema. Its physical and legal characteristics are elaborated in the chart below.

The vineyards proper are located on the southern slopes of Mount Olympus and its "mainland mediterranean" climate is modified by the surrounding mountains and forests as well as by the Thermaic Gulf of the Aegean Sea. One of the heralded aspects of the environment is the 10 - 15 ℃ temperature variation between day and night, a condition which, it is held, "enhances phenolic ripeness and aromatic concentration of the grapes."

The Estate
Dougos Winery was founded in 1991 and is currently managed by Thanos (agriculturalist) and Louiza (chemist and oenologist) Dougos. It is located in the Tempi Valley at the foot of Mt Olympus while its 30 ha of vineyards are situated in Prosilia and Tourtoura (on the mountain's northeast slope) at elevations ranging between 550 and 700m. The vineyard soils are a iron-rich sand-clay mix over a schist subsoil.

The vineyards are farmed organically and sports yields of between 5 and 8 tons/ha from a mix of Greek (Xinomavro, Krasato, Stavroto, Limniona, Roditis, Assyrtiko) and international (Syrah, Grenache rouge, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc) varieties.

The Tasting

We were called to order and Yiannis and Thanos introduced to the group (They began smiling shortly after the picture below was snapped).

Yiannis Karakasis MW and Thanos Dougos

After a short video on the winery, and prior to the first dishes being brought out, Yiannis conducted a Masterclass on some old Dougos vintages.

The first wine tasted was the Rapsani PDO 2014. This wine is a blend of Xinomavro (40%), Krasato (40%), and Stavroto (20%). The grapes are fermented in stainless steel tanks and then transferred to barrels for malolactic fermentation and aging. The wine is aged for 12 months in French and American oak and an additional 12 months in bottle.

The wine showed tomato, red fruit, spices, meat, and leather. Red fruit on the palate. Late-arriving tannins. According to Yiannis, the wine can be drunk early but is best after 3 years. He mentioned that this had been a challenging vintage with unripe tannins. He referred to it as "a classic vintage."

Next up was the 2010 Rapsani PDO Old Vines, a mix of 65% Xinomavro, 25% Krasato, and 10% Stavroto. The vines here are 65 years old. Fermentation same as for the Rapsani PDO but aging is 16 months in 25% new French oak. Bottle aging for 1 year. Yiannins identified this as a ripe vintage. Black fruit, leather, and baking spices on the nose. Lean and complete on the palate. Ripe tannins. Understated power.

The 2011 Rapsani PDO Old Vines showed tomato paste, tomato leaf, leather, and earth on the nose. Fully developed. Licorice, dark fruit, tomato, and iron on the palate.

The 2012 Old Vines exhibited complexity on the nose: brown shoe polish, spice, licorice, and baking spices. Granny's attic on nose and palate. Lengthy finish.

The wine of the night was the 2008 Meth'Imon Opsimo. This is a blend of equal parts Limniona, Syrah, and Grenache rouge. This wine was advertised as being made in an Amarone style. But it was much more balanced with no overt sweetness or alcohol. Complex. Salinity and savoriness on both the nose and palate. Lengthy finish. A pleasure to drink.

At the conclusion of the Masterclass the dinner service began. The meal reminded me of my trip through North Greece where I was always told that we would be having a light lunch, or  pre-lunch, and I would come away feeling as though I had eaten a dinosaur. The food was excellent but it was too much. We had what I considered as three appetizers and two main courses plus dessert. I quit halfway through the first of the main courses. By the way, I normally eat at Milos whenever I am in NYC; going forward Ammos is going to get a lot of my time. High-quality food and service.

Crispy zucchini fritters, graviera and feta cheese,
mint evoo, tzatziki

Crispy calamari with lemon caper aioli

Maryland lump crab cake with lemon caper aioli

Slowly cooked lamb shank in a homemade tomato
sauce over Greek orzo casserole

Grilled rack of lamb over traditional Greek
gigandes

Wonderful tasting. Yiannis and Thanos deserve combat pay for managing through a couple of attendees who wanted to evaluate each wine (loudly) on its by-the-glass potential.


©Wine -- Mise en abyme