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Greece Flashcards

(24 cards)

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1
Q

History and Business

A
  • long wine producing history –> spread through Europe (top 500BC) –> first wine laws
  • substances added for flavour (fe pine resin –> retsina)
  • 200BC part of RomanEmpire –> less export, decline
  • Ottoman empire, balkan wars, WW, phylloxera
    –> further decline
    –> cheap, poorly made wine (retsina)
  • 1980s: rise in small, quality producers (often domestic)
  • since financial criss in 2008 –> push to export (growth), now at 11% (Germany, USA and Canada)
  • decreasing production
  • often great value
  • problem: lots of unfamiliar grape varieties, but also USP
  • labels now often printed in latin (not Greek)
  • greek consumers often prefer international varieties
  • promoation through Wines of Greece
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2
Q

Climate in Greece

A

Latitude 34-42N

Climate: Mediterranean (some continental inland –> spring frost)

Influences:
- mountains –> altitude –> moderates temp (fe Amyndeon, Mantinia)
- coast –> moderating
- strong winds (fe Santorini) –> disrupt flowering, stop photosynthesis, delay ripening, destroy vines, increase water stress

Rain: varies
–> Santorini dry
–> **400-700 mm **elsewhere (mostly winter) –> water stress risk –> irrigation essential

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3
Q

Soil in Greece

A

Varied
- limestone –> low fertility
- vulcanic –> low fertility
- fertile plains

often fertile soils kept for other crops –> low yields –> quality

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4
Q

Vineyard Management in Greece

A
  • grape growing also for table grapes and drying
    very small vineyards –> growers sell to large producers –> hand work (small terrain, machine not feasable)
  • tricky terrain –> hand work
  • mix traditional and modern –> EU –> investment in machinery in 1970s
  • dry –> organic and biodanamic viticulture easy
  • usually trellised (cordon trained with VSP), exception Santorini (wind and dry)
  • irrigation permitted, especially for international varieties (local varieties are drought resistant) –> drip system
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5
Q

Grape Varieties in Greece

A

Typical: many local varieties (90% of total), around 300
- Roditis
- Savatiano
- Agiorgitiko
- Muscat of Hamburg
- White Muscat
- Merlot
- Moschofilero
- Assyrtiko

–> international varieties often blended, fe SB with Assyrtiko and Merlot with Xinomavro

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6
Q

Rotidis in Greece

A
  • Budding
  • Ripening
  • Where grown
  • Characteristics: white, pink skinned, high yielding, usually for inexpensive wines or blending (retsina), now some higher quality
  • Advantages
  • Risks
  • Colour:
  • Intensity
  • Flavours: ripe fruit, melon
  • Acidity: high
  • Body: med
  • Tannins
  • Alcohol
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7
Q

Savatiano in Greece

A
  • Budding
  • Ripening
  • Where grown
  • Characteristics: the workhorse, white, drought resistant –> volume (incl retsina), improved quality (from low yield bush vines)
  • Advantages
  • Risks
  • Colour:
  • Intensity
  • Flavours: citrus, pear and stone fruit, nutty (with age)
  • Acidity
  • Body
  • Tannins
  • Alcohol
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8
Q

Assyrtiko in Greece

A
  • Budding
  • Ripening
  • Where grown
  • Characteristics: white, prized, high acidity even when ripe, can age, also for Vinsanto (lusciously sweet), some oak
  • Advantages
  • Risks
  • Colour:
  • Intensity
  • Flavours: citrus, stone and tropical, smokey, flint, oak
  • Acidity: high
  • Body: fuller
  • Tannins
  • Alcohol: high
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9
Q

Moschofilero in Greece

A
  • Budding
  • Ripening
  • Where grown: Mantinia in Peloponnese
  • Characteristics: white, prized, quality, pink skinned –> pink tinge), some roses
  • Advantages
  • Risks
  • Colour:
  • Intensity
  • Flavours: citrus, flowers (rose), spices
  • Acidity: high
  • Body: light
  • Tannins
  • Alcohol: medium (relatively low at 12%)
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10
Q

Malagousia in Greece

A
  • Budding
  • Ripening
  • Where grown: allover
  • Characteristics: white, quality, growth, fermented in SS or oak
  • Advantages
  • Risks
  • Colour:
  • Intensity: complex and intense
  • Flavours: stone fruit and flowers, some herbal or herbacous (cool sites)
  • Acidity: med
  • Body: med
  • Tannins
  • Alcohol
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11
Q

Agiorgitiko in Grece

A
  • Budding
  • Ripening
  • Where grown: mostly Peloponnese (PDO Nemea)
  • Characteristics: red, versatile (light fruity vs complex and rose, sweet)
  • Advantages
  • Risks
  • Colour: deep
  • Intensity
  • Flavours: ripe red fruit, jammy (if extra ripe), sweet spices, often oak
  • Acidity: med
  • Body
  • Tannins: med to high, soft
  • Alcohol: med
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12
Q

Xinomavro in Greece

A
  • Budding
  • Ripening
  • Where grown: Northern Greece (esp Naoussa)
  • Characteristics: black, most prized, a bit like Nebbiolo, best with long bottle age, best low yields and oak age, now some fresher styles (later harvest, less extraction, new oak), sometimes blended with Merlot to soften
  • Advantages
  • Risks
  • Colour: pale, turn garnet rapidly
  • Intensity
  • Flavours: vegetal (in youth), flowers, herbs, spices, leather, earthiness (with age)
  • Acidity: very high (unpleasant in youth)
  • Body
  • Tannins: grippy (in youth)
  • Alcohol
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13
Q

Winemaking in Greece

A
  • trad foot crushing and fermentation in old casks (oak or chestnut)
    now: modernisation –> modern presses, temp control, SS, more new oak barriques (white and red) from French oak, some American oak –> now more restrained
  • trend: traditional techniques: fe ambient yeast, shorter extraction, maturation in amphora, experiementation with lees contact
  • tradition for sweet wines (sun dried grapes)
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14
Q

Retsina

A
  • in Greece
  • use of pine resin to preserve wine (since Ancient Greece)
    often cheaply and badly made
  • some high quality examples
  • usually from the hot central plains
  • varieties: usually Savatiano and Roditis
  • usually added to the must, left on the lees for a week –> sublte integrated resin
  • quality standards introduced (min acdity, permitted alc), not classified as wine (as it is not made exclusively from grapes)
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15
Q

Wine Law and Regulation in Greece

A
  • follows EU
    Levels:
  • **Wines from Greece **(no geographical indication) –> for volume
  • 120 PGEs (PGI) - 17% of total –> less strict rules, international varieties
  • 33 POPs (PDO) - 8% of total
    –> rules for grape growing and winemaking (yields, varieties, ageing), usually for native varieties only
  • also: OKP: for traditional products such as Retsina
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16
Q

Principal Wine Regions in Greece

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A

Macedonia
- Naoussa
- Amynteo

Peloponnese
- Nemea
- Mantinia

The Islands
- Santorini

17
Q

Macedonia Overview

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A
  • Norhtern Greece
  • trad: red wine
  • large area –> variations
    Areas:
    1. Mountains in the North
  • Climate: Continental
  • Influences: altitude: rel cool, rain throught the year (650-700mm) –> less drought
    –> areas
  • Naoussa and Amyntheo –> 100% Xinomavro
  • Drama Valley –> bordeaux style blends (high qual, full body, modern)
  • other: Chard and SB at altitude,
  • Drama and Kavala (full bodied, ripe Assyrtiko and Malagousia, good to VG) PGI
  1. Plains in the East
    - Climate: warm mediterranean
    - Influences: mountain –> rain shadow –> drier
    - fertile soils –> volume
    - best quality from Drama and Kavala PGI (good to VG)
18
Q

Naoussa PDO

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A
  • in Macedonia, Northern Greece
    Climate: rel cool continental
    Influences: Mt Vermio –> altitude (150-500m), wind shelter
    –> many soils and microclimates (topography and talitude)
    –> trend for single vineyard wines

Grape Varieties: 100% Xinomavro

  • trad aged in large old wood –> pronounced spicy, meaty rather than fruity
  • 1990s: french oak barriques –> firmer tannins, more body, oaky
  • now; more restrained (riper fruit, cold soaking, whole bunches
    –> deeper colour, less tannic)

–> high acidity, high tannins, great complexity, longevity, mid priced (some premium), good to oustanding

–> fe Thymiopoulos Vineyards, Kir Yianni

Outside PDO: good quality rose, red blends of Xinomavro and Merlot

19
Q

Amynteo PDO

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A
  • In Macedonia in Northern Greece
    climate: rel cool continental
    Influences:
  • **Mt Vermio ** –> altitude (even higher than Naoussa at 570-750m), northerly aspect –> cold winds –> cooler, site selection crucial
  • lakes –> warming, incrased humidity –> rot risk, fertile soil –> yield control necc, some spring frost

soil: sandy –> no phylloxera –> old vines –> concentration

–> 100% Xinomavro
–> lighter, lower tannins, distinctive floral than Naoussa, mid priced, good to VG (some outstanding)

–> for non PDO wines: Merlot blended with Xinomavro

fe Alpha Estate

20
Q

Peloponnese

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A
  • Southern Greece Mainland
    Influences:
  • mountains
    –> poor, rocky soils,
    –> altitude –> moderation,
    –> some flat areas arpimd Patra –> hotter, more fertile
  • sea –> westerly wind, some rain

Traditionally: white grapes (Moschofiliero and Roditis)

Main areas:
- Nemea (red grapes)
- Mantinia

Outside of PDO: volume production, international varieties, some quality from Aigialia slopes

21
Q

Nemea PDO

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A
  • Peleponnese, Greece mainland
    Climate: mediterranean
    Influence: Altitude
    Rain: variable 400-900mm (mainly autumn and winter) –> vintage variations, risk autumn rains –> harvest dates

Zones:
- **Valley floor **(230-400): hottest, fertile –> inexpensive, volume or sweet
- **Middle Zone **(450-650m): cooler, best quality, poor, free draining soils –> limits yields, slower sugar accumiulation, range of microclimates
- highest Zone (650 - 1000m): Agiorgitiko struggles to ripen –> high acidity, fresh fruit, harsh tannins –> rose production

  • **100% Agiorgitika **(dry or sweet)
  • 1990s: more french barriques, now more restrained use of oak
  • new style: semi carbonic maceration –> more fruit, rel low tannins
  • acc to good (volume) to VG to outstanding (quality) with premium or super premium, fe Gai aWines and Tselepos
22
Q

Mantinia PDO

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A
  • Mainland Greece, Pelopennese
  • Plateau at 600m –> altitude –> cooling (one of the coolest in Greece) –> risk unripe grapes
  • white wines only (min 85% Maschofilero)
    –> usually: high acidity, low to med alc, med minus to med body, floral, slightly spicy, SS fermentation, young, mid priced, good to VG
    –> fe Boutari, Semeli Estate
23
Q

The Islands in Greece

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A
  • long tradition, indigenous grapes
    Influences: strong winds
    Very low rainfall
    Soil: rocky, poor water retention
    –> difficult conditions –> expensive –> sold for tourist development

most known: Santorini (Cyclades), Paros, Tinos, Samos and Lemnos, Crete

24
Q

Santorini

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A
  • Greek Island

Influences: strong winds –> trained low to the ground in basket shape in a hollow (every 20 years replaced with new basekt) –> speicalist labour –> now experiments with VSP in sheltered areas

Rain: very little, but fog from the caldera –> basket traps the moisture –> very low planting density
Volcanic soils –> infertile –> low vigour, low yields (allowed 60 hl/ha, but reallity 15 hl/ha)
No phylloxera - very old vines (up to 400 years old)

Dry or sweet Assyrtiko (min 75%)
- dry: high acidity, med to high alcohol, smoky character, fruit, honey, toast (from bottle age, up to 10 years), usually fermentation at low temp in SS, some experimentation with new oak and lees contact, good to outstanding, mit to premium
- sweet: Vinsanto: late harvest grapes, dried in the sun, aged 2 years in oak (often longer) –> raisin, coffee and chocolate, high sugar (200-300 g/l), high acidity, VG to outstanding, super premium

–> good reputaiton for export, fe Estate ARgyros, Domaine Sigalas

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