Greece has a long and outstanding history of winemaking, making it one of the oldest wine-producing regions in the world. Greek wines had a poor reputation until the early 1990s when inventive improvements in vineyard management and winemaking led to an increase in the quality of both classic favourites and some recently revived ancient styles.
Today, this Mediterranean coastal nation provides a dizzying assortment of intriguing wines made from a variety of distinctive native grape varietals grown by a rising number of ktimas (the Greek term for estates). These wines are finally making their mark on the global wine scene and are becoming more widely accessible to wine drinkers everywhere. You can explore the following popular Greek wine kinds and styles to get started in this age-old but seemingly modern category. They are lively, distinctive, and food-friendly.
History Of Greek Wine And Top Producers
Greek wine is made all around the nation, from the sunny Aegean Islands to the hilly northern regions. Greece is one of the oldest nations to have produced wine, having done so for more than 6,500 years. Trade-in wine was one of the most renowned and significant industries back then.
The Aegean Islands, Central Greece, Crete, Epirus, the Ionian Islands, Macedonia, Peloponnese, and Thessaly are Greece's eight principal wine-producing regions. There are many smaller regions inside each of these large regions. Similar to the AOP, IGP, and Vin de France categories used in France, Greek wine regions are recognised as PDOs (Protected Geographical Origins), PGIs (Protected Geographic Identifications), and Epitrapezios Oinos (table wines).
Production
Greek wine covers a gamut of colours, styles, and flavour profiles. With varying levels of dryness or sweetness, Greece produces still and sparkling wines. Retsina, on the other hand, is a traditional Greek wine with a pine resin flavour.
The Flavour Profile
The grapes used and the particular regions in which they are grown have a significant impact on the flavour profiles of Greek wines, as they do with wines from any other nation. While sea-tinged whites from the country's southern islands will have significantly more saline-driven characteristics, wines made in the mountainous regions of northern Greece are typically quite rustic.