Santorini, the well known Greek island, is famous for its Assyrtiko wines, made from vines grown with one of the most distinctive viticultural methods out there (the Santorini ‘kouloura’). This…
Greek wine: two Xinomavros from Markovitis
Xinomavro classifies as an interesting grape variety in my book. It makes wines that seem to taste a bit like Nebbiolo, and so it was a treat to try these…
Exploring the wines of Greece: 25 of my favourites
Last year I travelled to Greece and did a quick-fire exploration of some of the country’s top wines, aided by Giannis Siganos of wine shop and importer Mr Vertigo. It’s…
Fun in Athens: a wine shop and two wine bars
I really enjoyed Athens. On the first evening we popped into Mr Vertigo, a brilliant wine shop (and importing company) run by Giannis Siganos (above). He gave us a taste…
Greek wines on the world stage: a talk I gave in Athens
Here’s a written version of a talk I gave to Greek wine producers in Athens yesterday. It’s not exactly what I said (I never read talks); but rather it’s something…
A lovely Greek white, Semeli Mantinia Nassiakos 2013
I really liked this Greek white, which is a varietal Moschofilero, from grapes grown at 650 m altitude, made by Semeli winery in the Mantinia region. It has personality and…
Thymiopoulos Xinomavro
This is fabulous. It’s made by Apostolos Thymiopoulos for Marks & Spencer from biodynamically managed vineyards, and it’s a wonderfully approachable, drinkable example of the lovely Xinomavro grape variety, one…
Terra Lemnia, a lovely pair of Greek wines from Limnos
Terra Limnia is a new producer making impressive wines from local varieties grown on the island of Limnos. They’re made by Vicky Samaras (ex-pat Greek) and Jonas Newman of Hinterland…
A lovely, affordable Greek white wine from Hatzidakis
£10 in your pocket, and looking to pop some white wine? You can’t do much better than this. It’s from Santorini: I’ve never been, but apparently the vines are grown…