What are the classifications of Greek wines and how do they differ?
The wines produced by countries in the European Union, of which Greece is a member, are divided into two major categories: VQPRD (French for Quality Wines Produced in a Determined Region) and Table Wines. A superior category for the Table Wines is the Regional Wines also referred to as Vins de Pays.
What kind of wine is Greek wine?
How Is Greek Wine Made? Greek wine ranges across all color, style and flavor-profile spectrums. Red, white, orange and rosé wines are made across Greece, in both still and sparkling format and at various levels of dryness or sweetness. Greece is also known for retsina, a traditional wine flavored with pine resin.
What wine is Santorini known for?
Santorini is also renowned for its excellent Vinsanto wines—made from late-harvest, sun-dried white grapes and aged for at least two years in oak. These can include rich flavors of rum, sultanas, plums and menthol.
What’s the best red wine for beginners?
- Cabernet Sauvignon. Cabernet is many people’s entry point to red wine simply because it’s the most widely planted red grape. …
- Merlot. If you love Cabernet Sauvignon, you should try Merlot next. …
- Shiraz. …
- Zinfandel. …
- Pinot Noir. …
- Gamay. …
- Garnacha. …
- Petite Sirah.
Which brand is the best red wine?
- Château Lafite Rothschild (Bordeaux, France) …
- Domaine de la Romanée-Conti (Burgundy, France) …
- Domaine Etienne Guigal (Rhone, France) …
- Giuseppe Quintarelli (Veneto, Italy) …
- Masseto (Tuscany, Italy) …
- Sierra Cantabria (Rioja and Toro, Spain) …
- Screaming Eagle (Napa Valley, USA)
What is good Greek wine?
1. LIMNIONA FROM THESSALY. Greece’s answer to Pinot Noir. Limniona (“lim-nee-ona”) is Greece’s answer to Pinot Noir, producing wines with fragrant aromas of red-berries and rose petals, over delicate, rounded, silky texture.
What is a good Greek red wine?
- Wine Appellation. Fokiano Ikaria. Icaria. Greece. …
- Wine Variety. Limniona. Thessaly. Greece. …
- Wine Variety. Kostifali. Crete. Greece. …
- Wine Variety. Mavrotragano. Santorini. …
- Wine Appellation. Nemea. Peloponnese. …
- Wine Variety. Agiorgitiko. Peloponnese. …
- Wine Appellation. Naousa. Macedonia.
Is wine cheap in Greece?
1 – It’s relatively inexpensive, especially in Greece. You’ll pick up quality Greek wine in Greece for around ten Euro or even less. Twenty Euro will get you a superb bottle of wine. Above that there’s some really special wine produced but there’s often no need to be that extravagant.
Is alcohol cheap in Greece?
Drinking out in Greece is expensive. Of course you can find alternative or cheaper methods to get around this – just by using common sense and a bit of an imagination. Mykonos is certainly the party island of the Cyclades but is well known for being one of the most, if not THE most expensive island anywhere in Greece.
Is Greek wine strong?
Greek wines likely had as high as 15% or 20% ABV, compared with 10-12% or so in most modern wines. In general when you’re brewing anything, getting much above 10-15 % ABV requires specialty yeasts or concentration techniques, and getting above 18 % and close to 20 % is very difficult.
What is Greek liqueur?
Ouzo (Greek: ούζο, IPA: [ˈuzo]) is a dry anise-flavored aperitif that is widely consumed in Greece. It is made from rectified spirits that have undergone a process of distillation and flavoring. Its taste is similar to other anise liquors like rakı, arak, pastis, and sambuca.
Are Greek wines sweet?
Greece is a country known for its sweet wines since antiquity, and holds a good place among today’s sweet wine producing countries.
What are the names of some Greek wines?
- Assyrtiko from Santorini. Assyrtiko is one of the top wines in Greece, produced all over the country. …
- Moschofilero from Mantinea. …
- Malagousia from Northern Greece. …
- Savatiano from Central Greece. …
- Retsina from Central Greece. …
- Agiorgitiko from Nemea. …
- Xinomavro from Naoussa. …
- Xinomavro Blends from Rapsani.
What is Greek white wine?
About Greek White. Greek white wine is produced from both indigenous and international grape varieties. The most significant indigenous Greek white wine-grape varieties are Assyrtiko, Debina, Moschofilero, Roditis, Savatiano and Vilana.
Does Greece have wine?
Greece is one of the oldest wine-producing regions in the world and among the first wine-producing territories in Europe. The earliest evidence of Greek wine has been dated to 6,500 years ago where wine was produced on a household or communal basis.
What is a popular drink in Greece?
- Ouzo.
- Tsikoudia /Raki.
- Tsipouro.
- Mastika from Chios.
- Tentura of Patras.
- Kumquat Liqueur from Corfu.
- Kitron of Naxos.
- Beer (Greek breweries)
What is traditional Greek drink?
Ouzo. One of the most famous Greek specialties, it has a similar taste to sambuca. … The traditional way to drink ouzo is with water, which gives it a cloudy appearance. In Greece, ouzo is popular to order along with traditional meze dishes – you should always be slowly sip it!
What is the best Greek liquor?
- Spirit. Mournoraki. Crete. Greece. …
- Spirit. Souma. Chios. Greece. …
- Liqueur. Chios mastiha. Chios. Greece. …
- Liqueur. Kitro. Naxos. Greece. …
- Herbal Liqueur. Tentura. Patras. Greece. …
- Liqueur. Rakomelo. Crete. Greece. …
- Brandy. Tsikoudia. Crete. Greece. …
- Spirit. Tsipouro. GREECE. shutterstock.
What are Greek spirits?
- Ouzo: the king of Greek spirits. Ouzo is the spirit that has always been exclusive to Greeks. …
- Tsipouro: the portrait of Greece. …
- Masticha of Chios. …
- Raki/Tsikoudia: The Cretan Spirit. …
- Wine. …
- Retsina.
What is the most popular alcohol in Greece?
The most popular liquor in Greece is “Ouzo.” Ouzo is a dry type of aperitif that is made of anise flavor. Ouzo is a type of brandy and has a wonderful, strong taste and a very nice flavor that is a favorite amongst all liquor lovers. Ouzo is made from aniseed, and it is the pride of Greece.
What is Greek Suma?
Souma, Greek Souma. Souma is a traditional drink made from grapes. After the grapes are pressed, their pulps which are called the “tsipoura” are being used to make “souma”. The pulps of the grapes are put into large barrels with sea water, and are left to ferment.
What is the National wine of Greece?
Retsina (Greek: Ρετσίνα) is a Greek white (or rosé) resinated wine, which has been made for at least 2,000 years.
Why is Greek wine so bad?
it’s a (cheap) white wine that intentionally has a distinct smell of pine resin because they actually add pine resin during the fermentation process or ferment the wine in pine barrels.
What is Greek brandy called?
Metaxa is an amber-colored liqueur based on brandy, produced in Athens, Greece. It was created in 1888 by Spyros Metaxa and today, is Greece’s most exported spirit, found in more than 65 countries around the world.
How do you serve retsina?
Lamb recommends serving retsina with a platter of rice and vegetable-stuffed dolmades. He says the tannin in the grape leaves used in the dolmades acts as a carbon filter, removing some of the wine’s undesirable cleaning-solvent flavors and letting the notes of fresh pine and piercing lemon shine through.
What is Greek Mastiha?
Mastiha, or mastic, is a crystal, resinous spice and natural chewing gum that hails exclusively from Chios, where it has been produced since antiquity and long known for its medicinal value. … It is definitely Greece’s most exotic spice. To use it, you need a mortar and pestle.
What is Greek beer?
Mythos Beer: It is the most well-known Greek beer brand, an original lager with many awards and honours. You can easily find Mythos around Greece, from supermarkets to even restaurants and bars.
Is the wine in Greece good?
in greece over the years the wines have become better in quality well worth trying them. there are lots of good quality wines. some of the most popular but of good quality are from the following brands: boutari wines, tsantali wines, lazarides wines and many many more.
Is retsina sweet or dry?
The specific taste of retsina cannot be well explained to someone who has never tried it but in general it is mild, neither sweet nor bitter. Also, the taste and flavor vary from brand to brand and are subject to personal preferences.
Does retsina go bad?
Retsina is far stronger, far worse than oak, especially since it’s not meant to be absorbed in a long aging process. The wines are rarely intended to age, actually. At the so-called “high end,” some suggest the wine can age for five years.
What is Retsina Greek wine?
The flavor of retsina, a wine infused with the resin of Aleppo pine trees, has often been likened to turpentine, even by people who like the stuff. … The Greeks have favored retsina since the earliest days of ancient winemaking, when they used pine resin to line and seal terracotta amphoras.
What kind of wine is moschofilero?
Moschofilero (Greek Μοσχοφίλερο) is an aromatic white grape of Greek origins with a pink/purple skin and quite spicy flavor with good acidity. Grown throughout much of Greece and primarily in Peloponnese where it is traditionally used to make a dry and bold wine with much spice and perfume.
What did ancient Greek wine taste like?
Because of exposure to oxygen, wines of ancient Greece must have had oddly nutty and sweet aromas similar to brown sugar. Weird Geeky Wine Discovery In Theophrastus’ writings, he mentions how wine develops a ‘bloom’ in the spring. … The wine would have had a heightened alcohol level and a sweet tasting finish.
What is Mavrodaphne wine?
Mavrodaphne is a red wine grape variety grown in the Peloponnese in Greece. It is best known for producing sweet dessert wine, though it is sometimes used to produce dry wines. The name itself is Greek for “black laurel.” Synonyms or alternate spellings for Mavrodaphne include Mavrodaphni and Mavrodafni.
Is retsina a sweet wine?
Retsina’s Past as a Salty-Sweet Wine of Ancient Greece
Certainly, there are wines with delicate, saline-like flavors, but they aren’t exactly salty.
Are Santorini wines good?
Santorini, because of its unique climate and the mineral content of its volcanic soil, probably has the best wine in Greece, no matter what they say. … Assyrtiko is the most popular variety, rich in minerals and very tasty and used in most of the white wines.
Should retsina be chilled?
It also pairs well with pasta dishes, particularly those with strong Mediterranean flavors such as pesto sauce. Retsina has an alcohol content of 12 to 12.5 percent and is best served chilled at 10C.
How many wineries are in Santorini?
In proportion to the size of the island, Santorini is the only place on the whole planet with so many wineries. It is undoubtedly Greece’s top destination for wine tourism. On an area of only 7,619 ha (76,19 km2), there are more than 18 wineries to visit.
What proof is ouzo?
The truth is, while it can be high proof, ouzo isn’t necessarily stronger than bourbon (it has to be at least 37.5% ABV, or 75 proof, hardly hit-the-floor worthy – sorry to spoil the fun). However, it is delicious. If you’re a fan of absinthe, aquavit, or licorice in general, you’ll dig ouzo.