An Introductory Guide to Greek Wine

Greece’s role in the global history of wine cannot be overstated. With a tradition of winegrowing dating as early as 6,500 years ago, the ancient civilizations that occupied what is today Greece helped spread the vine across the Mediterranean basin—extending the reach of viticulture and sharing important advancements in production and quality along with it.

Traces of antiquity can still be tasted in Greece’s wines today with influences ranging from a fantastic assortment of native grape varieties along with millennia-old production practices. Still, recent decades have observed an exciting reinvigoration of the Greek wine industry with contemporary wines that count among the world’s finest. Here is an introduction to the major regions of Greece and their wines.

Whereas much of Greece is celebrated for its tremendous white wines, in Northern Greece, reds take the spotlight. What are arguably the finest are made from Xinomavro in the region of Macedonia—Greece’s panhandle that’s not to be confused with the Republic of North Macedonia across the border. At its best, Xinomavro bears an uncanny resemblance to Nebbiolo with its rosehip aromas, bracing acidity, and taut, dusty, and powerful tannic structure. Indeed the great wines of Macedonia’s Naoussa, Amynteo, and Goumenissa appellations might be readily confused for Barolo.

Elsewhere in Macedonia, the Slopes of Meliton appellation contains the historic Porto Carras estate—Greece’s early flirtation with Greek-French blends in the vein of Italy’s Super Tuscans. To the southeast, Thessaly similarly features unique combinations of Greek and French grapes, in addition to whites, largely from Roditis. Epirus’s Zitsa appellation, by contrast, specializes in sparkling wines from the indigenous Debina.

A wide and diverse expanse of land, Central Greece, also known as Sterea Ellada, produces wines from a wide assortment of grape varieties. Predominately white, these include both Greek staples like Assytriko and Roditis, as well as international varieties, such as Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc.

Much of Central Greece’s production is dedicated to retsina. An ancient delicacy, retsina sees resin extracted from Aleppo pine trees added to the wine during the final stages of fermentation. Often served as a sort of house wine in carafes, retsina features a distinctive herbaceous, astringent bite—a profile polarizing to many consumers, but perfected among a handful of top producers. Retsina is widely produced in Attica, the region encompassing Athens and Central Greece’s largely planted southern tip.

If Greece, like Italy, were also a boot, then the Peloponnese would be the toe. The southern edge of the mainland, the Peloponnese finds high elevation sites across its towering mountains, providing a welcome freshness to the resulting wines.

Two of Greece’s most famous appellations are housed in the heart of the Peloponnese: Mantinia and Nemea. The two neighboring regions provide the ancestral homes for Moschofilero and Agiorgitiko, respectively. Long considered a rather quotidian grape for basic table wine, Moschofilero is capable of producing simple refreshing white wines, alongside more cellar worthy examples from top-quality minded producers, such as Bosinakis. Its wines exuberantly floral and refreshingly salty, Moschofilero also features pink skins, allowing it to be fermented into a rare rosé version.

Nemea holds an important place in mythology as the location where Hercules defeated the Nemean lion. Its Agiorgitiko wines are called “the blood of Hercules,” as, according to the lore, they provided the demigod with the requisite strength for the heroic task. Agiorgitiko can be made into both lighter red wines, as well as more muscular examples, especially when blended with varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon. Further north, Patras specializes in wines from the light and lemony Roditis, as well as from Muscat and Mavrodaphne, the latter yielding sweet reds from sun-dried grapes.

To the west of mainland Greece lie the Ionian Islands, tucked into the Ionian Sea whose shores eventually touch Southern Italy. Mountainous and rainier than the rest of Greece, the Ionian Islands provide a distinct climate to match their unique history that enjoys significant Venetian and British influence.

Most important among the islands is Cephalonia, which specializes in white varieties Robola and Muscat, as well as the red Mavrodaphne. Muscat and Mavrodaphne can be made into a host of expressions, including both dry and sweet, and also traditional fortified wines. Robola, while rare, offers some of Greece’s most compelling dry whites.

While Corfu and Lefkada have smaller plantings, Zakynthos is regarded for its historic wine Verdea. Made predominately from the white grape Skiadopoulo, Verdea is traditionally semi-oxidative, with a rich, nutty finish.

Scattered throughout the waters separating mainland Greece from Turkey, the Aegean Islands yield a captivating palette of predominately white wines that count among the country’s most prized.

Most famous among these is Santorini, a C-shaped island formed from the vestiges of an ancient caldera. The island’s signature variety is Assyrtiko—a grape that provides powerful, savory white wines with a pronounced capacity to age. Santorini is famously dry, punished by harsh winds that further desiccate the vineyard. To mitigate against these water challenges, Santorini vines are traditionally trained into kouloura or stefani, short basket-like structures woven right from the ground. The clusters grow within the center of the basket, protected against wind damage and also better capturing the morning dew. In addition to dry white wines, Santorini’s classic dessert wine Vinsanto is unctuously treacly and complex—as if aged balsamic vinegar were instead a wine.

Beyond Santorini, islands such as Samos and Lemnos offer a wide stylistic range of Muscat wines, extending from dry to sweet, light to fortified. Paros does quite the same, but with Malvasia. While Rhodes also produces Muscat, it is a historic source of sparkling wine, colloquially referred to as “Greek Champagne.”

Crete houses a suite of indigenous varieties unique to the rest of Greece. Its whites transform into lush, but stony wines—Vidiano is often thought of as the Cretan response to Chardonnay. Red grapes like Liatiko are celebrated for their distinctive savory, herbal characters, laden with crunchy red fruit character and a complex, pleasant bitterness.