Winophilia

Wine-lovers of a certain age (mine and older) were mostly introduced to the wines of Greece via experiences with cheap bottles of Retsina, the traditional and often sole wine option at cheap gyro and souvlaki joints back in the 1970s and 1980s.  Just as the food at these casual restaurants, while filling and admittedly addictive, doesn’t do justice to authentic Greek cuisine, Retsina, which is flavored with resin from the Aleppo pine tree, isn’t the most suave and debonair ambassador for the often outstanding wines of Greece.  While Retsina can be great fun to knock back if you’re going native at the local Greek fast food place, it really doesn’t hold up with much else.  That’s in sharp contrast to wines like the 2008 Domaine Skouras White Roditis-Moscofilero ($10; Diamond Importers, Chicago, IL).  Wines like this, which are increasingly accessible to American buyers, are fresh, fruity, food-friendly and, best of all, outstanding value.

While all types of Greek wines seem to be entering a vinous Hellenic Age, it’s the whites that are setting the pace in the U.S. market.  Most of Greece’s vineyards are based on limestone, which is especially conducive to producing wines with energy (meaning vibrant fruit).  This type of soil is highly prized by white wine producers around the world.  Recent influxes of capital to the Greek wine industry have helped producers modernize their winemaking facilities and upgrade their vineyards with an emphasis on quality that was, frankly, pretty scarce until the last decade or so.  The result is many more wines that are lively, refreshing and easy to pair with food, especially lighter fare.

While some Greek producers have headed down the safe road by planting international varieties, especially the ubiquitous chardonnay, the most interesting whites today are made from native varieties, especially assyrtiko, moschofilero (also called moscofilero) and roditis.  These varieties are often blended to capitalize on the best attributes of each of them, as is the practice in Bordeaux and France’s southern Rhône Valley of France. 

The most interesting, not to mention affordable, white wines are those made from native varieties, with an emphasis on brisk, vibrant fruit.  The Domaine Skouras White is a stainless-steel raised blend of 60% roditis and 40% moscofilero, from vineyards in the Peloponnese region of southern Greece.  This area has been producing wines for centuries and was referenced by Homer.

Domaine Skouras is a large producer that makes wines from both native and international varieties, with an eye to a worldwide market.  Their wines mostly emphasize approachability and freshness, and are markedly food-friendly.  The 2008 Skouras White is a surprisingly complex wine for its $10 price tag, offering musky citrus, floral and herbal aromas that are reminiscent of a sauvignon blanc, with a bright mineral character.  While light in body, it packs in a lot of lemon and melon flavor, and finishes with a mouthwatering briskness  The wine does not go through malolactic fermentation so the emphasis is on brightness rather than weight, but it doesn’t lack for depth of flavor.  You could easily spend twice as much and get half as much pleasure as this wine delivers. 

At the table it would work swimmingly with seafood or chicken dishes that incorporate lemon and/or herbs, or with numerous types of salads or lighter pasta dishes.  It’s awfully good by itself too.