New Organic & Biodynamic Wines from Greece!

In the vines at Sant'Or (courtesy Aris Soultanos, Eklektikon)

I have been fascinated with the wines of Greece this year. The Greek mainland and the Greek isles have an incredibly long and storied viticultural history, with a multitude of indigenous grape varieties, varied traditional methods of production, and a staggering number of individual microclimates and terroirs. Wine is made throughout the majority of the country, in small amounts and primarily for home consumption; the commercial, organically farmed wines that we are presenting today are relatively recent arrivals to the scene.

Today's wines are from all around Greece, from the mainland to the islands. I hope that the attached map, with today's producers labeled, helps to show the breadth of different areas within Greece that are now producing interesting, well-farmed, conscientiously produced wines. These regions have different soils and microclimates, and the resulting wines, while all infused with the Mediterranean, show the variety of Greek natural wines available today.

The first producer we'd like to highlight is Papras Bio Wines, in the area of Tyrnavos in Thessaly. Founded by Stergios Papras, the estate has been organic since 1990. Stergios works with many of the local varieties, but today we have three wines, made from Badaki, Roditis, and Black Muscat, that show an interesting approach to skin-contact white and rose winemaking. All are aromatically complex, with delicate tannic structures, and fresh, boisterous exuberance.

Kamara Estate, near Thessalonikki in Macedonia, is a new project focused on low intervention organic winemaking, founded by Dimitrios Kioutsoukis. Their Retsina is my favorite that I have tasted: delicately resinous, with notes of ginger and lots of freshness. It's great on its own, or with a large variety of cuisines.

In Achaia in the Peloponnese, Sant'Or is a Demeter-certified Biodynamic winery making fascinating wines from local varieties, including the only varietal wines of the local Santameriana grape. Their amphora-aged, skinicontact 2018 Santomeri Santameriana orange wine is especially interesting, with a honeyed texture and notes of apricot and green herbs.

Sclavos Wines, in Cephalonia, is the oldest producer highlighted here, tracing its roots back to the early twentieth century, and a pioneer of low-intervention winemaking and organic farming in Greece. All of the Sclavos wines show the intensely mineral character of the island's terroir. The Tsaousi, made from an indigenous grape variety of the same name, is a fascinating and beautiful Mediterranean wine with beautiful lift and salty, mineral intensity.

In Crete, Giannis Stilianou is making impressive natural wines with organic grapes grown in hot, sunny vineyards cooled by Mediterranean winds. To tame the concentration of the tannic and dark Mandilari, he macerates the juice on the skins for only a single day, yielding a lighter wine with more delicate tannins but dark fruit character.

Returning to the mainland, Troupis Winery, in Mantinia in the Peloponesse, is producing the most fascinating expression of Moschofilero that I've found: made from organic grapes, fermented with native yeasts, and with a day of skin contact, it pours a light rose color. It is a fascinating expression of one of the most interesting indigenous Greek grapes.

I've enjoyed expanding my knowledge and my palate through exploring Greek wines in 2019 - and I hope you will join me in tasting these unique expressions of Ancient tradition, modern transformation, and Mediterranean terroir in 2020.

-Ben Fletcher