A Sailors Guide to Greek Wine - Part 1

Greek wine is terribly misunderstood. Both by tourists and restauranteurs. For many years, every taverna owner would only serve cheap local village wine in jugs and any tourist would, knowing the price of a jug, cheerfully hold their nose and postulate ‘it’ll taste better after the first glass’! That wine would come in at least two, and sometimes three, varieties. Red, white and pink. And, if you were really unlucky, the ‘pink’ was actually just a mix of red and white. The hangovers from Greek wine in those days were legendary.  

At least, I think this was just a misunderstanding. The taverna owner, being a local island bloke, believed that the tourist just wanted a cheap drink. Besides, the wine was made by his uncle and it was good to keep the family in the business. And the tourist was never told there was a choice, so just accepted that drinking vinegar was the way of things in Greece. It was only the wise Athenians who knew the score, and sent the taverna owner running to the shop for something a civilised palette could quaff.   

However, over the past decade, things have changed. The Greek wine industry, driven by a few venerable old vineyards and a surge of young, keen, innovative winemakers has remembered its heritage and become rather good. It hasn’t quite filtered all the way down to the small village tavernas yet though, so you’ll still have to hold your nose there. But step through the doors of any of a dozen decent restaurants in Nydri alone and, while you might have to ask for it, a wine list will be provided for your perusal. Prices are not comparable to the village vinegar though, so don’t be surprised if you’re looking at €20-30 for a half-decent bottle.  

So, your first Herculean task of finding a wine list is achieved! Your next challenge is to choose a bottle. Hopefully, the list has been translated into English. If not, you will just have to ask the poor waiter to choose for you, or resort to drinking the salad dressing. But even in English, you will be reading through a lot of names you’re not familiar with. That is because Greek wines are typically made from native grape varieties which are not grown elsewhere. So, in addition to many bottle labels being in Greek, the wine tourist also has to contend with unknown varieties too. This combination of confusing factors is like a double-tap to the head for Greek wine. But, dear oenophile, do not let this daunt you. Instead, rejoice! For you have just discovered an entire country full of new flavours to explore whilst you sail around the islands! Just be brave and point at something in the middle of the list.  

In order to give you at least half a chance of picking something you may like, try to remember the four most popular Greek varieties. Very roughly these are the local equivalent of Cab Sav, Merlot, Sauvignon Blanc, and Chardonnay, in that order.  

Xinomavro: produces dry, tannic reds usually from the North of the Greek mainland

Agiorgitiko: yields soft red wine similar to Merlot often grown in the Southern Greek mainland around Nemea

Assyrtiko: a white wine usually from Santorini and considered one of the best dry wines in Greece

Moschofilero: similar to a Chardonnay with an aromatic flavour mainly from the Southern mainland

There are also many grape varieties which are of a 'local' nature and tend to be grown only on one island. For example Kefalonia is famous for it's Robola wine, while Lefkada tends to grow mainly the Vertzami variety.

If you’re looking at trying some fine wines in Greece then it also pays to know about OPAP – Appellation of Origin Wines. This is the equivalent of what the French call AOP, Protected Appellation of Origin. There are 8 such areas in Greece but the ones you’ll come across most often are:  

Naoussa (for Xinomavro) in Macedonia.  

Nemea (for Agiorgitiko wines) in the Peloponnese.  

Santorini (for Assyrtico).  

Mandineia (for wines from the Moschofilero grape), in the Peloponnese.  

All this epicurean delight is, of course, best appreciated from the deck of one of our gorgeous charter yachts. In the, soon to be published, second part of this article we’ll be recommending a few vineyards you can visit on the Ionian islands whilst on your sailing holiday. In the meantime, we have some cracking early summer offers for your perusal here. Or, if you’re not already a sailor, take a look at our luxury crewed charters here. After all you shouldn’t drink and drive, so why not let one of our skippers guide you around the best wines of the Ionian! 

And finally, whilst everyone knows ‘yia mas’ (cheers) maybe you could be a bit more adventurous and toast a cheeky ‘aspro pato’! Literally ‘white bottom’ or ‘bottoms up’! 

If you want to get a head start, then pre-order wine for your charter with our sister company Quay Yacht Supplies. It can be delivered to your yacht before you arrive.

Alternatively, in Nydri, there is a very nice wine shop called De Blank, run by two very knowledgeable Danes who will happily talk you through a mixed case.

Keep an eye open for the second part of our Sailors Guide to Greek Wine where we will suggest some vineyards you can visit whilst sailing around the Ionian!

This post was written by Tom Fletcher