A long time ago on a deserted Island in Greece, I took part in the excavation of a cave used in antiquity. It was hot, ugly work. A generator for the lights spewed noxious gasses into the cave. At the end of the day, those of us who had stayed the course were drained and parched. Whatever you thought of the local retsina, an ice cold glass of the resinated white wine at that moment would have been as welcome as a silver goblet filled with Veuve Clicquot. But alas, there was no refrigerator at the site.
You see, our supplies were boated in, then left on the dock. We had to descend on foot to the water, then carry everything up a steep rise to our camp. The shipments were irregular, and depended upon the winds. On the days of a strong meltemi wind, the boats didn't come. When they finally arrived, the huge bottles of Retsina were gleefully carried to the top, cracked open, and drunk warm.
It wasn't until I stumbled upon a Greek wine tasting in San Francisco that I discovered Greek wine was a force to be reckoned with. In recent years there's been a huge push to increase the quality of wines for international consumption. These days there are even Greek Wine Roads where you can take off and see the vines and sample the wines. Below you'll find some good resources for discovering Greek wines on your vacation in Greece.
Greek Wine Regions
First you need to know where the grapes grow best and there are producers of good table wines. For this we head over to the site: Greek Wine Regions. The site is simple and functional; there's a map of the region withing Greece and below that there is the author's favorite producers, as well as some notes on grape varieties used in the region.
Another source of Greek wine information broken down by region is Greekwinemakers.com, which calls itself "a web-based consultancy designed to help fill the void created by the absence of a generic export promotions program for the Greek wine industry."
Greek Wines and Wineries
Here we get some recommendations for winery tours, tastings, and books on Greek wine. Our first stop is Greek Travel from About.com, which offers Greek Wines, Vineyards, Festivals, and Winetasting. Then on to Matt Barrett's Guide to Greek Wine, an intimate look at Matt's favorite wine (from Lesbos), some wine tasting notes including retsina, and his favorite books on Greek wine.
Greek Wine Roads
Now we're ready to hit the roads in search of the best (meaning, of course, our favorite) Greek Wines. Wine Roads of Northern Greece does a credible job of leading you through the byways of wine in Northern Greece (especially in the area around Thessaloniki), and offers itineraries to follow of various durations. The News section also gives some good information on wineries like Katogi-Averof Hotel & Winery in Metsovo, our favorite city of woodcarvers in northern Greece.
Wine tourism in the Peloponnese and the Ionian is about the only site that talks about the Wine Roads of the Peloponnese. There is an interactive map of wineries and attractions in the area.
The Wine Roads of Nemea includes a helpful map and some good information on wine touring around the Greek city of Nemea.
Also check out Wine Roads of Greece - Nemea for a tested itinarary with a stay in Nafplio.
