Winemaker Notes
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Wine & Spirits
Metagitníon is the name in an ancient Greek calendar for the month running from the middle of our August to the middle of our September; then, as now, it was a time of harvest. Vláthi Sclávos makes this vostilídi from the fruit of ungrafted bush vines planted in a parcel around the winery by his grandfather, in 1918. Metagitníon ferments spontaneously before spending a year in foudres; it’s bottled unfiltered with no additions. It’s slowly pressed (for about 2.5 hours), imbuing the wine with some tannin to underline its golden fruit and notes and cumin and salt. “Not just a sitting-around wine,” declared Tina Vaughn of NYC’s Eulalie, adding that it calls out for chicken-liver terrine or sea urchin; she enjoyed “feeling the energy of the sun pulsing out of it.”
There are hundreds of white grape varieties grown throughout the world. Some are indigenous specialties capable of producing excellent single varietal wines. Each has its own distinct viticultural characteristics, as well as aroma and flavor profiles.
A picturesque Mediterranean nation with a rich wine culture dating back to ancient times, Greece has so much more to offer than just retsina. Between the mainland and the country’s many islands, a wealth of Greek wine styles exists, made mostly from Greece’s plentiful indigenous varieties. After centuries of adversity after Ottoman rule, the modern Greek wine industry took off in the late 20th century with an influx of newly trained winemakers and investments in winemaking technology.
The climate—generally hot Mediterranean—can vary a bit with latitude and elevation, and is mostly moderated by cool maritime breezes. Drought can be an issue for Greek wine during the long, dry summers, sometimes necessitating irrigation.
Over 300 indigenous grapes have been identified throughout Greece, and though not all of them are suitable for wine production, future decades will likely see a significant revival and refinement of many of these native Greek wine varieties. Assyrtiko, the crisp, saline Greek wine variety of the island of Santorini, is one of the most important and popular white wine varieties, alongside Roditis, Robola, Moschofilero, and Malagousia. Muscat is also widely grown for both sweet and dry wines. Prominent red wine varieties include full-bodied and fruity Agiorghitiko, native to Nemea; Macedonia’s savory, tannic Xinomavro; and Mavrodaphne, used commonly to produce a Port-like fortified wine in the Peloponnese.