Greek wine

[StephenT]

I apologise in advance... this is going to be a rant.

Has anyone had any Greek wine that they'd consider at least drinkable if not actually good? I have a Greek restaurant near me in London and went there tonight with my wife and mother in law, having been there a few times before. An acceptable neighbourhood sort of place place - large portions, some dishes are good, some average, but a wine list straight from the cellars of the devil himself.

Anyway, having previously had Othello and Naoussa and been impressed by neither, I went straight to the most expensive bottle on the list (all of £14.95) - Hatzimichalis (sp?) 2000. Very tart, very light and no fruit flavour to speak of. I could have made better wine myself by mixing equal amounts of cheap red wine vinegar and water.

Never again I tell you. From now on I shall choose the generic Australian wine from the "continental" (!) section of the wine list. Or I shall just not go back there.

[hollywood]

I apologise in advance... this is going to be a rant.

Has anyone had any Greek wine that they'd consider at least drinkable if not actually good?  I have a Greek restaurant near me in London and went there tonight with my wife and mother in law, having been there a few times before.  An acceptable neighbourhood sort of place place - large portions, some dishes are good, some average, but a wine list straight from the cellars of the devil himself.

Anyway, having previously had Othello and Naoussa and been impressed by neither, I went straight to the most expensive bottle on the list (all of £14.95) - Hatzimichalis (sp?) 2000.  Very tart, very light and no fruit flavour to speak of.  I could have made better wine myself by mixing equal amounts of cheap red wine vinegar and water.

Never again I tell you.  From now on I shall choose the generic Australian wine from the "continental" (!) section of the wine list.  Or I shall just not go back there.

Usually the best thing about Greek wine is the bottle.

[Steve Klc]

I recently got my hands on a not-world-class but very nice Greek Samos muscat dessert wine from Kourtaki, distributed by Dionysos, I believe, and imported by Nestor in NY. Very inexpensive as well--like 8 bucks retail. It would have been fantastic at twice the price and I'm using the leftovers of it with vanilla in a gelee.

The bottle itself was just ok.

In the August 14th Washington Post Food section, their wine guys rated "food friendly Greek white wines" and I remember alot of positive things said. Articles older than 14 days are in the paid archive.

[John Whiting]

With Greek food I have drunk retsina with pleasure. But then, as a child I used to chew on coagulated pine sap.

[Gavin Jones]

Oddbins are throwing their weight behind various Greek wines.

I would be wary of the whites though modern vinification may do the power of good, but they do have some decent Syrah/Greek indigenes on their list at £6-8.

[Tonyfinch]

Second that. According to Oddbins' blurb the Greek wine industry, so long up a backwater,is modernising very rapidly and they are now producing some good stuff. It probably hasn't found its way on to wine lists in restaurants yet, with the exception of The Real Greek, where the list is supposed to be good,if pricey.

Retsina is your ultimate context wine. Delicious while sitting in a Taverna overlooking the sea nibbling meze and octupus and calamari and grilled fish with lemon. Yuk in Wapping.