Destination of the Week

Greece

“Pack your bags, sweets, we’re gonna go drink some pine wine.”  Not the way to tell your significant other you have tickets to vacation in Greece.  OK – beyond the bad joke, we want to tell you that A) Greece is fantastic and B) yes, some of the wine has a pine taste.  In fact, you’ll find that Retsina is the favorite wine of Greeks, regardless of whether they’re bearing gifts.

Retsina isn’t a grape.  Rather, it’s a flavor – one that’s actually created by a leaching of pine pitch into local wines – either white or red.  There’s a reason for it, and it’s somewhere between three and six thousand years old.  Back then, wine often was transported in clay vessels, especially aboard ships.  The Greeks, in their development of trade throughout the Mediterranean and Asia Minor, led the way in wine production and distribution along these routes.  They discovered that by lining the clay containers with pine pitch, they could protect it from oxidation.  The pitch imparted a pine flavor to the wines, a flavor that remains to the liking of Greeks today.

Of course, Retsina isn’t the only reason for going to Greece.  Fortunately, some of the wine growing regions are also the most beautiful.  Santorini, for example.  Arguably the most beautiful in the Aegean Sea.  White houses and villages that stand majestically among the brown and green cliffs on this one-time volcano as you sail into the harbor that’s actually the rim of the volcano’s caldera.  From the top, looking down, it’s white and beige meeting bluer-than-blue in one breathtaking view after another. 

Your stay there will probably be in the cliffs.  And we mean in the cliffs since many of the villages like Imerovigli, Oia and Fira are actually built into the steep sides that jut upward from sea level.  The beauty is overwhelming and they grow wine here, too!  Once again, it’s about terroir and the volcanic earth of Santorini contains slate ash, coal, chalk, lava, pumice and calcium carbonate.  Mix those with hot, dry summer days and very cool nights and there’s a spectacular taste that these grapes produce.  The two most popular – and best – are Asyrtico and Aidani.  While there’s wine grown on other of the Cyclades Islands, Santorini is the winner, hands down.  One bit of caution:  If you’re going and you’re in a hurry, don’t go.  A combination of a laid back atmosphere, small roads and, let’s say, antiquated infrastructure slows things down a little.  It’s a good thing.

Getting around will be by small plane, ferry or hydrofoil.  The hydrofoils are probably the most fun and you get some great views from the water.  On the other hand, the aerial beauty you’ll experience flying is hard to match.

You’ll probably get to Santorini from Athens.  Once you’re there, you can head on to Epirus, Sterea Ellada, Macedonia, and Peloponnese for more wine tasting.  Epirus is way up in the northwest, on the “other” side of the Pindus Mountains.  It’s a forested area with the beauty of wile flowers and other florae.  The large town of Ioannina has good accommodations.  In Zitza, a few miles away, you’ll find some great vineyards and taste the select Zitza wine.  Also nearby is Arta with an ancient stone bridge and Byzantine monuments peppering the area.  Close, too, is Preveza where you can spend time on the beaches and relax before catching the ferry at Igoumenitsa for your next destination.

Sterea Ellada is known as the leader in wine production, including retsina.  This area was responsible for refining the taste of retsina and moving it up the ladder of respect.  In Sterea Ellada, Attica is a recommended stop.  Most of the area is planted in the Savatiano varietal but, recently, Cabernet Sauvignon has been developed.  You’ll taste some of the highest quality wines Greece has to offer.

Nemea, Mantinia and Patris are wine regions of Peloponnese.  Nemea grows reds, especially Aghiorgitiko; Mantinia is known for its Moschophilero with a unique aroma and taste.  It’s a pink-skinned grape that makes a full bodied white.

While Macedonia, politically, is its own republic, it’s Greek in its wine production and beauty.  In Macedonia, the wines produced are handed down from some of the earliest Greek wine production known.  It’s a large area with many varietals including Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petite Syrah and Grenache.  Macedonia is also an arts center including the works of Saint Clement, Ohrid from the 14th century and the modern day sculptures of Boro Mitrikeski.

Throughout Greece you can see vestiges of the great civilization that was.  The Acropolis and Parthenon, Olympia, Delphi, Agora . . . all famous and “don’t miss” sites with history far beyond that of Europe.  You can get in-depth information about each of these and more here.

We haven’t touched on the great Greek cuisine.  Mixed in with the rich seafood and the roasting of lamb and beef and chicken and game, there’s dolmades – the stuffed grape leaves – moussaka, an eggplant and chopped meat casserole, tsatziki, tahini, and bourekakia – filo puffs that could be filled with just about anything.  Of course, you have to finish it off with baklava fresh from the bakery.  Spend a month and you still won’t sample it all.

When you go, you’ll see some changes.  The 2004 Olympics brought about a number of new sports complexes as well as significant improvements in the infrastructure of the country.  Hotels are easy to book; Greeks are friendly.  Airfares are low.  Better book now!

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