© by Nigel Lelew OK so they aren't seen as the worlds most fashionable wine producer, but they have been making wine almost longer than any other region around the world. Forget your holiday memories of Retsina, (or maybe you can't remember!), Greece has started to show the world it can produce quality wines. I don't understand why more Greek wines aren't being stocked and sold in the UK. Greece has got its act together by investing in some of the latest state of the art wineries and embracing some of the latest winemaking techniques. Altitude and northerly aspect have been recent quests for Greek winemakers to protect their grapes from the full onslaught of the summer sun. It has resurrected some of its own indigenous grape varieties that were on the edge of extinction, which has been good for the winemaking fraternity as well as those interested in maintaining our bio-diversity! Although the Cabernets and Chardonnays of this world do exist in Greece, they haven't managed to overshadow the native Greek varieties like Malagousia, Roditis and Assyrtiko for the whites and Agiorgitiko, Xynomavro and Mavrodaphne for the reds. In short Greece is really trying. One of its recent school reports could read, "Greece has tried extremely hard and the results are there to be seen". So why aren't people discovering Greek wines? Perhaps it is because they don't know that Greece actually produces wine, after all Greek wines don't leap out at you when you walk down the aisles in the supermarket....well hopefully this column can do its bit to try and inform people. Maybe its because Greece still has a poor reputation to shake off or maybe its just because people don't want to go out and try something a little risky. Yes its true that not all Greek wine is up to the mark. You can still find some fairly appalling examples if you look, but isn't that also true of many of the worlds wine producing countries? So lets see whether I can enthuse anyone enough to go and give Greece a try. Oddbins have the largest range of Greek wines on the high street by far and are rightfully proud of that fact. Browse along their shelves and pick a white wine labelled 1997 Moschofilero which is produced by Boutari, one of the growing band of well respected Greek winemakers. Grown high up on the Mantania plateau in the Peloponnese, one nose of this wine tells you its something different. An intensely aromatic aroma follows through into the mouth to a long, fresh, dry taste with that characteristic perfumed taste. Serve well chilled in the garden and you'll be transported to the Greek islands for a minute....and at £5.49 it's a whole load cheaper than booking a Greek holiday and its far less hassle than all those airport delays! For a Greek red look further along Oddbins shelves for the 1996 Papantonis. Pour some into a glass and give the glass a swirl to release the aroma and just take in all that big red berry fruit....you could be smelling summer pudding! Now take a glug and savour that smooth fruity taste with equally smooth tannins and a minty finish. It's a wonderful sensation, but why take my word for it - nip along to Oddbins and spend £7.99 on a bottle If you have any comments or questions please e-mail me at wineshop1@aol.com
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