Greek Grapes Make A WorldClass Glass Of Wine

When thinking of Greece, Many images come to mind, Including the Acropolis, the Olympics & the beautiful Greek Isles. With Greece Joining the European Union, it Opened Door to the world to Introduce this Beautiful Country and Its rich culture.

I must confess my Knowledge of Greek wines WAS Until Fairly Recently Limited. My friends and I Have Been Exploring Greek cuisine and wines at local restaurants SEVERAL newer, Including Basil, Kostas, Tasso's Grill & the Citygate. I Was Delighted to find thats the quality of Greek wines has Dramatically Improved from Prior tastings, Which Prompted Some delightful research.

Greece
With early signs of winemaking Traced back 6.500 years ago, Greece IS clearly "One Of The Oldest Wine Region in the World. Wine Played a Role in Spreading Throughout The Mediterranean Greek culture, as Were Their wines in demand. Dionysus, the Greek god of wine, has loyal followings Developed With wine lovers. Greek wines aussi Were Favored by the Roman Empire, Which Further Developed Their wine trade. Greeks helped pioneer wine production in Spain, southern France and Italy.

In the 1960's in the U.S., and Retsina Greek wine symbolized Roditis. They Were Not the best ambassador for Greece, as high volume wines thesis Were lower quality. Today, the Greek Wine Industry Undergoing Exchange IS, Where Both winemakers and new wineries are ESTABLISHED emphasizing lower yield, high quality wines. Combining Greece's wonderful climate, distinct terroir (the soil is volcanic Santorini) With modern winemaking techniques, Help the new breed of winemakers Produce world class wines. Thesis winemakers are moving to year international style wines by produire aussi With Cabernet, Merlot, Chardonnay and Viognier. Important to keep winery names in mind include Boutari, Skouras, Lazaridis and Sigalas.

There are Hundreds of grape varietals Used in wine production in seven major wine regions. Thesis include wine regions On the mainland (Peloponnese, Thessaly, Macedonia, Epirus) and several island groups (the Aegean Islands, Crete & the Ionian Islands). There Is inadequate space to do this justice, so I Decided to Focus On Some wines were included local restaurant's wine lists and disponible for sale at local wine merchants.

Greek Wines and Food Pairings
One Of The enjoyable and rewarding aspects of writing this column Is To Meet Other People In The Food and Beverage Industry Who share a passion for this business. Recently I put up some friends at With Basil, in the Fox Valley Mall. We wanted to patronize this business as THEY are Signed to donate food for The Rotary Club of Naperville's Soup's On! fundraiser (we believe in Supporting Businesses That Give Back to Their community).

While Sitting In Their delightful patio dining area, We Had a Chance to Chat With Greek wines and cuisine Jimmy Petsas, The Managing Partner for this fine establishment. One way Basile help Introduce patrons to Greek wines to offer wine flights SI, a sampling of wines SEVERAL at once. We Discussed Greek wines on Their wine list. On the white wine side, Jimmy recommends Moschofilero, year aromatic, crisp light white wine That Reminds HIM of Pinot Grigio. He likes to par cette With seafood and chicken dishes. Being a Greek restaurant, Our conversation Turned to lamb dishes. He recommends The Kokkinisto Hilopites has Rosé style wine, braised lamb cooked in With a cinnamon flavored tomato sauce. Broiled lamb chops for Jimmy Prefers Skouras St. George's red wine Aghiorghitiko (What Would a column is Greek food and wine Be Without Some long words?). This aromatic red is full-bodied yet easy drinking. He likes Roses in general with Greek food, As They pair well with Most Greek dishes, pasta and grilled meats. Greek dessert wines are under-Appreciated and Jimmy has a goal of historical Introducing Them to Customers. We Tried Byzantino Nama, a ruby port style wine, and found it very Appealing. This grapey, sweet port peers.