Grape Varieties Flashcards
One of the distinctive aspects of Greek viticulture is the large number of indigenous grape varieties. They account for which % of all plantings in the country?
Around 90%
Estimates suggest there are around how many Indigenous grape varieties in Greece?
300
International varieties were often used in blends with local varieties to give consumers something they could recognise on the label. Give 2 examples of such successful blends (1 white, 1 red).
Sauvignon Blanc X Assyrtiko
Merlot X Xinomavro
White wines make up which % of Greece’s annual production?
Over 70%
Which grape variety is the most planted in Greece?
Savatiano
Guess the grape. I am the second most planted grape variety in Greece and grown widely throughout the country. I am pink skinned and am able to produce high yields, therefore I am mainly used to produce inexpensive wines and as a blending ingredient for Retsina. Best examples are medium bodied with high acidity and flavours of ripe fruits such as melon.
Roditis
What is Greece’s best known and most prized indigenous white grape variety originating from Santorini?
Assyrtiko
What special capacity does Assyrtiko have that allows it to retain balance, make age worthy wines despite being grown in the hottest conditions and makes it a great candidate for the production of luscious sweet wines?
It retains high levels of acidity when ripe, even in the hottest conditions, which balances out the typically high alcohol levels.
Which pink-skinned indigenous variety produces aromatic wines with notes of citrus, flowers and spices that some compare to Muscat? It makes high acid, light-bodied and relatively low abv wines, mainly out of Mantinia in the Peloponnese.
Moschofilero
Which indigenous white grape variety was almost extinct 20 years ago but has recently established a reputation for high-quality wines, although plantings are still very small?
Malagousia
Which is the most planted black grape variety in Greece?
Agiorgitiko
How would you make the case that Agiorgitiko is a versatile grape?
It can produce a wide range of wines from a lighter, fruity style for early drinking to a more complex, full-bodied age worthy style as well as high quality rosés and even sweet wines.
Where is Xinomavro generally grown in Greece and for which wines is it most famous?
It is grown all over northern Greece but its most famous wines come from Naoussa in northern Macedonia.
Xinomavro is often likened to which other grape variety?
Nebbiolo
Some producers blend Xinomavro with which other grape variety to soften out its rough edges?
Merlot
