Our second wine tour to Greece kicked off with chaos in passport control, luggage disappearances, and some rather inclement weather. Having got over the trials and tribulations of our airport arrival, and made it safely to our hotel in Nafplio, the collective mood improved enormously as we headed to Arapakos restaurant for our opening dinner.
For many, this was their first introduction to modern Greek wines, and we washed down a delicious meal of salads and seafood with a delightfully fresh Roditis/Moschofilero blend and a forward drinking Agiorgitiko. The Nafplio boat show had just ended but there were still some very serious cruisers on show in the harbour.
Our first visit on day 1 took us north to the small family owned winery of Kyriakos Koroniotis. Kyriakos is a wonderfully genial host with a definite twinkle in his eye. With a career in chemical engineering and a career in the UK and Netherlands he came back to Greece in 1990 to set up vineyards on family land. Applying his scientific background, and experimenting in the vineyards, Kyriakos has developed an excellent portfolio of predominantly indigenous grapes. All his whites were fresh and aromatic, and his intense Syrah was quite a surprise – in a very good way.
We then headed to the northern Peleponnese coast to the village of Diakopto, where we visited the fabulous Tetramythos estate. We were hosted by winemaker Melitini, she gave a wonderfully succinct insight into this prestigious estate. They focus on indigenous grape varieties and adopt a non interventionist organic approach. We combined a delicious tasting with a wonderful home cooked lunch and discovered the wonderful indigenous variety Black of Kalavryta as well as their modern Retsina that was delicately resinous and a far cry from the poor memories some of us had of this maligned wine. Tetramythos export 85% of their wines, which confirms the high quality they achieve and we experienced.
On day 2 the sun started shining, and we headed to the important Nemean estate called Palivos. Having rebuilt a modern winery the Palivos family are important producers of Agiorgitiko (the variety of the Nemea appellation), as well as a big range of international and indigenous grape varieties. We were hosted by a wonderful trio, Andreas, Diamanda and Elsa, who created an entertaining, fun and educational visit. A key take out from this visit was understanding the importance of altitude and its influence on the styles of red wine made in Nemea. Sitting outside we enjoyed a wonderful tasting of nine wines culminating in their rare Nohma which is a Cabernet Syrah Agiorgitiko blend.
From Palivos we headed up the hill to the estemed Seméli Estate, which occupies a magnificent spot overlooking the valley. With a state of the art winery, fabulous entertaining space, and the hosting skills of Maria, Margarita and head winemaker Yannis, a wonderful visit unfurled. A fabulous tasting concluded with their 2003 Nemea Grand Reserve, their very first vintage which eminently demonstrated the ageing ability of Agiorgitiko.
A superb lunch followed, comprising fresh salad, zucchini pie, sautéed mushrooms and a beef casserole.
Our final full day of visits took us to Mantinia, in the centre of the Peleponnese, home to the incredibly versatile Moschofilero grape. Our first stop was at the Kalogris family vineyard where we were warmly welcomed by Evangelos and his daughter Tatiana. Kalogris farm organically, play music to their vines, and produce a mere 7,000 bottles a year from their 3ha of land. Their passion and enthusiasm for the terroir is infectious, and this carried on as we visited the family home, meeting Cristina (Evangelos’s wife) and Sandy (their other daughter). Their familial interactions were delightful to witness and they produce an eclectic range of wines. Cristina had cooked a local delicacy to accompany the tasting, and we all left with a sense of joy .
From Kalogris it was a 30 minute drive to the Tselepos estate, one of the leading wineries in the Mantinia region. We took a tour of the barrel cellar and discovered that Tselepos were the first estate in the region to develop sparkling wine. We learnt it took 10 years for the EU to approve their sparkling wines, but thankfully they finally did! We then sat down to a top class tasting and a mercifully light lunch. We tasted their 2019 vintage bottle fermented fizz made from 100% Moschofilero, as well as their excellent Blanc de Gris which affirmed Moschofilero’s incredible ability to produce a variety of styles.
Our tour concluded with dinner at the 3Sixty Restaurant in Nafplio, a popular and stylish venue with outstanding cuisine and service. Delicious pork fillets were preceded by stuffed mushrooms and innovative salads. We drank a Roditis/Moschofilero/Muscat blend of white, and a top Agiorgitiko.
This tour, the second of 2023, confirms that Greece can rightly be considered as a modern, high quality, wine producing nation – with fabulous hospitality to match.