wine tasting in athens, greece

​I recently had the pleasure of participating in a wine tasting class at the Hotel Grand Bertagne in Athens, Greece. The Grand Bertagne is rated as a five star hotel and it deserves every one of those stars. It also has a fantastic view of the Acropolis.

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​Usually i'm the one presenting the wine so it was a treat to taste and learn about the wines of Greece. Demetrius (hope I have spelling correct) lead us on a wine tour of various wine producing regions. He was extremely knowledgeable about about wine and introduced us to the grapes and different terroirs in his country.

We started with this white made with the Moschofilero grape. The Semeli Estate was founded in 1979 in the region of Nemea. The vineyards of Mantinia, just south of Nemea, sit at about 2,00 feet above sea level. The cooler temperatures allow for  longer ripening times. A very nice wine.

 No tasting would be complete without an Assyrtiko from Santorini. We were able to visit the Gavalas winery later on the trip but more on that in another posting. The Gavalas family has been involved in wine making since the late 19th century. They produce several different Assyrtikos, this one was fermented in stainless steel and was fresh and crisp. Perfect for the many seafood dishes found in Greece.

 This red from the Xinomavro grape turned me into a big fan. Over the course of our trip I had it a couple more times. We even found it in the duty free shop at the airport. Looking around it turns out to be available here in CT. Kir-Yianni winery was founded by Yiannis Boutaris in 1997 in Naoussa. The Ramnista spends 18 months in wood plus 6 months in bottle before release. Lots of dark fruits and a hint of leather, drinking well now, even better with some age I'm sure. 

Dessert wine time, this one from a co-op on the island of Samos off the eastern shores of Greece, is made with the White Muscat grape and aged for 5 years in oak. Really lovely flavors of caramel, raisins, toffee and more. 

We asked Demetrius to suggest other wines we could find in the wine shops and he pulled some out of the wine racks. He was happy to let us know of wines we would enjoy and that were good examples of a region or grape variety. I was particularly interested in trying a wine from the Malagousia grape. We tracked his  some of his suggestions down and they did not disappoint. Here is one we had a few days later. 
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Many thanks to Demetrius, I learned a lot about the wines of Greece from him and enjoyed our time at the class. I hope I get to share an American wine with him sometime.

One final comment, the night I got the shot of the Acropolis I asked at the restaurant if I could take some pictures. I don't think they knew I was going to use a tripod. With their permission I went out and started to setup my tripod and realized that I was blocking access for people walking by. It was dark and someone nearly tripped. Just at that time someone from the restaurant came over and asked if I was trying for long exposure shots. I told them I was and he politely suggested it was not a good spot where I was but he could direct me to a perfect view that was much safer. I felt quite awkward making a nuisance of myself but the way that gentleman handled it was so kind and professional. I felt a bit less foolish and got some good shots. Maybe the hotel should get 6 stars.