I was sharing a bunch of wine samples with some friends recently and decided to throw in something odd. Not a lot of Greek wine is sold around here, and I figured it would be a chance for a half dozen people to try their first one. By chance one of the guests brought olives and dolmadas, another provided spanakopita, so we had a perfect match waiting for us. The NV Demestica White is a basic table wine produced by Achaia Clauss on the Peloponnesean peninsula of Greece. $10, 13% abv, made from Rhoditis, Sideritis, and various unspecified white grapes. Spicy nose with a touch of tar, pear and pineapple. A bit musty like an old library, with a fruity flavor reminiscent of yellow raisins but not sweet. Definitely something different, and it turned out to the be favorite of one of the guests. It's ideal for a long period of snacking, and I would even recommend it for tapas.
This wine is pretty common, served in a lot of Greek restaurants, and while it's not going to be replacing Chardonnay anytime soon, it's certainly interesting, tasty, and worth trying if you want to expand your wine horizons a little.
Side note: Clauss doesn't sound Greek, does it? A Bavarian named Gustav Clauss moved to Achaia on the Peloponnese in 1854 and over the next few decades began to export Greek wines.
4 comments:
interesting. the idea of a non-vintage white, though, is a little scary.
Fredric,
I've had a few NV whites that were decent. This one isn't spectacular, but there's nothing wrong with it and it's certainly different.
Cheers,
Benito
Sounds interesting. Those grape varieties sound like unpleasant skin conditions, though. Nothing a little Gold Bond medicated powder couldn't fix, I'm sure!
Jim,
The Greek ones do often sound like diseases of the Middle Ages. I think the weirdest I've personally consumed came from Turkey: Öküzgözü. Always strange to see a higher umlaut/letter ratio than your average heavy metal band.
Cheers,
Benito
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