Greek wine has quietly become one of Europe's most rewarding finds. Behind the holiday carafe and the retsina of old, a new generation of growers is making serious wines from grapes you will barely find anywhere else: Assyrtiko, Xinomavro and a cast of rare island varieties. This selection leans towards small, ambitious producers working with exactly those grapes.
Greek white wine: Santorini Assyrtiko and the island whites
Greece's most famous white comes from Santorini. Phylloxera never took hold in the island's volcanic soils, so many vines are old and grow on their own roots, trained into low baskets (kouloura) that shelter the grapes from the relentless wind. Assyrtiko here gives a bone-dry, salty, tightly wound wine with citrus and flint. Artemis Karamolegos Santorini is a textbook example: mostly Assyrtiko with a little Athiri and Aidani from old vines, fermented and aged on its lees in steel.
On Kefalonia, Sclavos Wines farms old, dry-grown bush vines biodynamically. Vino di Sasso is pure Robola, the island's signature grape, while Zakynthino and Tsaousi are rarities few drinkers have ever tasted. On Crete, Theros Wines in Heraklion bottles single-vineyard Vidiano and Thrapsathiri, blends built around the almost-lost Plyto grape, and a Brut Nature sparkling wine. If you like a taut, mineral white wine, these are the bottles to explore.
Greek red wine: Xinomavro from Naoussa
Xinomavro means "sour black", and the name fits: high acidity, firm tannins and notes of cherry, tomato leaf, dried roses and olive. It is often compared with Nebbiolo, and the best wines age for many years. Thymiopoulos Vineyards in Trilofos, Naoussa, farms biodynamically and is one of the grape's leading champions. Erde und Himmel (Ghi kai Ouranos in Greek, "Earth and Sky") blends fruit from low and high vineyards, Vrana Petra comes from a single site, and the Rosé de Xinomavro shows the grape's bright, fresh side.
Elsewhere, Agiorgitiko is the grape of Nemea in the Peloponnese, softer and darker-fruited. On Kefalonia, Sclavos makes Orgion, a dry, oak-aged Mavrodaphne, and Thiniatiko, a blend of local red grapes. Both are a world away from the usual red wine suspects.
Natural and skin-contact Greek wine
Low-intervention winemaking has found a natural home in Greece. Sclavos Metagitinion is an orange wine from century-old Vostilidi vines, and Theros keeps cellar work to a minimum. You will also find one Greek spirit here: Mastic Tears, a mastiha flavoured with resin from the mastic trees of Chios. It sits alongside the rest of our spirits.
Greek wine FAQ
What is the best Greek white wine?
Santorini Assyrtiko is the benchmark: dry, saline and able to age. For something rarer, try Robola from Kefalonia or Vidiano from Crete.
What is retsina?
A Greek white wine with a little Aleppo pine resin added during fermentation, a habit dating back to when amphorae were sealed with resin. Modern retsina is far more restrained than the holiday version.
Is there a sweet Greek wine?
Yes. The classic sweet styles are Vinsanto from Santorini, made from sun-dried grapes, Mavrodaphne of Patras and Muscat of Samos. Mavrodaphne is also made dry, as in Orgion from Sclavos.
What food goes with Greek wine?
Assyrtiko and Robola with grilled fish, octopus and feta salads; Xinomavro with lamb, slow-cooked stews and hard cheeses; the rosé with meze.