Photo: Courtesy of eklektikon.com
Many praise Italy and France for their fine wines, but what about Greece? Greek wines are making a comeback, and here at DOWNTOWN, we had the privilege of sampling five different types of wine from Eklektikon Greek wines.
Not only does Greece have the longest uninterrupted history of winemaking, but also has the second largest number of indigenous grapes– over 300 varietals are grown there. These distinctive grapes make for the production of some of the most food friendly, elegant and unusual wines.
Eklektikon work with four top wineries in Greece: Chatzivaritis, Oenogenesis, Pieria Eratini and Dougos to ensure that they have the best quality wines possible.
We got to sample five different types of wine: the Blink sparkling wine, En Oeno 2011 white wine, Eurynome 2011 red wine, Wishes Eratines 2013 white wine, and the Rapasani 2011 red wine.
Photo: Courtesy of eklektikon.com
The Blink wine came in an eye-catching purple and white striped bottle and packaging. It is made from the Zibibbo grapes from Lemnos island, and it is a wonderfully sweet that has a smooth after taste. It would be a perfect pairing with dessert.
Photo: Courtesy of eklektikon.com
The En Oeno, which refers to the saying, “En Oeno Alethea,” which means, “In wine, there is truth.” We sampled the 2011 white wine, which had a clean and refreshing taste.
Photo: Courtesy of eklektikon.com
The Eurynome red wine is made from organic grapes, and has matured in barrels for 12 months, and then another 6 months in the bottle. The wine is complex, with hints of spice, tomato, olive and vanilla.
Photo: Courtesy of eklektikon.com
The Wishes Eratines 2013 white wine is also has a very clean taste. On the palate, there is a bouquet of flowers and thyme, with a crunchy, youthful and full body. The closing is gentle and refreshing, with fruity accents.
Photo: Courtesy of eklektikon.com
The Rapasani wine was the last variety that we tried, and it is from one of the regions that contains Greece’s notable red grapes. The Rapasani red 2011 is one of the great expressions of red Greek wine. It is fresh with a medium body that is tasty and juicy with a clean after taste.
All of the wines we sampled were exceptional and did not disappoint. To discover more about Eklektikon and their different wine varieties, take a peek at their website.
-by Jackie Hart