(click here to see photos of Harmon's trip)

Most of you already know by now how passionate I am about Greece as a country. And our recent association with Diamond Imports now allows us to also be passionate about this ancient country's wines as well. And why shouldn't we be? Greece has been producing wines for over 5000 years – winemaking was practically invented there in ancient times, and spread to other parts of the world by the Greeks! Yes, the Romans spread it even more but they learned about wine from the Greeks.

The birthplace of western civilization, including democracy, there is evidence of their sophisticated civilization in the form of archaeological discoveries throughout the country. It is mind boggling to contemplate such an advanced way of life as you observe artifacts (such as silver wine goblets and decanters) from 400BC that are in incredible condition. But also, as one drives the countryside, it is obvious from all the abandoned terraces, that Greece was once COVERED in grapevines. Cultivation of the vine was once their #1 industry, but severe economic conditions over the years forced most farmers to abandon the practice, and move to Athens for work.

So, it is exciting for me to witness the rebirth of fine winemaking in this country – as pioneers such as Paris Sigalas and George Skouras attempt (and succeed) in realizing the HUGE potential of this most perfect country to grow grapes and make quality wine! And, as we witness these results, it is almost as exciting to realize that the INCREDIBLE VALUE of what is being produced by these pioneers as the prices are rarely over $20 wholesale for ANY wine.

And what are our wine buyers looking for today? As you well know, they all want something different than the vanilla Chards and Cabs from everywhere – they're looking for indigenous varietals, traditional winemaking, from REAL pedigreed winemaking regions etc. that can excite their sense of adventure as they travel the world, via their wineglass.

And Greece fits the bill on every front! From the Piemonte-like Xinomavro (ZEE-no-MAH-vro) in Northern Greece, to the ethereal Aghiorghitiko (AH-ghia-GHEER-ta-go) among the reds, and the Assyrtiko and Moscofilero (you already know how to pronounce these!) among the whites, these wines have everything an experimental geek (not to mention an established rock star somm) wants in their arsenal! Just remember, it wasn't that long ago when it was REALLY HARD to sell Gruner Veltliner and look at them now – embrace these UNIQUE (and mostly indigenous) Greek wines and give them the exposure they deserve! Most of these are priced favorably for BTG too…J

Diamond Imports and Ted Diamantis

It was really great to spend a full week with the passionate Ted Diamantis - I was extremely impressed with his relationships with his producers, his fluency in the Greek language, his knowledge of Greek history and culture, and of course, and most importantly, his selections! But driving around this beautiful country with him (albeit too goddam fast!), it was fascinating to hear him not only recount Greece's ancient history, but the more recent history of wars, occupations, and battle for independence, ultimately defeating the communists post WW2, a war in which his Dad fought on the front line (we passed a battlefield in Northern Greece that his Dad actually fought on). As we roamed the countryside, passing dozens of ancient settlements, theaters, and ruins, Ted offered his encyclopedic knowledge of the history of his people – and helped bring this history (and therefore the wines) to life. I am even more impressed with Ted than I was before, and I was impressed then!

A little history about Ted's foray into the wine biz: About 20 years ago, Ted was in the insurance industry, and living in Greece, where he befriended a wine producer named George Skouras. They became good friends and in 1992, George suggested to Ted that he import his wines in the United States. Ted agreed with this crazy idea, and George helped him out by shipping him a container of wines, on consignment(!), and allowing Ted to hone his craft without the burden of a payable deadline, sharing the risk with him. And the rest, as they say is (Greek) history…Ted then worked 5 consecutive harvests at Skouras, and quickly became perhaps the most passionate ambassador of Greek wines in the United States today.

It must have been fate when I tasted Domaine Sigalas on our vacation in Santorini in 2007, which led to my meeting Ted. And he is now thrilled to have us as his marketing partner as well.

OK here are some notes from the trip:

DOMAINE SIGALAS (Santorini)

If you've never been to Santorini, it is simply amazing and unique. The island is literally the mountaintop cone of a volcano, with the Mediterranean sea filling up the crater of the volcano (caldera). Years ago, the island looked like most other islands - but with a volcano in the center of course. Approx 2500 years ago, it had what many historians believe was one of the most violent eruptions in history (estimated to be 4 times more powerful than the famous eruption in Krakatoa in 1883), which disintegrated the huge center of the island, filling it with sea water, and leaving only the rim of the crater. This eruption also caused a devastating tsunami, which was credited with annihilating the Minoan civilization on Crete (who never saw it coming) – and is theorized with being the source of some of the more unusual biblical explanations in Egypt and the holy land as well (parting of the Red Sea etc)

Anyway, like most of Greece, Santorini had a long history of grape growing and wine making for the past couple thousand years, but it the vines were abandoned due to post-war(s) economic conditions, plus a devastating earthquake in 1956, which left the island practically uninhabited for over a decade.

Today, Paris Sigalas is a rock star on Santorini! Although he doesn't live like one. His home and winery are very modest. Born and raised in the mainland port town of Piraeus, his father had had vineyards in Santorini, and Paris and his wife moved there in 1992 to start the winery. Paris believed in the Assyrtiko vines there, which thrive in the mineral-rich volcanic soils (with plenty of limestone) of Santorini. The vines are trained unlike any other you have ever seen – they are flat on the ground, in order to avoid damage from the high winds, and wound up like a spiral nest, as they protect their crop inside the "nest". It must be a bitch to harvest! But the grape has a natural acidity that marries well with the mineral soil, to produce some of the most interesting white wines (dare I say it?) in the world. They seem to have the minerality of Chablis, the acidity of Riesling, and the freshness of Albarino all in one!

And Domaine Sigalas is WITHOUT A DOUBT this grape's #1 practitioner! Whether it be the blend with the rounder grape "Athiri" for the entry level, the benchmark 100% Assyrtiko Santorini, the brand new single vineyard Assyrtiko called "Kavaliero", which is excellent – or even the barrel fermented version, where he has toned down the new oak, and now it is actually very very good (even for this anti-new-oak-on-mineral-driven-white-wines taster!)

Also amazingly good is the Vinsanto (also made from Assyrtiko grapes by the passito method). We saw the grapes drying out in the sun, on nets, and the result is an ethereal expression of liquid raisins that is light on its feet. Current vintage is 2004 and it is just delicious. And, of course, as you know, as of 2008 vintage, Italians can no longer label their wines Vin Santo – only wine from Santorini can!

As for the red varietal produced on the island, the Mavrotragano (MAH-vro-TRAH-ghi-no), yes, Sigalas makes one but this, unlike the Assyrtiko, is more of a work in progress. This grape, which we tasted on the vine, has thick skins and its tannins seem hard to tame. Paris is determined to harness all this grape can give though, and employs a team of sorters to separate each berry from the cluster, and select only healthy berries, in order to get the most out of this wine.

DOMAINE SKOURAS (Nemea, Pelopponese)

George Skouras is not only a great guy and a terrific producer, but he is a central figure in the recent renaissance of Greek wines. George is a high energy, positive person, very engaging and loves people. He is an ambassador for Greek wines, both his and his competitors' wines, and is singlehandedly responsible for much of the rebirth that Greek wines have started to enjoy in the past decade. In fact, as mentioned above, were it not for George, Ted Diamantis may never have gone into the wine business.

George hired a helicopter to demonstrate clearly the severe mountainous terrain of the Pelopponese, specifically the Nemea region where his vines are located. And demonstrate he did! These are mountain vineyards, with a capital M, and the star red varietal is clearly the Aghiorghitiko. This varietal thrives in these mountains, has good natural acidity even when ripe, and is the backbone of his best red wines, and is the main reason the writer Jordan MacKay (who was travelling with us) said, "George Skouras makes the best red wines in all of Greece".

The Aghiorghitiko is the most important varietal in the Nemea region, and this grape is also the basis for the inexpensive but DELICIOUS Skouras Red and St. George bottlings. To me, the Skouras Red is a like a lip-smacking Beaujolais in texture, while the St. George, which sees oak aging in older barrels, drinks like a deliciously ripe Cotes du Rhone. Make no mistake – these two wines are KILLER VALUES, and can be poured by the glass, or stacked in any retail store, providing many happy customers!

But his higher end Aghiorghitikos (which are not all THAT high end!), particularly the now iconic Megas Oenos, are the stars of his show. We tasted a vertical of Megas Oenos back to 97 which was stunning. This is a flagship wine that deserve a place on the lists of NY's very finest NY restaurants.

We also visited George's "Grand Cuvee" vineyard, which at 1000 meters above sea level, is one of the highest in the world. Stunning for its views, but also demonstrating George's spirit that anything is possible, his neighbors thought he was crazy when he planted vines up here. But the proof is in the pudding as they say, and because of the marginal conditions, this wine does not get produced every year – but when it is, it is indeed excellent. Incidentally, I told him that IMHO the name "Grand Cuvee" counterintuitively detracts from this wine's marketability, because it's perceived in the US as such a generic French name, plus it is NOT a cuvee, it is a breathtaking single vineyard! I suggested he should proudly give this single-vineyard a proud Greek name. Because the soils are an impossible shade of red (from the iron content), I asked him what the Greek word for red was, and he said "Akilo" (I think that was it anyway), and we all loved it as the new vineyard name, and he agreed to change it in the near future (probably next year).

The other red we were very impressed with was the 06 Synoro, which is a blend of only 20% Aghiorghitiko aloing with 40% Cabernet Franc and 40% Merlot, and while more on the modern side of things, it is EXTREMELY well done - so much so, I felt it could easily be put into a blind tasting of top Bordeaux, and fool a lot of people. The international varietals do very well on these slopes as many of the vineyards were planted 40 yrs ago. The label is beautiful as well, and this would be terrific Greek entry on the wine list at any fine steakhouse for example.

As for George's whites, what can I say about the Moscofilero? This is a lip-smacking quaffing bowl of refreshment! Like a hypothetical blend between Muscadet and Fiano di Avellino, you can literally pound this wine all night with seafood, which is exactly what we did on multiple evenings! I cannot imagine anyone not liking this wine, so please make it a mainstay in your arsenal of BTG offerings. Of course, the Skouras White is mostly Moscofilero (along with Roditis) and is also an incredible value – but the pure Mosco is just sick-good for the money.

George makes a small amount of Chardonnay too, which if course ought to be in every Greek restaurant we sell to, since they need to offer Chard BTG to their customers, which in turn means volume. Other than that, the wine is REALLY well made and the oak and fruit is in harmony – it is a Chardonnay I would be happy to drink a whole bottle of.

ALPHA ESTATE (Naoussa, Macedonia, Northern Greece)

Angelos ­­­­Iatridis, the proprietor of Alpha Estate, is a super-passionate producer, located in the Northern Greece appellation of Naoussa. Angelos acquired 69 hectares of vineyards from 87 different owners in the mid-90s to create his estate. Everything is estate grown around the winery, so the winery has a true "Chateau" feel to it. Angelos is one ambitious dude, and he built a state of the art winemaking facility, with every expensive gadget you can possibly imagine, from rotofermenters, to the most expensive laboratory machines.

Here in Naoussa, the red varietal Xinomavro is king. This is an unusual variety, as I learned – it is naturally high in acid and has 4 seeds in each grape instead of the usual 3, making it more prone to high tannin. Of course, the key is harvesting ripe, and also not macerating too long, thus the rotos…many people feel this grape has a lot in common with Nebbiolo and I agree. It's like a theoretical blend of Nebbiolo and Barbera for me.

The vineyards lie on an ex-river bed, giving alluvial soils, with plenty of sand but also limestone soils. They are at 620 meters in altitude with a semi-continental climate – normally harvesting in late September. Whereas most of Greece is fairly arid, this region gets a fair amount of rain (mostly in winter), some 500 mm a year. They employ a state of the art Israeli underground (not drip) irrigation system which allows them to deliver less water directly to the roots and encouraging the vines to go deeper than drip systems that water the surface. The vineyards have very dense spacing (2x1 meter), and they use sustainable practices - but are not certified organic.

Alpha Estate is the newest winery in the Diamond portfolio (besides Alexakis in Crete which we did not visit), and the wines are very well made, and improving each year. For example, I didn't care for the exotically perfumed 2009 Sauvignon Blanc last year (I found out on this trip that he blended in 12% Malagouzia which is why it didn't smell like SB!) but the 100% SB 2010 is very good, and varietally typical. The bottled Malagouzia is very good, under the Axia label – super floral and zesty acidity.

But the real stars at Alpha Estate are the reds:The flagship wine is the Alpha Estate Red, which is a blend of Syrah, Xinomavro, and Merlot. The current vintage is 2007 and it is flat out delicious. This is the main wine you should be presenting from this estate. I told Angelos and Ted that "Estate Red" is not a sexy name for the wine, and it would be good if it had a "lieu dit". Ted suggested "SMX" which stands for the 3 varietals in the blend, and I like it. I even think it would look like the word "SEX" on the label and everyone knows that sex sells!

The other excellent reds I would proudly sell are the 2007 Axia Red (60% Xinomavro and 40% Syrah) and 2008 Hedgehog (100% Xinomavro). The "Reserve" line comes from a small Xenomavro vineyards that is very old i.e. 88 year old vines – that are head pruned, and have lower yields. Interestingly, when these vines get old, they often will only produce 1 seed inside the grape (instead of 4), which could be why this vineyard produces superior Zenomavro (less tannic)…

DOMAINE KARYDAS (Naoussa, Macedonia, Northern Greece)

Domaine Karydas is in the same general region as Alpha Estate but could not be more different! Both are "Chateau" concepts, but Karydas is a tiny property that only produces a single wine from their small estate Xinomavro vineyard. The Karydas father and son team are both interesting characters, but you can sense their passion. They are late harvesters, to give the Xinomavro a chance to get fully ripe, and they age the wine in 100% French oak. Petros Karydas is the son who is in charge of winemaking now – and he is intense and outspoken about the way he does things. And he does things right.

The vineyard is beautiful, and located along the slope of the mountain. They appear to be meticulous farmers. This wine has quite a following and it sells out fast every year. I think we only get something like 60 cs a year. 2008 is the current vintage and it is quite good…