Take Mount Olympus, a region that is not only of great sentimental value for all Greeks, but is universally recognized. Rooted here are the settings of many Greek mythical stories, after all, the twelve ancient Greek gods lived there. It is the highest mountain in Greece and the second highest in all of the Balkans. Sheer rocky peaks, deep gorges, and fog-covered peaks all create a rare magic.

Nestled into this magic lies the important PDO zone of Rapsani. Mentions of the local wines are traced back to 300BC. Today, the Rapsani vineyards extend in the southern slopes of Mount Olympus, reaching an altitude of up to 800 meters (2625 feet). The terrain is rugged, wild and coarse, with slope inclinations of up to 20%. It is a stunningly beautiful, raw and unpolished area with up to 15 degrees Celsius differences in temperature between day and night.

Under the PDO appellation laws, co-vinification of equal parts of the three indigenous varieties Xinomavro, Krassato and Stavroto must take place. These vines were traditionally grown mixed in the vineyards; only in the last years were single varietal vine parcels planted instead.

While there are some remarkable boutique wineries located in the zone, no one has impacted it as much as Tsantali, who must be credited with rejuvenating viticulture in the region after a devastating decline it the late 1980’s. In addition to successfully supporting and educating local vine growers, Tsantali managed to develop a strong brand name for Rapsani in the export markets. Two main factors made this possible: A very professional communication and marketing strategy, and a high quality, well priced product that is distinctively Greek, yet astoundingly international in style.

Efforts to further raise the reputation of Rapsani are being constantly expanded. The ‘Rapsani Wine Adventure’, which raises wine tourism to a new level, is just one example. In my opinion, the advantages of this pursue are multiple: The brand Tsantali is becoming synonymous with Rapsani (not necessarily the other way around). This in turn should assure a continuous strive to keep increasing quality as much as possible in the PDO zone. The future income stream of the nearly 100 vine growers who work with Tsantali should also be secure. Lastly, other wineries in the region might very well benefit from the branding of Rapsani. They are needed, in order to showcase the diversity of the wine quality to the world.

I strongly feel that Tsantali are currently doing things right and I look forward to revisiting this article in a few years time.

Boutari have been working with experimental wines since the end of the 70’s. Every year since, their Research and Development Department performs a wide range of experimentations at their wineries throughout Greece. These wines are not available in the trade, and are produced in very limited numbers, ranging from just a few hundred to a few thousand bottles.

The interest from wine enthusiasts was quite high and naturally the event was packed. Sisters Christina and Lenia Boutari, head oenologist Yannis Voyatzis, oenologist Alexandros Tzachristos, and Roxani Matsa, amongst others, were there to show their support and to communicate with the attendees.

Both Yiannis Karakasis MW and Gregory Michailos Dip WSET guided through the tasting with a lot of knowledge and passion. I did not take professional tasting notes; too fascinating were all the details to be learned about these rare wines. Nevertheless I will capture my impressions in a few very short words:

First flight – Aromatic wines:

Moschofilero 2007, Methode Traditionelle: Complex aromas, very well made.

Moschofilero Mantineia 2014, no sulfites: Captivating and funky. Perfect for people like me.

Moschofilero 2014, Mavrofilero clone: Rose petals. More rose petals.

Gewuerztraminer 2006: Fresh. Ginger.

It was fascinating to taste the complete different expressions from these two aromatic grapes. My favorite wine from this flight was the Gewuerztraminer. Its freshness really surprised me.

Second flight – Xinomavro Naoussa Terroir, 2007 vintage (from 4 different Terroir sites)

Terroir 6 Polla Nera: Elegance

Terroir 7 Strantza: Body

Terroir 16 Trilofos South: Tannins

Terroir 30 Trilofos North: Acidity

This was a great example of why the Naoussa terroir reminds us of Burgundy. Four plots within a small zone that yields four very different results. I had a hard time to decide if I preferred Terroir 6 or Terroir 30. Most likely a blend of both…

Third flight – International and indigenous varieties

Syrah, no sulfites, un-oaked: Pure fruit.

Grapes Rapsani 2000 Xinomavro 35%, Syrah 25%, Krasato 20%, Savroto 20%: Beyond peak.

Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Xinomavro 1994, Kozani: Classic.

The Syrah was for me the most interesting wine here, its clean and pure fruit delicious.

Flight 4 – Sundried Dessert Wines

Sweet Moschofilero Mantineia 2013: Commercially appealing, especially in Greece.

Liatiko 1997, Skalini Iraklio: Perfection.

Vinsanto red 1992, Assyrtiko, Mandilaria: Vibrant and dense.

Vinsanto aged 1988, Assyrtiko, Aidani: A treat. The first time Boutari experimented with Vinsanto.

This was a tough decision, as the quality of all these wines was so high. But the Liatiko did it for me, combining elegance with richness.

If I could get my hands on one of the above bottles, I would opt for the Gewuerztraminer. Not because I think it was the best wine of the night, but certainly the one I had the most fun with. The tasting was amongst the most memorable ones that I have attended in Greece. Being able to taste rare wines while getting a glimpse of what is going on behind the scenes at such an important winery is invaluable. Thank you, Wine Commanders, and thank you, Team Boutari.

I received the above email on the 2^nd of July, after Jon Troutman, who has worked with Gary Vaynerchuk for years, kindly introduced me to the professor’s colleague Katie Pritchard via twitter (yes, twitter still is an invaluable tool for making real life connections).

@trouty @katiepritchard Cheers, Jon, much appreciated! Katie, you can email me anytime mstolz @ http://t.co/oibVPMUFmS

— Markus Stolz (@elloinos) July 1, 2015

I replied immediately, offering my help. The next message I received really got me excited:

‘I am currently scheduled to teach at least 2 different sections of my class entitled ‘Geography of Wine’, with each class having roughly 35-45 students in it. Each class we teach in the ship has a field lab component, and I chose Greece to do the labs for both my wine classes. The general outline of what I thought would get the most out of would be visiting a winery, having a classic Greek lunch paired with wines. It would be cool to see something of the countryside as well, and even cooler if we could show the students how elevation affects wines by visiting different wineries with some variations in elevation: a true ‘vertical’ tasting, as it were. We heard rumors that some wineries actually have different vineyard blocks on a wide variation of elevations.’

A professor of Geography who plans to lead 70-90 US students on a 2-day field excursion into the Greek vineyards and who wants to explore the effect that different elevations have on wine? I had to meet this man!

Finding the wineries to visit was actually more complicated than I thought: Their location had to be within a 2-hours bus ride from Piraeus port; English-speaking winemakers were preferred, the facilities had to be sizeable enough to host a large group, lunch was to be offered at the wineries, and the wineries and/or vineyards should be eye-catching. The fact that the planned dates for the visits coincided with the harvest of Moschofilero and Roditis grapes limited the options further.

After much planning, we finalized our selections, and both turned out to be perfect. On Tuesday, our first group visited the Kokotos Estate in Stamata, just north of Athens. The owner, Anne Kokotos, and the winemaker, Anna Aga, spent several hours with us. Anna went through all sorts of technical details in regards to wine making, as the group was seriously interested in learning as much as possible. She even had prepared a PowerPoint presentation, which was very useful indeed.

The following day our second group travelled to the Tetramythos winery in Aegialia, in the northern Peloponnese. Here we were really able to dig into wines from different elevation sites, as the vineyards are situated at multiple altitudes ranging from 450 m (1500 feet) up to 1000 m (3300 feet). We had a great educational time, and I am especially thankful to the folks at Tetramythos who interrupted their harvest to spend time with us!

Seventy plus students received much more than an introduction to Greek wines. The ‘Geography of Wine’ is a serious course, where students will be tested and graded on. Apart from the great insights from the winemakers on all technical aspects, I had a Q&A session on each day, covering the wine history, current state of the Greek wine industry and effects of the financial crises, grape varieties and much more. They tasted wines from many grape varieties, indigenous and international, and also explored the modern styled Retsina. This was actually very interesting, as very few of the students had ever tasted a Retsina before. As such, there were no negative preconceptions about this style, simply a deep curiosity. It is fair to say that this group will become valuable ambassadors for Greek wine in their home country. John and I were so pleased with the results that we are exploring additional ways to deepen our collaboration in the future.

While discussing many issues with John Boyer, we also found out that we both have met Gary Vaynerchuk several times. To get a picture of John’s energy, check out the videos below on how he managed to persuade Gary to pay a visit to Virginia Tech:

This is our shout-out video to @garvee and @trouty, holding a bottle of Tetramythos Malagousia, the first wine I presented on Wine Library TV all these years ago.

I was contacted a couple of months ago by one Germany’s most respected wine journalists and critics, Herr Eckhard Supp, who was looking for my help to organize samples of the finest Greek red wines. Herr Supp recently launched a new print magazine in Germany, enos, which has received much praise from some of the best-known personalities from within the German wine trade.

In a private effort, I selected wines that I deemed worthy, contacted the wineries, and organized for samples to be shipped to Herrn Supp. I also selected wines from an existing stock that are with a PR agency in Germany that is working with the Greek wine industry.

Today, the tasting report was made available online. The article will also be included in the next print edition of the enos magazine. Herr Supp writes:

“No, there was no real surprise with these Greek red wines, not in regards to their high quality…This tasting proved again that the Greek viticulture has become highly competitive in terms of quality… The native varieties showed their great potential. Agiorgitiko, Xinomavro, Mavrotragano, alone, or blended with other varieties, represented a large part of the winning wines. Those who are very familiar with Greek wines know names like Kir Yianni, Biblia Chora, Sigalas, Costas Lazaridis, Alpha Estate or Gerovassiliou. It is deeply regrettable that their reputation has not yet reached beyond the smallest of circles that are made up of Greek wine enthusiasts.”

As for the results, 28 wines from 23 producers were evaluated using a five star rating. Ten wines reached a full five star rating; another thirteen wines received four stars, the remaining five wines scored three stars. Boom!

You can read the German article here, the list of the individual wines here.

Wine buyers from across the country will read the above reports. Will this change anything about the poor perception of Greek wines in Germany? Hardly, if there are no regular follow up articles. The last time Herr Supp wrote extensively about Greek wines was six years ago. It was the first Greek wine tasting that I ever organized.

Yesterday a most interesting wine exhibition took place in the heart of Athens. Organized by Vinetum, the ‘Top obscure wines from Greece’ were presented. The aim was to target the less famous wines of the country that the public is not yet familiar with. Seventeen ‘Micro’ wineries (with an annual production of less then 50000 bottles) showed their wines. In addition, a separate room hosted a tasting square where about 60 wines from producers who were not present in person were available for tasting.

The focus was multiple fold: Firstly and foremost, many wines from less known Greek grape varieties were presented, either as varietal wines or as blends. Examples are Goustolidi, Skiadopoulo, Mavrathiro, Sclava, Tinaktorogos, etc. – you get the idea. In addition, a descent number of natural and experimental wines were included. Lastly, small wineries, some of whom had never before exhibited their wines in Athens, were brought together. The programme was rounded up by several workshops devoted to obscure Greek grape varieties.

My hope is that this will turn into an annual event. I have rarely enjoyed a wine exhibition as much as this one. As a bonus, I spotted some eye catching wine labels. My personal favourite is shown here. Seriously, I applaud the catchy and bold message, which brought a huge smile to my face.

I will be moving back to Greece within the next three months, despite the economic uncertainties that clearly have never been more intense than right now. It might seem ironic that a German choses Greece over Germany, but I feel that I am German only by citizenship, not by heart. Those who know me well are aware of just how much I respect and support the Greek cause.

Indeed I feel proud to be moving back to a country where society has triggered the start of far reaching, possibly seismic changes. Whatever the outcome of the Greek stand-off with the Euro zone might be, the Greek society will be forever characterized for what they have set in motion.

James continued his research and exchanged correspondence with Greek producers and grapevine nurseries. He began forming a network of people who know about wine and grapes, always on the lookout for a partner who might be able to bring his vision alive. He finally met José Ayub, the owner of the Campos de Cima winery, through a mutual friend who works at the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa).

The Campos de Cima property is located in the far south of Brazil, in the Campanha Gaúcha region near the borders with Argentina and Uruguay. It has remained in the Ayub family for more than 150 years. The main agricultural and livestock products in the area were rice and cattle. In the late 90s, José and his wife Hortência started exploring what other products might adapt well to the climate and soil at the farm, in order to diversify their production. Among other opportunities, they became interested in the vitis vinifera.

They had a good reason for this, as several studies by academic and private entities pointed to real potential in the region for vitis vinifera. Almadén started this process in the 1970s, when investigators from the Californian UC Davis came to Brazil to examine the Gaúcha region. Almadén belonged to Seagram at the time, but was later sold to Pernod Ricard, and finally became a part of Brazil’s Miolo Wine Group.

Campos de Cima entered an arrangement with the Embrapa Uva e Vinhos. The estate became part of a study to see how grapes would develop over the years. 15 ha of land were planted with plants imported from France and Italy between 2002 and 2004. Around the same time, other farmers started planting vines as well. Many wineries from Serra Gaúcha, the largest and most traditional Brazilian wine region, also moved in, planting vines and buying grapes from local producers. Today Campanha Gaúcha is the fastest growing wine region in Brazil, renown for still and sparkling wines.

The Ayub family produced their first wines from their own grapes in 2006, at other wineries. Their brand was then launched and the wines were commercialized in 2009. They started building their own winery in 2012, and this year’s production will take place at the completed estate for the first time. They also hired Michel Fabre, a well known French winemaker who has been assisting them since last year. Michel owns his own estate in the South of France, La Croix de Saint Jean. José Ayub manages the Campos de Cima property, and everything related to the vineyards. His wife Hortência is the owner of the winery business, together with her two daughters Manuela and Vanessa.

The vineyards have an elevation of 180 meters, located in the Pampas. The literal translation of Campos de Cima means ‘upper fields’, as the vineyards and the building are located at the highest place in the property. The dominating climate is very dry and hot during the summer, with temperatures reaching 37˚ C (99 Fahrenheit). The winter is very cold and rigorous, with minimum temperatures around the freezing point for water.

Campos de Cima is a boutique winery with a small production, aiming for high quality wines. When the Ayub family met with James Carl, they quickly understood that they had some very strong common interests: James is interested in exploring Greek varieties; they have the land, the equipment and the experience managing vineyards, and became intrigued in testing Assyrtiko.

James believes that the Campanha Gaúcha region suits Assyrtiko well: “In Brazil, we constantly strive against moisture. For this reason, we want to plant Assyrtiko in a very hot region to prevent fungal diseases. Southern Brazil also has low temperatures in winter, which should guaranty a good dormancy for the grapes.” Pedro Candelária, the Commercial Director and also José’s and Hortência’s son-in-law, adds: “Our first goal is to try Assyrtiko, to see how it suits our terroir. Because of the hot weather conditions during summer, we need grapes with good acidity. If this experiment goes well, we will use Assyrtiko for commercial purposes, either as a blending partner, or even a varietal wine.”

Last week, the planting of 1000 Assyrtiko and 25 Agiorgitiko vines, which were imported from the Italian Rauscedo nursery, was completed at the property. The Agiorgitiko variety is just a small experiment, perhaps some grapes will in the future be used as a blending partner in a planned sparkling rosé wine. There are already plans to add other much rarer Greek indigenous varieties in the coming years. We might well see Mavrotragano, Koniaros, Black of Kalavryta, Limniona and Vertzami being grown at the Campos de Cima vineyards.

Some photos of the freshly planted Assyrtiko vines:

The risky endeavor to plant Assyrtiko in this seemingly improbable location is the brainchild of Larry and Dayle Rodenborn, the husband and wife team of Tryphon Vineyards.  They just picked up sixty-four baby Assyrtiko vines from the Foundation Plant Services at the University of California, Davis. These vines represent the first of their kind legally available in the States, and in all likelihood are among the first to be planted by a bonded winery in the US. Details about the clone can be found here.

Their original plan was to plant Xinomavro; I remember well discussing this with them in 2010. They had really hoped to get their hands on some clippings, but this task proved impossible. Assyrtiko was an excellent second choice, and will mark their first foray into white wines.

Who are the Rodenborns and what drove them to attempt to grow Assyrtiko at such risky vineyard site?

Q: Tell us a little about yourself and your winery.

A: Larry is half Greek, his mother is from Corfu, and from the day we decided to go into the wine business, we knew that we wanted to incorporate our Greek heritage into our winemaking. It was the inspiration for the winery name, it is something we take into great consideration in our decisions to maintain a more “old-world” style of winemaking and it is most certainly our motivation when it comes to planting new vines. The winery was a crazy impulse buy, as neither of us had any prior wine making experience. Larry is a physicist and Dayle is a social worker, but we both love wine…and adventure….and a challenge… so we bought a mountain vineyard 7 years ago and have never looked back.

Q: Why did you choose to plant Assyrtiko vines?

A: We have a love affair with Assyrtiko going back to our honeymoon in Santorini. It is a grape that grows well in shallow, rocky soils with little organic matter much like our own soil. It is also one of the most interesting white grapes in the world and we wanted to be the ones to bring it to the United States.

Q: What are your thoughts on how this variety might cope with the conditions prevailing at your high elevation vineyards?

A: The conditions in our vineyard are not too different from Santorini with the altitude being the major difference. We have strong winds, shallow soils, hot summers and cool nights. In practice the elevation primarily effects the tannins in the skins and the yields, both of which we can deal with. We think Assyrtiko will love it in the mountains. The elevation presents a challenge for any white grape due to the risk of frost. But it is a risk you have to take if you want to grow high elevation whites.

Q: Sixty-four baby vines does not sound like much – do you plan to simply experiment for now, and perhaps increase plantings later?

A: Sixty-four vines are all we could get from the Foundation Plant Services. Assyrtiko was only released this year and they had limited stock. We are hoping that a nursery got hold of the rest of the available stock so that there will be a good supply going forward. We are going to experiment with the Assyrtiko but we hope to either get more next year or try growing some from clippings. The plan is to get to at least 1/2 an acre and we are planting them own-rooted. The vines we got this year will not go into the ground until next year.

Q: If all goes well, when will you sip your first glass of Assyrtiko from vines grown in your soil?

A: It will probably be three years from the time we plant until we have something. Do not expect to see Tryphon Assyrtiko until around 2018.

Just two years ago, it was announced that Assyrtiko was planted for the first time in Australia. Last week, well known wine writer and journalist Jane Faulkner announced on twitter that she tasted the resulting wine in a world’s first. I sincerely hope to find a similar tweet regarding the first US Assyrtiko in a few years time.

A world first: today tasted 1st ever Aussie assyrtiko grown/made @Jimbarrywines delicious, crisp palate – has a big future here.

— Jane Faulkner (@winematters) July 8, 2014

Update 15^th July: I have noticed some comments that a ‘number’ of different wineries in the US are already working with Assyrtiko. I contacted the Foundation Plant Services at UC Davis and asked for their help to determine how many Assyrtiko vines have actually been sold over what period of time. As can be seen from their response below, out of the relatively low number of 260 MPPs that were distributed, more than 75% were sold this year alone. Indeed the very first distribution went to New Clairvoux Vineyard, although not with a large number of vines.  Tryphon Vineyards is amongst the first wineries that plan to work with Assyrtiko, and likely the one that purchased most vines (approximately 25% of all plants distributed).

The FPS UC Davis official response in full:

“The first release of this variety was February, 2011 to New Clairvoux Vineyard (Note: The community of Cistercian monks).  In 2004 the variety was obtained from the USDA Germplasm Repository at the request of Darrell Corti on behalf of the Monastery. It was treated for virus disease as funds became available from the National Clean Plant Network.

Since its initial release we have distributed 260 mist propagated plants (MPPs), and just this year 205 cuttings, mostly #2s & #3s. To date, 2 nurseries have obtained this material & 10 other parties.

Our on-line list of available materials is a static list that draws directly from our database, so I can’t tell you exactly when the variety first appeared there. It would have been on the ‘List of New Selections’ since it is not yet registered in the certification program. 4 vines were planted in our vineyard in summer 2011.”