Greece
It’s hard to believe that as recently as 2016 Greece was only picking up a couple of places on our Gold List. Over the past four years it’s grown into a really impressive part of the competition – this year’s seven Golds was its joint best performance ever.
The whites have been winning over our tasters for a while, so the positive feedback and good medal count were no surprise. But what’s most heartening for Greek wine producers is that the reds have started to do the same. It’s the same story for both categories: interesting wines, food-friendly-structure and a broad variety of styles.
The prices are rarely much below £50 on a list, but since these are always going to be a hand-sell anyway, our judges didn’t mind that. A fascinating, exciting part of SWA that should be on every somms ‘to try’ list.
From The Tasting Teams
‘Greek wines show the minerality of the soil and are expressive. They are a little beyond the classic but they can shape a journey for the customer.’ Gaetano Giangaspero, C&C
‘Such an interesting flight. Greek wines can be amazing, and the reds we had here were great.’ Luma Monteiro, Wineria
‘I thought these were brilliant overall. I was quite surprised at the entry level, with nicely done freshness and fruit-driven wines that you can really play around with on a list.’ Elena Serban, Heritage Restaurant
‘I did enjoy these wines. In general, it was interesting to go from minerality to bolder styles, and I found good value at all prices.’ Diego Carballido, Bar Boulud – Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park
‘I’m really impressed – there was real diversity in the reds and they represent really good value.’ Daniel Eriksen, Anglian Country Inns
‘Greece is a very diverse place – we’re talking microclimates – and all 15 of the wines in our flight were different.’ Savvas Symeonidis, Goodman Restaurant Mayfair
‘Just one word: wow. We saw such a good range of styles in the reds – there was rarely a wine that was the same as another. Ideal for restaurants.’ Valentin Radosav, Gymkhana Restaurant London