Mantinia Moschofilero 2008 - Tselepos Estate

Vassilis Papadopoulos was born on December 18, 1978 in U.S.A. and currently lives in Athens – Greece. He is a sommelier & wine consultant, working freelance with restaurants, wineries, magazines and websites. He is a co-owner of the “Kazakos Drink Bank” (wine and spirits stores in Athens) administrating more than 1.700 different worldwide wine labels and thousands bottles which lie in the cellars of the stores. Also he is the president of the “KWC”, a Greek wine club which has more than 400 active members and organizes wine tastings, wine dinners, wine trips and more. You can contact him on: vaspa78@hotmail.com

Brand: Mantinia Tselepos

Winery: Tselepos Estate

Vintage: 2008

Appellation: Mantinia AOC (Greece – Peloponnesus)

Varietal: Moschofilero

Winemaker: Yiannis Tselepos

Oak: No Oak

Type: Dry White Wine

Alcohol: 12%

Vineyard: Selected vineyards from the communities of Lithovounia, Agiorgitika and Zevgolatio.

Wine Making: Modern technological winemaking with the method of skin contact at 10^oC for 8 hours. The fermentation is carried out at low temperatures of 12^oC.

Production: 200.000 bottles

Average Price: 9€

Category: Party + Authentic! Reasonably priced and high quality crowd pleaser. Also a wine that strongly express terroir.

Rating: 4,3 (on a 1 - 5 scale)

Tasting Notes:

Made from the noble Moschofilero Greek grape comes the white Mantinia Tselepos AOC wine. Light yellow color with some gray hues. The nose is very floral, white flowers and rose. Also citrus, lime, minerals and mint. In the mouth medium intensity aromas but elegant with a fresh lemon acidity. Medium finish. It will be best to drink it fresh and young, but may hold a bit longer. Best served at 10^o - 12^o C.

Food Pairing Suggestions: Salads, soups and seafood

Winery Notes:

Founded in 1989, with its first vintage in 1995, Tselepos Estate today releases about 300,000 bottles a year. French trained owner Yiannis Tselepos received his oenology degree in Dijon and worked in Burgundy. He does great work with local grapes, but also makes good international wines like Chardonnay, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Gewurztraminer. The Estate's vineyards are situated at altitudes higher than 750m, at the foothills of Mt. Parnon and are part of a distinctive ecosystem with very cold winters and mild summers. They cover 25 hectares planted with 5 different varietals. The Estate's winery austere and functional at the same time, it is, above all, a working winery where the No 1 objective is the creation of good wine. Visitors have a chance to follow closely how wine is made in a state-of-the-art Greek winery. The winery is equipped with pneumonic presses, cooling installations, stainless steel tanks, underground ageing cellars, French oak barriques and an iso-barometric bottling line, operating in an air-vacuum.

Vintage Overview (2007):

The zone of Moscofilero has noticeably suffered from the drought because it is a region where usually we have sufficient rain falls. The production was at the level of 50 %, while the quality of grapes was excellent. The price increases have followed the general rule, the most at the level of 40-45%.

Thalassitis Oak Fermented 2008 - Gaia Wines

Vassilis Papadopoulos was born on December 18, 1978 in U.S.A. and currently lives in Athens – Greece. He is a sommelier & wine consultant, working freelance with restaurants, wineries, magazines and websites. He is a co-owner of the “Kazakos Drink Bank” (wine and spirits stores in Athens) administrating more than 1.700 different worldwide wine labels and thousands bottles which lie in the cellars of the stores. Also he is the president of the “KWC”, a Greek wine club which has more than 400 active members and organizes wine tastings, wine dinners, wine trips and more. You can contact him on: vaspa78@hotmail.com

Brand: Thalassitis Oak Fermented

Winery: Gaia Wines

Vintage: 2008

Appellation: Santorini A.O.C. (Greece - Aegean island)

Varietal: Assyrtiko

Winemaker: Yiannis Paraskevopoulos

Oak: 6 months in new 225 lit French oak casks from the Nevers forest

Average Price: 15€

Alcohol: 13,5%

Number of cases: 6.018 (bottles)

Category: Classic! A "banker"; the epitome of its class or ranking, region or country, grape or style

Rating: 4,6 (on a 1 - 5 scale)

Tasting notes:

The Greek island of Santorini produces some of the world's greatest white wines. This wine could be seen as the meeting point of a traditional Greek wine-grape variety with a typically French wine-making technique. Is an Assyrtiko varietal comes from 40 – 80 years old vines. Bright pale yellow color. Aromas of fruits with smoky notes and citrus hints. Creamy apple fruit. In the mouth the wine is full bodied, dry and crisp with a long finish finishing with lime notes. Perfect value for money. A white wine that has great aging potential, it will further develop towards a complex wine under careful storage. Drinking window: 2009- 2014. Best served at 10 –12 ° C.

Winery Notes: GAIA WINES was founded in 1994 in Santorini island (Greece) by Leon Karatsalos (Agronomist, University of Thessaloniki) and Yiannis Paraskevopoulos (Agronomist, University of Thessaloniki, Ph.D of Oenology, University of Bordeaux II).

Vintage Overview: 2008 was a very good to excellent quality for Aegean Islands (Limnos, Paros, Rhodes, Santorini). The heat wave of two years ago influenced this year's harvest in quantity. In addition strong winds have depleted the crop. (Santorini). However, the cool summer gave grapes full of vividness and health. The prices have an upward trend. In Santorini the price reached 1,35€/Kgr. which is a record. However, the low yields had a negative balance for the winegrowers.

Food Pairing Suggestions: sea food, salad, grilled fish, chicken dishes.

Avaton 2004 - Domaine Gerovassiliou

Vassilis Papadopoulos was born on December 18, 1978 in U.S.A. and currently lives in Athens – Greece. He is a sommelier & wine consultant, working freelance with restaurants, wineries, magazines and websites. He is a co-owner of the “Kazakos Drink Bank” (wine and spirits stores in Athens) administrating more than 1.700 different worldwide wine labels and thousands bottles which lie in the cellars of the stores. Also he is the president of the “KWC”, a Greek wine club which has more than 400 active members and organizes wine tastings, wine dinners, wine trips and more. You can contact him on: vaspa78@hotmail.com

Brand: Avaton

Winery: Domaine Gerovassiliou

Vintage: 2004

Appellation: Regional Red Wine of Epanomi (Northern Greece)

Varietal: Limnio + Mavroudi + Mavrotragano

Winemaker: Evangelos Gerovassiliou

Oak: 20 months in new French oak barrels

Average Price: 35 €

Alcohol: 13,5%

Awards: Avaton 2004 - Gold Medal (Selections Mondiales Des Vins, Mondreal-Quebec, Canada)

Category: Sit-Down Bottle! Something seriously fine and complex to share with fellow connoisseurs

Rating: 4.5 (on a 1-5 scale)

Tasting Notes: Avaton (meaning forbidden access) is a blend of indigenous greek varieties: Limnio, Mavroudi and Mavrotragano. Limnio – also mentioned by Aristotle – is the oldest attested Greek variety. Deep ruby colour. Concentrated and rich aromas of dark fruits. Grilled meat notes, spices, pepper, red currants and honey. Also some herbal notes. Medium to full-bodied with good acidity and very promising tannins. Really nice balance. Medium aftertaste. This wine will reward years of cellaring (10-15 years). Served at 16-18° C.

Winery Notes: This is the brainchild of Evangelos Gerovassiliou (studied in Bordeaux). In 1981 he started planting Greek and foreign grape-varieties in the family vineyard of 2,5ha, in the area of Papamola in Epanomi, approx. 25km. southwest of Thessaloniki – in an ideal ecosystem for the vineyard’s cultivation. Domaine Gerovassiliou is a single estate vineyard of 45 ha. It has a Mediterranean climate with mild winters and temperate summers that are cooled by sea breezes. The vineyard is surrounded on three out of four sides by sea at a distance of nearly 3 km, whereas from vineyard’s west side one can see the Thermaic Gulf, Mount Olympus and the sea coast of Pieria. The soil mainly consists of sand with certain loamy substrata and calcareous rocks. Fossils are also found due to the fact that the whole surrounding hilly area was formed by alluviums. The modern winery is surrounded by the vineyard and comprises four large areas. It was constructed in 4 phases between 1986 and 1999.

Vintage Overview: The viniculture year of 2004 was normal for the area of Epanomi. In contrary to previous years, the sufficient rainfalls and snows during the winter very much helped water collection of the area. The winter was wetter than average and this helped the correct structure of the grapes. The spring was relatively wet and helped the correct grape development. From the beginning the production seemed to be very good. Many producers have done what we say "Green harvest" by throwing down grapes, before they were matured, so as to decrease the average production and improve the quality. The weather during summer was cool with low night temperatures, which favoured the fenolic grape maturity. The harvest started on 19th August with the white varieties and continued until the beginning of September, when the harvest of the red varieties. These show big extracts of their fenolic elements (colour and tannins), and the wines have sufficient body and excellent quality

Food Pairing Suggestions: Best enjoyed with game, red spicy meat and matured cheeses.