One of the things I enjoy most about wine is that there is always something new to discover and you can never learn everything within the world of wine. Writing this blog and seeking more knowledge about this subject pushes me to step out of my comfort zone so that I am not drinking the same varietals or sticking to one specific region all of the time. A new experience for me was trying my first Greek wine. I had always thought that once I traveled there it would be all I would be drinking and didn’t give it another thought. I have never looked in my local wine stores to see their Greek wine selection nor have I ever looked to see if they were present on any wine lists. The fact that I never go to Greek restaurants also illustrates my zero experience with anything from this region. Recently I attended a wine tasting featuring wines that come from islands featuring the Mediterranean. Before the tasting began we were looking to see what the selections would be and my friend leaned over and said ” Greek wines aren’t good.” I hate to generalize like that and admit to having felt that way at one time about wines from South Africa. I soon figured out they weren’t all bad, I just didn’t particularly care for the specific ones I had tasted at that time.
The very first wine in the lineup was Argyros Atlantis White 2011 from Estate Argyros Winery located on Santorini. Based on what my friend had said none of us had high hopes and figured since we had nine more wines to go we wouldn’t even remember it as the tasting progressed. I am very happy to say that we were VERY wrong to make that assumption. Atlantis White is actually quite good. It is comprised of grapes native to Santorini: 90% Assyrtiko, 5% Aidani,and 5% Athiri which are grown in volcanic soil. In the glass it is a clear straw color with a light, slightly floral aroma. I got a lot of pineapple on the palate along with the usual citrus flavors classic to the majority of white wines. It is very acidic making it ideal to pair with food and is 12.5% alcohol. I liked this wine so much I ordered it at the tasting and we had it last weekend paired with an orzo, mint, and feta salad. Argyros Atlantis White is also an excellent value retailing for under $16 per bottle.
Estate Argyros Winery is family owned and was started in 1903. They have been granted many awards including the Top 100 Wineries in the World two years in a row in 2005 and 2006.
