Agiorghitiko Melon de Bourgogne Moschofilero Mencia
The Agiorgitiko grape varietal is grown widely throughout Greece and certain other countries, and is prized for the fact it is highly heat resistant, and can thrive on even quite arid and infertile land. It has been cultivated for millennia in the Nemea region of the Peloponnese mountains, where it remains highly popular to this day. It is a grape varietal which can take on wide range of characteristics, from highly tannic and astringent to rather soft and rounded, and responds well to a variety of wine making techniques and methods. Typically, the Agiorgitiko grape varietal produces wines which are quite spicy, and hold plummy and dark fruit flavors It has been successfully blended with Cabernet Sauvignon, and is a popular grape varietal in many countries around the world.
One of the more unusual French grape varietals, Melon de Bourgogne has been grown in and around the Loire Valley for several hundred years. In fact, this grape was first planted in the Loire region of Pays Nantais back in the mid 17th century, after a devastating frost decimated most of the red grapes which were typical in the area. The winemakers of Pays Nantais were keen to cultivate vines which were hardy, high yielding, and capable of surviving another such frost, and so turned their attention to Melon de Bourgogne for this very reason. The native home of the varietal is actually in Burgundy, where it is still grown to a lesser extent.
Because Melon de Bourgogne produces naturally heavy yields, the vintners of Pays Nantais go to great lengths to reduce the amount of fruit the vines bear. This allows the finest characteristics of the grape to come forward, and also opens up the opportunity for it to express the wonderful granite and schist soils in which the vines are grown. Melon de Bourgogne is a minerally white wine grape varietal, with a very subtle set of fruit flavors. It is prized for its freshness and brightness, and is seeing a revival in the twenty first century as an excellent wine for pairing with a wide range of foods.
Greece has many AOC regions, each with their own signature grape varietal which is cultivated and processed to an exceptionally high degree of excellence. The AOC of Mantinia on the beautiful expansive plateau of the Peloponnese has the Moschofilero varietal, a gray colored white variety which produces exceptional Blanc de Gris wines. A delicate grape, highly sensitive to adverse weather conditions, it is nonetheless prized by wine makers for its unique attributes and the quality of the wine which can be made from it. Although commonly compared to western European Muscat wines, the Moschofilero grapes produce wine which is in a league of its own – full of floral aromas containing heavy, almost soporific notes of rose petals and violets. The flavor of the wine tends to be spicy, and leans more towards earthy mineral flavors rather than fruit ones, making it perfect as an aperitif or coupled with salty olives and cheeses.
Moschofilero wines tend to be elegant and subtle, with their strength being in their crispness, and the bouquet of floral aromas rising from the glass. The finest Moschofilero wines to come out of Greece in recent decades have included the Tselopos, whose high altitude vineyards have seemingly mastered the potential and complexity of this gray grape to international acclaim.
Additional Information on Greek Wines
Greek Wines
Ancient Greek Wines – A Brief History of Wine in Greece
The Myth of Dionysus, Greek God of Wine
What is Retsina?