Uncommon wines
The new wines of Greece are, in many respects and for many reasons, uncommon wines by any standards. Made from rare varietals grown in unique terroirs and crafted through highly individual methods, these wines clearly stand apart. Only a few decades ago, this divergence could have been viewed as a grave weakness. For many years, simplicity was paramount in the selling of wine to customers. In order to have a competitive advantage, the wine producer had to reduce the wine’s personality, including the packaging and the taste, down to the simplest elements; any hint of complexity would simply alienate prospective consumers.
Although this still stands true for a large part of the global wine market, there are certain wine sectors that behave much differently today. In a market in which homogeneity of wine styles is an increasing concerns, more and more wine professionals and wine amateurs are seeking the thrill and refreshment of truly uncommon wines. Most wines are made using just a handful of grape varieties while labels, aromas, and tastes become ever more indistinguishable. Despite the efforts of several wine producers and wine producing countries to promote alternative or lesser known varieties, when the results are judged by what is in the bottle, there is yet again the disappointment of tasting yet another of the "same wines."
The new wines of Greece, however, have a structure and flavour profile that vividly illustrates the way Greeks enjoy wine—they imbibe wines that are elegant, complex, food-friendly, refreshing, and never too rich or too heavy. These are the very qualities that make the new wines of Greece ideal both for amateurs seeking an exotic taste of uncommon wines and for the modern, discerning wine drinker.
