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EP 866 Expanding Palates with Greek Wines

Gary Vaynerchuk tastes 3 different Greek wines with Markus Stolz, a “Greek wine insider” and talk about the wine scene in Greece.

Wines tasted in this episode:

2009 Tetramythos Malagousia
2008 Nostos Alexandra’s
2007 Uranos Xinomavro play

Links mentioned in todays episode.


Latest Comment:

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luca bercelli

90/100

line of the day – ‘If you’re watching this in 2030 – can you believe how many Superbowls the Jets have won?’

I just love Germans when they speak English. The accent sounds funny to me. And a German speaking perfect Greek. A rarity and obviously a good guy

Tags: Greek, red, review, Video, white, wine, wines

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  • thesniki5

    you are completely correct, although it is pine resin, not tar. and only retsina has that.
    Greeting from Greece

  • Anonymous

    mattgmann you should change your handel to QPR!

  • Anonymous

    I will reply to your question about our ports here because I am lazy and don?t feel like scrolling through last eps comments. Actually out ports are relatively affordable. We have a 100% Verdelho port that retails for about 18 bones. Our Bootleg Port retails for about 18 as well (which includes the five Portuguese varietals). Our Vintage Port we make once every three or four years on a year we believe to be an excellent growth year, this retails for 35 bones but comes in the 750ml as apposed to the 500 which our other ports come in. Our last and arguably the most noted is out Tawny, made from 100% Bastardo aged for a minimum of 6 years in neutral American Oak. We would have a much older Tawny but our vineyards had a bad Phyloxera outbreak in 96 and we had to start our Tawny program over again, took the vines a while to rebound.

  • zanne_70

    QOTD 1: griffinwell (still getting the feel for Twitter – keep your eyes posted for increased activity soon!)

    QOTD 2: Agree with several of the other commenters – the 2nd wine would be the one to push. I don't think it's going to take 25 years for people to realize that there is more to wine than the Goliaths out there. Lighter style reds can be brilliant particularly for hotter weather. Best of luck to you Markus!

  • I find it great that wine library hosts Greek wines.I am in the wine market is Greece and know that there are many many good wines here to enjoy.As Marcus said we have to educate the consumer about the greek wines.It is true the wines are not cheap …the cost to produce a bottle of wine in Greece is high and that makes most importers look the other way.
    Santorini is producing maybe the best white wines in Greece.Assyrtiko is the main grape that tastes almost like a Sauvignon Blanc but with its own character.
    Nemea produces great reds and whites like the Agiorgitiko (aka Saint George) for the reds and Moschofilero for whites.
    Northern Greece is also well known about its wines .Regions like Drama have a long history in wine production mostly from the Xinomavro grape that reminds of a Saugniovese…

    Good work guys ,keep up.

    Best Regards
    Benjamin Deneke
    Greek Wine Portal

  • Thursday

    …how 'bout some Kidonitsa? I've only had it once, but I loved it and have been in search of it ever since. I've found one from Vatistas, but other than that it would seem that the Greeks are keeping it all for themselves… unless they're shipping it all to Australia 😉

  • Thursday

    …at some point I subconsciously decided it meant oenophile, and ever since that is what I read when I saw it. Congrats X2

  • RedRum

    Just to let you know GV, Astoria NY is where the biggest Greek community exists, I am surprised you don't know it! 😉

  • the very last lurker

    I would push all the 3. Intelligently priced, of course.

  • Allan

    It's official! The last lurker………! you did i G, they've all come out now! ! ! !

    I agree with you on all 3 & the price plays a major part these days…..! Right again!

  • Separated at birth; Gary V and Brad Paisley. What do ya think? Gary can you play guitar?

  • Clark

    Would also introduce all three. It is meaningful to the consumer when they can choose and interact with an informed wine merchant about different options. Shelf talkers would be key. Selling a summer white for more than $12 would be challenging against white bdx, NZ, and pinot grigio.

  • Hendrik Thoma

    Hi Markus, Great to see here promoting the wines of Greece. They are absolutely undervalued and making the extra effort to reach out to them worth it. Great Job Gary!

  • scottEJ

    Thanks, guys. I'm all about expanding the choices – bring on the Greek wines; especially the whites.

  • Karl

    Great guest, very enterprising and something really exciting I think.
    I think of the 3 wines, the final red seemed the most appealing, but I feel like there is a lot of potential in the white varietals – perhaps maybe more than in the reds?

  • Craig Hamlet

    I have to admit, I have never tried a Greek wine that I liked. Not even close. So I guess I'm close-minded to trying new ones. But if I find wine #3 from today's show, I'll give it another shot. Good show though Gary.

  • It was fun to see Gary gradually take over the show to where in the end Markus was just chiming in a couple of sentences. It almost turned into a tasting/buying session with us watching. But I guess in the end this is the GV show! Not complaining, but maybe tired of the guests if this is the format…

  • sam

    Interesting stuff. One day I'm going to Greece, and when I'm sitting on a beach on the smallest island I can find, I'm glad that I'll be drinking good wine.

    The Question: Of the three tasted here, I see the Xenomavro and the Malagousia doing best. If I tell people 'exotic summer porch sipper' that stuff prints money. Maybe I'm biased towards things unusual and funky, (full disclosure, I'm in Oregon, with more tiny wineries than you could hit with a dead cat on a ten foot pole) but I think one of the most important qualities people who ask for recommendations are looking for is small producers. Many people will buy what they've heard of or had before, it's hard to convince those people to try something they can't spell, but when people are looking for something new, it pays off to hand them something interesting and tell them 'this is a 400 case production done by a guy who only a week ago found out that people who aren't related to him drink his wine.' That sort of small production stuff is hard to find in the US because of our awesome wine shipping laws, therefore, it's a sought after treat.

  • Great guest and show! It's wild…200 varietals in total with 50 popular ones for potential export? And this from a country with far less arable land, mind you! I wish I saw more Greek wines available by the glass in different places. Anthos had a decent glass selection when I had gone there a few years ago.

    QOTD1: Just followed you, Markus! @newtype2001

    QOTD2: I will agree with Allan & others here: all could get here if intelligently priced. I would especially jump on the Nosto's Alexandra. Sounds like it's right up my alley, though most of my friends would have the other 2. I have had Agiorgitiko, Assyrtiko, and Moschofilero mostly in the past. LOVE to have freshly grilled whole fish with the Greek wines. My parents went to a wedding on Santorini and had some great smaller producers while there.

  • Thanks for bringing in the Greek wines Gary! We have a strong attachment to Greece (got married there – have a hotel there…) and we have a couple of hundred bottles of excellent Greek wines in our cellars – mostly in Greece. They are great value for the money and especially some of the young Greek wine producers that are educated in France/US/Australia do an excellent job!

  • Allan

    I'm sorry i did it again……..

    Having some Douro tonite; Niepoort 2006 Fantasi Red Wine. This might only be avalible in Denmark, because on the label is paper cuts of H.C. Andersen. I believe it might be called Twisted in the U.S.
    And i don't know if the wine is identical, but it's damn nice….!

    Kudos to Dirk Van Der Niepoort for keeping things tight and in perfect balance.
    A hair closed to begin with, and then opens with cherries/plum/cocoa. After 2 hours (yes i'm a quick drinker) in the glass, burnt tire meets marcipan?!?!??? Awesome. Complex. And once again BALANCE!!!!! And ACIDITY!!!!!!
    Definitely NOT overpriced (maybe 20 bones tops).
    It's a nice drop! 90+ Points. Trust me on this one. : ) Seek it Out!

    Salud!

  • mattyM

    Gary, you should import and sell that third one. The name is super fun to say…

  • Very nice episode. Great guest as well. ( BTW, my twitter is http://twitter.com/oscarfalcon ).

    QOTD: The only time I've had Greek wine is when i visited Greece in the 90's, and we don't usually get them locally ( I specially remember a sweet wine that was actually awesome ). I've seen two or three over the years but haven't tried them and probably should have. I am sure that if there were more of them of course people would buy them, in this city at least were there is a bit of “cellar-itis”, that is people having collections and sharing, in restaurants and at home.

  • Great Guest. passionate, educated, had watched the show (kinda a big deal), and he talked to the camera which was nice.

    QOTD all three wines seemed well priced, and all three would have room in my collection for different times, the last one seemed most exciting and would be great for entertaining. but on the other hand the majority of my wines are drank by themselves, either with a movie with popcorn or on the porch so the first two seemed better to fit the bill

  • Randall

    Danka, cellarrat5!! I’m sure I’ll be there in a couple of weeks or so. Hopefully you’ll be there. I really appreciate the help. The Revolution ports are fine, as are some aged Cedar Mountain dessert wines I have, but I wants me some Port made w/ some real varietals that won’t break the bank. Thanks again for the post.
    p.s. I noticed you like beers as well, so maybe I could break out a Belgian or two… or an aged Lagunitas Hairy Eyeball… or an aged barleywine… mmmm, barleywine… I’m sorry, what was I saying again?

  • DCaragher

    GV – I LOVE GREEK WINE! Unfortunately, in New Hampshire we don't get too much, but I really like the Notios White! Hopefully more will be coming down the pipeline!

    QOTD – My twitter name is: MrBrownstoneInd and I would import all Greek wines, I think American will catch up sooner than we think!

  • Kyle

    Gary, huge Greek community in Tarpon Springs, Fl., which is about 15 minutes north of Clearwater on the west-central coast.

  • @DanLacher

    QOTD: Push all three since they are different from each other and thus pushing the spread of Greek wines.

  • Allan

    Yep, i agree. Let's get some variety out there.

    Greek wines are for the future………………………………………………..!

  • if u love wine…. than u have to look at this today http://cinderellawine.com/

  • Tom

    Gary, love your show and have been watching since around episode 100 (although I have seen them all). Do me a favor and re-watch this episode and count the number of times you interrupted the guest. It makes me cringe every time. In a couple of cases you will ask a question and then ask another question when he's two words into his answer. This isn't 'speeding up the interview due to time limitations'. Just some constructive criticism — nothing but love.

  • Cool show. Thanks for the ever expanding “expanding palate” passion.

    QOTD: @jimmytrent

  • meh

  • Allan

    I WAAAAAAAANNNNNNTSSSSSSSS MYYYYYYYYY WLTVeeeeeeee!!!

    Pazzzzzzz on manonthemoon68!

  • Interesting to see these Greek wines.

    I lived in Greece for 2 years in the late 80's
    (USAF Hellinkon AFB)

    My impression of Greek wines was the bad taste
    all the retsinas left in mouth. UGhhhh

    I will give another try to the Greek wines.

    Cheers!

    Twitter

    @WineMiser

  • cadams82

    QOTD: twitter handle: ccadams

    Good show wish we had more greek wine locally.

  • slushpuppy

    I'm originally from Evanston & Chicago, Il. There is a large Greek contingent there with at least six excellent Greek owned restaurants. My favorite is the Greek Islands. Very festive with all the great foods. Every good Greek restaurant I've been to has RODITIS wine. It is the most delicious food friendly wine for Greek cuisine. Outside of these restaurants, very hard to find in the U.S. Markus, do you drink this wine???
    Smell it first. TR

  • Anonymous

    If Gary can play guitar I’ll drink my 59 Mouton Rothschild

  • Vas

    twitter: @vasilak

    I had a bunch of awesome greek wine at Zaytinya in DC last weekend (if you go ask for Kent). Had some solid Asyrtiko, Robola, and Moschofilero, along with a great Xynomavro and even some retsina that wasnt too shabby. Also, check out Mavrodaphne de Patras if you can find it – port style dessert wine for about $10.

  • Phil G

    Interesting show – need to try some more Greek wine!

  • Jamie D

    I loved your comment of how you love to drink white and sample reds. I love reds but I can't drink that many glasses. I make wine with my friends we make 3 reds, Cab, Syrah and a mixer and a different white every year. Ilove to have two or four glasses of white but reds are filling and although I love them, I can't drink them as much. Finally someone else understands my preference. Thanks Gary

    More varietals…YEAH! bring them on. I love a new taste experience.

    Jamie D
    San Francisco
    A long time lurker

  • DAveAll

    Tarpon Springs – huge Greek community! I really enjoyed my visits there. sponge divers, and the food! wow. great place.

  • grellot

    Xinomarvo—Getting that Nebbiolo palate that I love!

  • Alexandre-CF

    nice show, great guy.
    i really need to get some greek wines, never had one.

  • howlr5

    My twitter is howlr5. If I was Gary I would bring in all the Greek wines and have people get out of their comfort zones and try a Xinomavro.

  • Eli

    I've watched every episode since the beginning, and Markus was without a doubt the best guest that you've ever had. I could have listed to Markus talk forever. He was passionate, geeky, articulate, real, and down to earth all at the same time. Even Gary was mesmerized by him.

    Markus should have his own show!!

    Btw, I think Greek wine will be the next big thing . . . if we can remember how to pronounce the greek grapes and names.

    I've had the 2006 Ramnista by Kir-Yianni twice in the last few days. First at Greek restaurant called Snack Taverna in the West Village, and then at the new Terroir in Tribeca.

    Eli

  • 😉 I always smell first. Roditis is very common in Greece, a very nice, easy drinking wine that is indeed extremely food friendly for the Greek cuisine. I enjoy it on a regular basis.

  • Eli, thank you very much for your kind words, this means a lot to me! I just came back from the new Terroir in Tribeca, and the first wine I noticed on their list was the Kir-Yianni Ramnista. Was really pleased by this!

  • Gary – re Greek Wines – I had Retsina a few years ago. It was interesting. A wine made of pine needles. Very, very different.

  • Randall

    Finally!! Somebody mentioned T.S.!!

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