Wine & Spirits - April 2020 - 69

GREECE

POPULAR BARGAINS

Greece holds steady as the fifth most popular country people look
to for wines in America's top restaurants-a status the country has
held since 2016. That's remarkable considering that Greek wines
didn't even rate a mention on most wine lists back in 2008. Interestingly, it was the lean, crisp, saline wines from Santorini that led the
charge, but the best sellers today are from the north-Alpha Estate
in Amyndeon and Costa Lazaridi in Drama. "We have two types of
guests," says Despoina Karapostolaki at Amali in NYC. "Those that
love assyrtiko, and want to spend money for it, and the others who
say, 'Oh, it's too expensive for a Greek wine.'" Those guests might feel
safer paying more for red wines, as well as wines that include familiar
varieties such as syrah and chardonnay.

MOST POPULAR GREEK WINES
Rank Brand

Bottling

1

Alpha Estate

Florina Axia Syrah-Xinomavro
Florina Tramonto Chardonnay

$59
$72

2

Costa Lazaridi

Drama Amethystos Rouge
Drama Amethystos Cava (Cab Franc)

$60
$92

3

Sigalas

Santorini Assyrtiko

$60

4

Santo Wines

Santorini Assyrtiko

$62

5

Gaia Estate

Santorini Thalassitis Assyrtiko
Nemea Agiorgitiko 14-18H Rosé

$74
$40

6

Boutari

Santorini Assyrtiko
Mantinia Moschofilero

$95
$44

KAMAL KOUIRI
Molyvos
N YC

MARIANNA CALDWELL
Cassia
LOS AN GE L E S, C A

Millennials are a
generation that look
for value; they want to
have a nice bottle of
wine with dinner without
spending too much.

POPULAR BARGAINS UNDER $50

"People are put off by Greece
initially, and then they taste the
wine and find it works really well.
We're doing more now: I just
got all of the Ligas wines in. It's
great to be able to show people
that there's more to Greece than
assyrtiko."

PHOTO OF CASSIA BY JOHN LINDEN

Avg.
Price

What can you find for less than $50
at a restaurant? Sam Reithmer of
République in LA likes to look to
the Côtes du Rhône for "a wine for
a weekday night. It doesn't detract
from the experience of interacting
with other people. You just rip it,
pour it and have a good time."
While US wines have historically
held the top places on this list, many
sommeliers report that they are finding it easier to procure values from
farther afield: In fact, the most popular under-$50 pour this year, Costa
Lazaridi Amethystos, hails from
Northern Greece. And New Zealand,
filling in two of the top ten spaces,
provides options for sauvignon blanc
lovers not willing to pay Sancerre
price tags.

ARIA DORSEY
Folk

Rank Brand

Avg.
Price

1

Costas Lazaridi

Drama Amethystos Blanc

$44

2

Kim Crawford

Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc

$36

3

Meiomi

California Pinot Noir

$44

4

Sonoma-Cutrer

Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir

$37

5

Hedges Cellars

Washington CMS Red Blend

$38

6

Venica & Venica

Collio Jesera Pinot Grigio
Collio Merlot

$48
$44

7

Ryder Estate

Central Coast Pinot Noir

$37

Greywacke

Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc

$46

Joel Gott

California Chardonnay
California 815 Cabernet Sauvignon

$30
$30

Decoy

Sonoma County Cabernet
Sauvignon

$36

La Marca

Prosecco

$23

8

NA SHVILLE

"Greece's image is getting better
and better, but still, if the last time
you tasted the wines was twenty
years ago...You need to have
patience and give [those guests]
a taste. Sometimes I bring four
bottles to the table; once they find
something they like, then their
opinion will change."

Bottling

10

CASSIA,
LOS ANGELES, CA
WINE & SPIRITS

APRIL 2020

69
Wine & Spirits - April 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Wine & Spirits - April 2020
