The islands of the Aegean Sea are the sites of some of the world's oldest winemaking activity. A European passion for malmsey sustained the region through the Middle Ages. Young winemakers are moving into the region, revitalizing the industry.
The Aegean Islands are home to some of the oldest winemaking industries in the world. Wines from specific islands were prized in ancient times. During the Middle Ages, a European passion for malmsey - a strong, sweet wine which preceded port, supported the region. Most islands have not yet recovered from millenia of occupation, war and emigration.
In the late 1900's tourism boomed, further threatening winemaking. Today the islands' favorable microclimates and old, well adapted cultivars are being noted as young winemakers blend ancient tradition with modern technology, creating wines that span the ages.
Twenty percent of Greece's wine comes from Crete, http://www.toplink.gr/gr … index.html although there are a very limited number of varieties of grapes. Not being willing to invest in newer, low yield grapes, development of the industry has been slow. New winemakers are coming to the island, and so this is changing. A few old, old cultivars are still in production. Kostifali is a red grape used to make a stable, low acid wine.
This wine is really not found outside of Crete. Mandilaria is a mildly astringent red, which is usually blended with other varieties because it has such low alcohol content. Liatiko, named for July, is an early ripening red which produces a wine with a complex character.
Limnos, http://www.toplink.gr/gr … index.html a northern island, is home of ancient winemaking traditions. It is also home of the fabled cultivar, Limnia. This red grape becomes a semisweet wine of notable quality. Local winemakers have also developed a dry wine from the variety.
Paros, A Cycladic Island, http://www.toplink.gr/gr … index.html was a highly productive winemaking center, especially noted in the First Century BC. Viticulture survived throughout the Byzantine Era. Then the European love of malmsey took hold, sustaining the industry for several centuries.
Later, when diseases destroyed many French vineyards, French winemakers imported Parosian grapes to use in their blended vintages. Today, two old cultivars are still favored. Mandelaria is a leathery, very productive grape. And Momemvasia http://www.toplink.gr/gr … index.html is a survivor of medieval malmsey production.
Rhodes, a large island in the sotheast Aegean, http://www.toplink.gr/gr … index.html has a climate that favors viticulture. And historically, this island was the first stop in western migration of wine culture from Asia Minor. By the Seventh Century BC, Rhodes was the most important regional exporter of wines.
The island's relative isolation kept grapes healthy, and so some very ancient varieties still grow here. Red Mandelaria grapes ripen easily here, so fruit and aroma can fully develop. A rich wine, Athiri, was known as Theriaki in ancient times. This is often blended with Asyrtiko, a strong, volatile white grape, arguably Greece's best wine grape.
The green island of Samos, http://www.toplink.gr/gr … index.html noted for its terraced vineyards was also noted for its low quality dry red wines. Then the white Moschato Aspro was introduced. Samos is now gaining a new, improved reputation.
Then there's Santorini with its unique volcanic environment. http://www.toplink.gr/gr … index.html A massive eruption about 1500 BC left a submerged caldera where there once had been the island's center. The stress of volcanic soil and of limited water has made for an extraordinary vine and grape flavor. Widely spaced vines grow on the slope of the caldera, ending at the island's famed black beaches.
The Asyrtiko grape thrives here. It is often blended with the flowery Aidani Aspro or the Athiri cultivars. Although few red cultivars survived, two are beginning to gain importance. The original Brouska, a Venetian red processed by foot is grown today, as is the Nyktiri, which translates as night's work. These grapes were harvested near dawn and crushed the same day.

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Wineries in Crete: http://www.toplink.gr/gr … index.html

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