It used to be that one had to venture to Queens’ Greek neighborhood to find a decent selection of wines from Greece and similar countries. These wines were sold almost expressly for ex-patriots who wanted a taste of wine from the old country in their new homeland. However, Greek wines have become more visible in the wine world, due to the increased focus on quality and influx of new, young winemakers.

In northern Greece, up and coming winemakers Evripidis Katsaros from Katsaros Estate; Thrassos Giantsidis from Estate Gerovassiliou; and Annegret Stamos from Biblia Chora are establishing high quality reputations both at home and broad. Their dry and windy area produces mostly whites, but, beautiful red wines are also being made.

With training in Bordeaux, Giantsidis has applied French winemaking techniques to indigenous grape varieties, while Katsaros has experience in Burgundy. Annegret is originally from Germany, bringing yet another unique perspective to the region. Wines produced in this region have good acidity, but less so than the same grape, such as Assyrtiko, grown in Santorini. While import markets clambor for Greek varieties, the local market wants the diversity of international varieties as well, which accounts for the use of both in these wines. The importer advised that these wines may be found at Acker Merrall & Condit, among other outlets in New York City. For more information on these wineries, visit Cava Spiliadis.

As further evidence of the increased interest in Greek wines, Chelsea Wine Vault has just announced the addition of a new Greek wine section. Their recent newsletter highlighted a number of wines including a nice range of affordable reds and whites. The store has not yet added “Greece” to its search by region function, but it is likely an oversight soon to be corrected. Chelsea Wine Vault will host a Greek wine class on July 13, 2010 from 6:30 – 8:00 PM at the store. Tickets are $45/ person and may be purchased online.
75 Ninth Avenue, at 16th Street, New York, NY

In addition, Picada y Vino  will offer a free tasting this weekend of a Greek wine and a Lebanese wine: Saturday, June 26, 2010 from 4:00 – 7:00PM. Wines include Greece’s Domaine Tselepos Mantinia Moschofilero 2008 (a white produced from 100% Moschofilero) and Lebanon’s Château Kefraya Les Bretèches (a red blend of Cinsault (70%), Cabernet Sauvignon (10%), Syrah (5%), Grenache (5%), Tempranillo (5%), Carignan (3%) and Mourvèdre (2%). These two featured wines will be 10% off, all day. 327 Fifth Avenue, Brooklyn, NY, 11215