| |
By Jim Budd,
Wine Business Monthly
The Greek wine industry has changed out
of all recognition over the past twenty
years. The catalyst for change came in
1981 when the Greece joined the
European Union, bringing in EU funds to
make the necessary investments.
The Greek wine renaissance was
timely, as wine consumption was falling
in Greece - as in many other European
wine producing countries - during the
latter quarter of the 20th Century. In 1980
Greeks were drinking 44.87 litres per year
per capita, while by 1997 it was down to
30.05 litres. This is, however, nothing as
dramatic the decline in France and Italy.
As elsewhere, the decline in consumption
has been matched by a demand for better
quality wines.
Greece now has 129,000 hectares of
vines and in 2000 produced 3,558,000 hls.
This puts it in 14th place in the world, just
behind Brazil but ahead of Hungary.
Under the EU wine enticement program,
production has dropped from 5.5 million
hls in the early 1980s. At the same time, an
influx of wealth bought a move to consumers
demanding higher quality wine.
Hosting the Olympics in 2004 gives the
revived Greek wine industry a unique
opportunity. However, the question is will
the producers be able to take full advantage.
The Greek wine industry needs a
promotional presence both in the United
States and in other major markets, such as
the UK. Graham Blake, international
marketing manager for D. Kourtakis,
explained. "Unfortunately, there is no
Greek generic effort or Wine Bureau
backing the efforts of the exporters.
Obviously, as you saw from the theme of
our stand in London, we are using the
opportunity of the Olympic Games
returning to its origins in Greece in 2004,
and hoping for increased focus on Greece
and all things Greek in the run-up to the
Games."
The Greek Wine Bureau that was set
up in London in 1992 with funds from
the Greek government demonstrated the
potential advantages of having a promotional
organization. The Bureau organized
annual tastings and also raised
awareness about Greek wine amongst the
wine trade. All that came to an end in
1997 when the funding was withdrawn.
However, the impetus given by the Greek
Wine Bureau may well have been a factor
in persuading Oddbins, the most adventurous
of the UK wine retailers, to stock
nearly 40 Greek wines. With the exception
of Oddbins, the selection of Greek wines
in the UK supermarkets and national
wine retailers is poor indeed - limited to
the sweet fortified Mavrodaphne and
Retsina. The lack of recent generic promotion
has surely contributed to this situation.
One big advantage that Greece has in a
world beginning to show fighting varietal
fatigue is its treasure-trove of some 300
indigenous varieties. The disadvantage is
that even the anglicised versions of their
names are both difficult to remember and
to pronounce. For a country with such a
hot summer climate, Greece produces
some remarkably fresh and delicate
whites. In fact some of the country’s best
and most individual wines are white and
made from indigenous varieties such as
Assyritiko, Athiri and Roditis. With its
high acidity and capacity to be used to
make a number of different styles,
Assyritiko is of particular interest and is
widely planted on the island of Santorini.
It can be dry, demi-sec or sweet - vinsanto.
Among the indigenous red varieties
the soft and full Aghiorghitiko, also called
St George, seems to be the most promising.
International grape varieties are also
planted but it is difficult to believe that
the world is desperate for a Greek
Chardonnay or Merlot, although on a
recent visit to Greece I did taste some
interesting Syrah at both Costa Lazaridis
and Gerovassiliou.
Also, there are now some decidedly
palatial Greek wineries that would not be
out of place among the top wineries of the
Médoc or Napa Valley. One such is at
Drama,Macedonia. The imposing winery
is packed with modern equipment, an
underground barrel hall and generous
quantities of marble throughout.
Fortunately the wines live up to the
imposing surroundings. The impressive
top of the range red Amethystos Cava,
made entirely from Cabernet Sauvignon
which spends at least a year in oak and a
year in bottle before being released, can
certainly age for ten years or more.
Part of the renaissance has involved the
emergence of a small band of star winemakers.
Two of them, Tsaktsarlis Vassilis,
who used to be winemaker for Costa
Lazaridis, and Evangelos Gerovassiliou of
Domaine Gerovassiliou, have recently set
up the 150 Biblia Chora estate together.
Although the first wines weren’t made
until 2001, they are already high quality
and Biblia Chora is surely a name to watch.
The wines are already being exported to
Germany, the UK and the US.
Unfortunately Château Carras, with its
magnificently sited vineyards that ought to
be the showpiece of Greek wine, is currently
in the doldrums. On the Sithonia
peninsula in northern Greece, the 450 -
hectare vineyard and associated Porto
Carras resort and vineyard was developed
by John Carras in the mid-1960s. When
Carras died in 1989, his two sons were
unable to deal with the accumulated debt
and it was taken over by the National Bank
of Greece. In 2000 it was bought by the
Technical Olympic Group, who is now
renovating the complex. At present the
Carras wines are decidedly ordinary and
nowhere near the level they ought to be. It
remains to be seen whether Carras’ new
owners have the wisdom and expertise
necessary to revive the estate. On a recent
press visit we were treated to a tasting
using small Paris goblets by Technical
Olympic Group’s senior management, so
the signs are not good. Furthermore the
recent European Union summit at the Port
Carras resort appears generated no publicity
for the wines.
Much further south and away from the
green landscape of northern Greece to
arid, dusty Attica - close to Athens - is
another sign of the modern Greek wine
industry: the 30 hectare Evharis estate,
which was set up fifteen years ago.
Developed both as a wine estate and as a
place for receptions (weddings etc.), it
offers both easy drinking entry-level wines
as well as more ambitious ones. "40 percent
of our production is now exported," said
Harris Antoniou, owner of the estate with
his wife Eva. "Breaking into the European
market was a challenge but it is possible
using modern hi-tech winery equipment.
With our climate, soils and our unique
Greek varieties, especially Assyritiko, we
can compete. We have spent the last ten
years working on Greek varieties."
Blake (Kourtakis) concurs that
exporting is a challenge. "The proportion
of our exports going to the US is not large.
Our company, even by Greek standards
began exporting relatively late - not until
1980. However, in 23 years our exports
have grown to some 1.5 million cases, representing
50 percent of our total production.
Annual exports of Greek wine to the
US represent only some 180,000-200000
cases and our brands account for a quarter
of this volume. Our wines sell best in New
York, Massachusetts, the West Coast, particularly
Southern California and the NW
(Washington and Oregon), Michigan,
Texas, Florida, Illinois, Washington DC
and surrounding states (VA and MD),
North Carolina - much depends on the
focus and commitment given by the distributor.
"Naturally, there is a core of consumers
of Greek origin, and the Greek restaurants
are important customers. In recent years
there are some Greek restaurants of the
finest quality (for example, in Manhattan
there are some half dozen restaurants
offering top Greek/Mediterranean cuisine)
and these have acted as publicists for the
Greek foods and wines. There are many
Greek wines in the US market (from some
30 odd different wine producers) but as
you can see from the figures the category is
very highly fragmented. There are three
sizeable players (Achaia Clauss, Boutari
and Kourtakis), the rest being ‘boutique’
producers which have imited production
and are only there for image and prestige
purposes with availability largely limited to
on-premise outlets."
"70 percent of our production is
exported," explained Charalambos
Georgiou, marketing director for Achaia
Clauss, whose portfolio includes
Domestica and Château Clauss. "We make
1.5 million bottles a year, of which 70 percent
is exported. Although our main
market is within the European Union, our
wines are available all over the United
States - New York, Boston, Florida, Los
Angeles and Texas. But the US is a difficult
market because wine is heavily taxed and
some states having a monopoly. Our customers
are often of Greek origin but there
are also people who have visited Greece
and who are familiar with Greek products."
For Greek wine to break through onto
the world market, producers need to work
together. Unfortunately some appear to be
reluctant to help each other. Twice on a
recent press trip producers refused to
reveal information in case other producers
might use it. The most surprising was at
Domaine Gerovassiliou close to
Thessaloniki and one of Greece’s leading
estates. Owner Evangelos Gerovassiliou
refused to say which indigenous grape
varieties were in an experimental blend
"because other producers would start
planting them." Breaking into the international
market is hard enough even if all the
Greek producers work together. If they
don’t work together it will be virtually
impossible.
If the Greek wine producers are to benefit
from next year’s Olympics they will
have to move fast or otherwise rue a massive
opportunity missed.
Jim Budd writes for Caterer & Hotelkeeper,
Decanter, The Grocer, Harpers Wine & Spirit
Weekly, Off License News, Taste, and Wine &
Spirits International, among others. He is editor
of Circle Update, the newsletter of the Circle of
Wine Writers, and has contributed to numerous
wine books.
|