I’ve been hiding in air conditioned rooms for the past few weeks, but managed to come outside to meet up with a friend from California in NJ to visit family. We met for dinner at Estia Tavern in Marlton, and caught up over Greek food and Greek wine. She is a bit of a wine snob, living 45 minutes south of Napa, but agreed that these interesting Greek wines went perfectly with the food.

We started with a Gai’A 14-18h Agiorgitiko Rosé. Gaia (Yeah-ah) is the Greek personification of the Earth as a goddess. Gai’A winery was founded in 1994 by Dr. Yiannis Paraskevopoulos (who has a PhD in enology from the University of Bordeaux) and Leon Karatsalos, pioneers of modern Greek wines. Gai’A has vineyards on the Peloponnese Peninsula and on the island of Santorini.

Agiorgitiko (Ah-your-yee-tee-ko) grapes grow in the mountainous regions of Nemea, in the northeastern part of the Peloponnese peninsula (the large peninsula sticking off the southwest of mainland Greece). Agiorgitiko is used to make fruity, spicy reds with flavors of raspberry, red currant, cherries, oregano, and smooth tannins.

The rosé made from this grape (after pressing, the juice is directed into stainless steel vats and left on the skins 14-18 hours for color, hence the name) is deep pink in color, with cherry and raspberry on the nose, and red berries and a slightly herbal character on the palate. Medium-bodied, it has great acidity for food-pairing, and went well with our grilled octopus, grilled shrimp, and calamari. 12.5% abv. It’s about $15 a bottle (online only), but you can get a glass of it locally for $10 at Estia.

We moved on to red, and ordered my usual standby here: Skouras Saint George Agiorgitiko, also from Nemea. Domaine Skouras was founded in 1986 by George Skouras, an oenology graduate of the University of Dijon in Burgundy. 

For their Saint George Agiorgitiko, the grapes are macerated and fermented in stainless steel vats, then aged in used French barriques for 12 months, before spending another 6 months aging in the bottle. The wine has aromas of blackberries, raspberries, and strawberries on the nose, with those flavors following through on the palate, joined by clove, cinnamon and pepper on the finish. The wine is well-balanced and medium-bodied, with smooth tannins and good acidity for food pairing. It went well with lamb. 13.5% abv. It’s about $17 a bottle online, but you can get a glass of it locally for $11 at Estia. Ya mas!