Submerging Thalassitis 2011

On September 1, 2012 a group of 4 divers, 1 over water photographer, 2 boat hands & a boat captain aboard "The Black Cat Bone" set out to submerge 1 ton (520 bottles) of Thalassitis off the coast of Santorini.  After sifting through tons of video and still shots, I have compiled this 7 minute video that I have uploaded to You Tube.

Yiannis P carefully guiding the cage into the water off Monolithos Beach, Santorini

The concept of submerging wine under the sea is not a new one - there are several winemakers doing this off the coast of France & Spain.  To my knowledge, Yiannis P & GAIA Wines is the only Greek winery to do so.

The project was an ambitious one and I am happy to report that the sinking of the cage went off without a hitch and not a bottle was broken on the way down.

In the coming days I will post my report in detail on this blog.  However, I wanted to share this video with you now so you can get a sense of the project we partook in.  It was a great experience and I can't wait to do it again next year!

Hatzimichalis Lefkos - a modern interpretation to the "house white"

For many years, Estate Hatzimichalis offered the Domaine White as its value white wine option. However, the style was a bit traditional and the market began to demand something fresher and more modern style. The resulting wine is now called Lefkos.

Made from a blend of the Greek grapes Malagouzia and Robola with a touch of Sauvignon Blanc, Lefkos is a crisp, clean and fresh white wine that ticks all the boxes that you want in a white wine. Lefkos is made from the above blend and each grape is separately fermented in stainless steel and then blended together. All grapes used in the wine are 100% estate grown.

Lefkos is a great value and is on the shelf from $12-$15 a bottle depending where you are in the US. The current release is 2011. Be sure to grab a bottle if you spot it on your store's shelf.

You can find out more at the winery's website www.hatzimichalis.gr

 

Under the Sea.....That's where Thalassitis will be..

Here and there you have probably heard of scuba diving winemakers submerging bottles of wine to see how they will age underwater.  Yiannis Paraskevopoulos from GAIA Wines decided to experiment for himself two years ago - he submerged Thalassitis 2009 off Kamari Beach in Santorini. 

This past May I was on the island with our buying tour group when Yiannis asked me to come to the island to help him do it again.  The setting was classic - an amazing warm late spring day, blazing sun and eating seaside at Nixteri on Kamari Beach.  Perhaps it was the food coma plus multiple glasses of wine or Crazy Donkey beer that was already in my system? I agreed to do it. 

After looking at my schedule, I decided the best time to do this was over Labor Day weekend.  I will be going to Santorini for approximately 72 hours to help my fellow avid scuba diver submerge 2011 Thalassitis.  It does pose an interesting question though - can wine age underwater in an anaerobic, low light, consistent temperature environment? 

My antics have already made for interesting conversation in addition to me getting some very strange looks from people who think I'm a bit crazy for agreeing to this.  Hopefully we will bring up a few bottles of the 2009 Thalassitis that's already down there to try - that is, unless the fish have made off with it.

Stay tuned for updates on Twitter and future blog posts chronicling our escapades.  We will also be shooting video too and will post that once we string it together.

Wish me luck!

GAIA Ritinitis Retsina label gets a makeover

Since the late 1990s when Athenee Importers began importing GAIA's Ritinitis Retsina, we have been using this label:

Starting  fall 2012 GAIA has decided to retire our existing label and move to a new design. 

The bottle will be clear and with a screw cap.  Pricing remains the same and we anticipate it making its way into the US later this fall.  The wine in the bottle remains the same - 100% Roditis.  It's the same base wine used to make their Notios White (a blend of Roditis & Moschofilero). 

What they do to make the retsina is take the vat of Roditis set aside for Retsina and infuse small amounts of pine resin into it.  The whole process looks like you are making a very large pot of tea.  The final product, while having aromas of menthol, eucalyptus and pine, also has citrus notes and pleasant acidity.  This is the perfect wine to pair with "difficult" cuisines like Indian.  It acts like a breath mint - take a bite of food and then a swig of Retsina and your mouth will feel fresh afterwards.

Once we get a bottle in our hands we'll upload it for all to see.

Introducing Estate Argyros' new Vin Santo line

Estate Argyros is considered one of the best producers of Vin Santo on the island of Santorini.  Yiannis Argyros produced his first vintage of Vin Santo in 1974 for his own personal consumption & for friends & family.  Several  years later the first Vin Santo was commercially released.

For those that believe Vin Santo is of Italian origin, they would be mistaken.  Historically, Vin Santo meant "Vino di Santorini" - or wine of Santorini.  Several years ago, Greek Vin Santo producers petitioned the EU to protect the name "Vin Santo" as a uniquely Greek product and to stop the Italians from using the name.  After presenting documentation proving the historical roots of the term, the EU courts granted the Greek petition.  "Vin Santo" can only be used be producers of the wine on the island of Santorini.  In Italy, the wines must be named "Vino Santo di (the origin)". 

The Estate previously released two different Vin Santo dessert wines - one a vintage dated and aged 20 years in oak and the "Mezzo", a wine aged for at least 4 years in oak before release.  Several years ago the family decided to expand the series to include 3 wines - 4 year, 12 year and 20 year.  The "Mezzo" has been effectively discontinued and here in the US we are selling through the last of the remaining inventory.  By fall, we will be rolling out the new line in it's entirety across the country.  The wines in this line will be based on the average amount of years the wine has spent aging in the barrel.  For example, the 4 year Vin Santo is the average age of wines in various casks (anywhere from 3-8 years old for argument's sake).  This premise continues with the 12 & 20 year aged wines as well.

The new wines & approximate retail prices are:

Vin Santo 4 year 2006 $30 (90 Points Wine Advocate)

Vin Santo 12 year 1998 $50

Vin Santo 20 year 1990 $125 (96 Points Wine Advocate)

Look for these wines to start making their way into distribution this fall.

Athenee Importers 2012 Road Show Recap

Earlier this month, 11 wineries imported by Athenee Importers participated in a 4 city road show that was open to media and trade only.  This year's events marked our third year of organizing it and has proven to be the best yet.  Perhaps third time's the charm?

This year's road show stopped in the following cities:

May 8th-Seattle, WA

May 9th-Portland, OR

May 12th-Chicago, IL

May 14th-New York, NY

Here is the list of participating wineries & Regions represented:

Thymiopoulos Vineyards, Naoussa

Domaine Porto Carras, Sithonia (Halkidiki)

Ktima Pavlidis, Drama

Domaine Vassiliou/Nemeion Estate (Nemea)

Domaine Harlaftis (Attica & Nemea)

Domaine Spiropoulos (Mantinia & Nemea)

GAIA Wines (Nemea & Santorini)

Mercouri Estate (W. Peloponnese)

Gentilini Wines (Cephalonia)

Estate Argyros (Santorini)

Cooperative of Samos (Samos)

In Seattle, Chicago and New York we also hosted a seminar lead by GAIA Wines Yiannis Paraskevopoulos. (You can download the presentation here).  In all three cities, the presentations were very well attended, which further solidifies the interest in Greece and the wines it produces.

Yiannis Paraskevopoulos leading the seminar in Chicago, March 12th

Overall, more than 350 people attended our events.  The majority were trade (buyers) of non ethnic accounts.  Interestingly, very few Greeks attended.  To me this means our portfolio is has truly crossed over to the mainstream market.  Unfortunately, in many instances, certain ethnic customers prefer to focus on the less expensive, lesser quality products.  Many believe that the majority of our portfolio is too expensive. It is quite amusing to me to hear this reasoning since there are many others working with wines from all over the world that believe the portfolio over delivers with regards to price & quality.

The events were organized by Athenee Importers. Teuwen One Image was essential to getting everything ready for the show.  Without that team of ladies, we would never had pulled off another successful year.  I thank Stephanie and her team from the bottom of my heart.  

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the participating wineries.  Without your support and belief in Athenee we would not be where we are.  We value all of you and appreciate your efforts in coming to the US and traveling across the country with us to spread the good word of Greek wines.

It was a tough schedule but we managed to have no snowstorms or bad weather delay the progress of the group.  By the time we made it to NY, we were enjoying 70 degree sunny weather.  A perfect end to a great week.

Until Next year!

Greek Spring Break at Tria Fermentation School

Thursday, March 15th 2012 Tria Fermentation School hosted a Greek Spring Break class for its students.  I led the class and had two guest speakers - Petros Markantonatos from Gentilini Wines & Apostolos Thymiopoulos from Thymiopoulos Vineyards.

The class was great fun - we were able to expose over two dozen attendees to Greek wines.  Many had never tasted anything Greek before, while others were exposed to some of the lesser quality stuff that unfortunately permeates the market.

Our lineup was:
Gentilini Aspro 2010 - welcome wine
Gentilini Robola 2010
Hatzimichalis Lefkos 2010
Assyrtiko Argyros 2010
Spiropoulos Red Stag 2009
Porto Carras Limnio 2010
Thymiopoulos Young Vines 2010
Thymiopoulos Uranos 2008
Samos Vin Doux 2010

Tria prepared a small plate for each attendee with an assortment of cheese, olives, picked veggies, almonds, salami & THE most amazing piece of fudge for dessert.

At the last minute, Michael McCaulley decided we should spring a retsina on the group as a surprise.  We used GAIA Ritinitis Retsina for this exercise.  In order for them to get a better understanding for retsina, I had each person eat an olive and then take a sip of the wine.  While several guests weren't fans, they could appreciate the wine for what it's worth.

In the beginning everyone was a bit quiet - I feel that they were listening and trying to get their feet under them as we explored Greece's wine regions and grapes.  However, as the evening wore on, the group became more animated and began chatting amongst themselves.  I always take that as a sign that the "lightbulbs" are going off in their minds.  Additionally, several attendees were asking about pricing on the wines.  once we gave them approximate retail prices, they could not believe that everything we tried was under $25 in Pennsylvania!

Educational events are always fun to be involved in.  What always inspires me to keep doing them is to watch people's reactions as they get more comfortable with the regions, grapes & wines.  I would like to take this opportunity to thank the crew at Tria for their constant support and for putting together great classes.  If you are ever in Philadelphia and have the ability to take a class, I highly recommend you do so.