Why Greek wine is having its moment in the sun
Mayfair’s flamboyant restaurant Bacchanalia is taking part in the Coravin World Wine Tour 2025, with an exclusive wine list of rare and iconic bottles never usually available by the glass.
Here, over a copper dish of silky truffle tagliatelle, I was reminded just how brilliant Greece’s Xinomavro (pronounced Zee-no-mav-ro) can be. I sipped at a bottle of Foundi Estate 2005 and at 20 years old the wine was still superb – a sublime match. Usually, you might have expected an Italian wine to be paired with pasta, but as head of wine Zsofia Kiss explained: “Xinomavro is half the price of Barolo, and it ages really well”.
Greek wine is clearly having a moment: days before I had been at the Assyrtiko (pronounced ass-er-tiko) Masterclass to celebrate Vassaltis 10th Anniversary. These scintillatingly fresh, mineral-driven wines are perhaps the best known, with some of the very top bottles coming from the picturesque island of Santorini. Sadly, as these wines rise in popularity, they decrease in availability due to the destructive cruise ship tourism this beautiful place attracts. Often locals can make more money turning their land into a car park than growing their old vines and making wine.
With this in mind Vassaltis is on a mission to create a bridge between the generations, adapting their company and viticulture to make it as (to use an overused word) sustainable as possible.
However, they don’t just mean environmentally: they are hyper aware they need wine on the island to be sustainable financially and socially, too. With fewer in the work force, everything must be more efficient while still maintaining the excellent quality expected from these wines. Though they have their eye on the future, I cannot help but feel now is the time to buy up as much of these wines as one can in case the car parks win, and the remaining wineries are so limited the prices escalate beyond all reason.
From my own visits to Greece, I can attest to Assyrtiko being one of the very best, most versatile wines – creating fresh whites that can still age and develop and the fabulous, sweet wine Vinsanto (excellent with Tiramisu). These are some of the greatest wines for food-pairing and if you see one on the wine list then snap it up over lunch or, for a more affordable mainland option dip your toe in the water with Irresistible Assyrtiko (Co-op, £10).
For one of the most wonderfully all-encompassing Greek experiences I have enjoyed in London to date, get yourself to Estiatorio Milos in St James’s. Authentic and elegant, the staff are brimming with pride for their country with our waiter insisting we need to try Greek wine – no argument here – and serving us a crisply charming Assyrtiko. A trusty Greek salad of cucumbers, olives, tomatoes (for once) bursting with flavour and salty barrel-aged feta was followed by perfectly grilled Dorade Royale, so fresh it could have jumped straight from the sea.
A platter of desserts was served with multicoloured sliced fruits, bites of delicately layered sticky baklava and a Greek yoghurt “martini”. I had (potentially riskily) brought Steve Daniel as my guest, head of buying for Hallgarten & Novum Wines – the man responsible for first bringing Greek wines into the UK market and who has a home there. This is not a man to be fobbed off with some half-arsed attempt at a Greek theme and thankfully he was as impressed as I. A little slice of the chic Mediterranean lifestyle in central London. It may also offer one of the best deals, certainly in this part of town, with the three-course lunch menu priced at only £29.
So yes, the names may look trickier to pronounce than Chardonnay, but don’t let that put you off. Have a go or just point at the wine list because believe me, Greek wine is worth getting into. Yamas!
Perfect Pairing: Wild Child Rosé x Fish Tacos
I am a total Grenache groupie and believe this juicy, boozy, red-fruited grape makes the very best rosé wine. South Africa’s prolific Journey’s End has brought out Wild Child Rosé (£12, Ocado), a nod to the Cape’s Floral Kingdom that bursts with ripe strawberries and cherry blossom. If you have a dish with some heat to it, such as Mexican, then rosé is a brilliant choice. This wine has a zippy freshness that pairs wonderfully with fried fish topped by a squeeze of lime and the delicate peppery spiced notes of the Grenache compliment the spice of the salsa and taco without dominating it.