Wine Enthusiast – October 2019

100 | WINE ENTHUSIAST | OCTOBER 2019

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BY SUSAN KOSTRZEWA

If

Zeus were to celebrate his earthly joys in any one place, this surely

would be it.

Tucked into a pocket of sun-drenched Mount Olympus slopes,

sturdy rows of Xinomavro catch a cooling mountain breeze, their

gentle rustling creating a whistling song at 1,640 feet above sea level.

Aft er a jaunty, open-top 4x4 ride up the storied mountain, we wander the Rapsani

plot in silence, feeling privy to a secret garden known to few.

Special indeed, but singular it is not. As one of Europe’s most mountainous

countries, Greece is a hotbed of excellent high-altitude wines. A large percentage

of those made here are produced from vines grown at jaw-dropping heights. The

resulting elegance, acidity and balance, thanks also to the winemaking know-how

that cultivating a vineyard at these elevations requires, adds to the country’s repu-

tation for world-class and terroir-driven bottlings.

How high can you go? Read on to discover some of the country’s most dizzying

vineyards, with wines that deserve top billing at your table.

TERRACES

OF THE

GODS

Greece’s high-altitude vineyards offer wines packed

with power, fi nesse and historic provenance.