Much of the information for this section is sourced from www.greekwinemakers.com (with permission), if you are interested in a more in depth story of Greek wine the site is an excellent resource.

Greece implemented appellation laws in 1971 and 1972. Utilizing criteria similar to France and most European countries, the technical aspects of the legislation were established by the members of the Wine Institute, a department of the Ministry of Agriculture. The program is currently administered by KEPO, the Central Committee for the Protection of Wine Production, a branch of the same ministry.

Greece is divided into 11 main wine producing regions. Within each of these regions exist appellations based on strict legislation regarding the production of the wines within the boundaries. Appellation of High Quality and Appellation of Controlled Origin (for sweet or dessert wine) are the most strictly controlled, regulations dictate the following:

• Suitability, pedigree and historical significance of the grape
• Soil composition
• Vineyard elevation
• Yield per stremma
• Sugar levels
• Effects of barrel aging and other quality driven practices

There are currently 25 designations for Appellation of High Quality, also known as O.P.A.P:.

Appellation of controlled origin, also known as O.P.E, currently constitutes seven regions:

Mavrodáfni of Kefaloniá
Mavrodáfni of Pátra
Muscat of Kefalonía
Muscat of Límnos
Muscat of Rhodes
Muscat of Patra
Muscat of Rio of Patra
Muscat of Samos

Reserve and Grande Reserve

Producers of OPAP and OPE wines have the option to use the term Reserve for:

• White wines that are aged for two years (spending a minimum of 6 months in barrel and 6 months in bottle)
• Red wines that are aged for 3 years (same minimums).

Grand reserve can be used for:

• White wines that age for three years or more (spending a minimum of one year in barrel and one year in bottle)
• Red wines that are aged for 4 years (spending a minimum of two years in barrel and two years in bottle).

Topikos Inos:

Less strictly regulated sub-regions are known as Topikos Inos (Local wine), which is the Greek equivalent to the French Vins de pays. There are currently 139 qualifying appellations. This middle ground provides the greatest relief for individual producers hoping to gain an appellation on the basis of more innovative, original or, in some cases, traditional combinations of cultivar and location. Labels are permitted the use of confidence-inspiring domaine names, including, Domaine or Estate, Monastary and Chateau and Villa so long as the requirement of sufficient locality is met. The guidelines are less strict and proposals for new designations are always under consideration. Within this category is a special designation, Appellation by Tradition, which includes Retsina and Verdea, and is designed to insure the quality and survival of distinct ethnic genres.

Epitrapezios Inos

Epitrapezios Inos (Table wine) is equivalent to the French Vin de Table. Not surprisingly, in Greece as in France and Italy, winemakers, frustrated by the limitations inherent in conforming to existing appellations, are increasingly opting out of the appellation game. Knowing full well that export markets tend to evaluate products on an individual basis, if not on the reputations and abilities of the winemakers themselves, many have chosen to simply opt out of the system.

Kava