When tasting a wine, we only capture one particular moment in its life, similar to admiring a single photograph of our child. Fine wine, like a child, evolves over time. In some instances, it grows into something that was not apparent in its youth, adding some traits while shedding others.
Some indigenous Greek grape varieties like Assyrtiko and Xinomavro are prime examples of this development. It is fascinating and highly educational to taste older vintages of these wines, one begins to understand just how dramatic such an evolution can be. But even if we get the rare chance to do so, we simply encounter the wine at some singular point in time.
I want to take you on a journey, although I have to warn you, it will be a long one. I plan on buying up to five selected Greek wines to cellar and then reporting quarterly on their evolution over the course of a decade. I hope this will in time turn into something similar to a flip book, with a series of impressions that vary gradually from one occasion to the next, telling a story.
I am not sure if something similar has been attempted, but as far as I know certainly not for Greek wine. I hope to be gaining a much more fundamental understanding on how time affects the character of a wine.
I asked for feedback on twitter concerning this idea, and was surprised about the number of positive responses. A dear friend and wine professional, whom I respect a lot, consequently emailed me, and her judgement persuaded me to go ahead with this project: “My interest in your proposition comes from the idea of advancing wine education in general, which Greek wine, specifically native varieties, needs. There’s need, interest, and value.”
The idea and execution for the accompanying video above comes from the super creative Greek/German team of Ideologio, who carried it out in less than 24 hours. Thank you, Sarah and Spyro!
