Samos Island
Wines
Known for 3,000 years and appreciated throughout the ages to the point
of having been chosen by the Vatican as its sacramental wine.
The
Muscat of Samos, is one of the best sweet wines in the world. Production
was under French management from 1890 until 1933, but since then the
local producers have formed a co-operative.
Descending the mountain in a succession of very narrow terraces, the
vineyards are still a principal source of income for many villages on
the island. The grapes for the island's wine are grown largely on the
north side of the Ambelos Mountain, and it is a special pleasure to walk
in September, when the farmers are busy gathering the harvest.
The
Muscat variety includes, Samos nectar - a sweet wine with a sugar
content of 500 gr/litre, and at the other extreme, Samaina - a dry white
wine with only 220 gr/litre.
Samaina
a dry white wine blended from a Muscat, sold in small 500g bottles and
reasonable priced. This wine should be served chilled, although locals
prefer to drink it at room temperature. The wine usually offered to
tourists is the more expensive and superior
Samaina Special,
which arrives in standard 750g- size green bottles.
Samos Nectar
used
as an aperitif by middle-class women in the 19th century. Still as
agreeable now as it was then, with its lovely amber colour and its
ripe-apricot taste.
Drink chilled.
Ask
for
Krasi thopio
(house wine) in the small villages and hope for the best! Some of it is
poor quality, but equally some is excellent, far better than most of the
commercial varieties and therefore worth the risk.
