Blend: 70% Roditis, 30% Moschofilero
From: Peloponnese, Greece
Taste: An inviting, charming white wine that tastes and smells like an exotic Pinot Grigio. Aromas of citrus, fresh flowers, ginger, pear, fresh apples, and a hint of pineapple and lychee meet an extremely drinkable palate that’s medium-bodied with gentle acidity; enough to keep everything fresh without giving you heartburn. Flavors of orchard fruit, a hint of grapefruit and jasmine lead into a clean, mineral finish.
Pairing: Go Greek or other Mediterranean! Feta, greek lemon chicken, psari plaki (a greek style baked fish), avgolemono soup, yum. The aromatic complexity of the wine will really play off the bright and briny cuisine. Other pairing options include fish tacos, baked/fried/grilled white fish or prawns, fritters (see recipe below) and skillet pies.
Greek Zucchini Fritters
By Martha Rose Shulman
About. The Skouras estate was started in 1986 by George Skouras, who, although from Greece, studied at the University of Dijon in Burgundy, France. His acquaintance with Chardonnay and Pinot Noirs from his years in Burgundy, along with getting to know Burgundy’s famous local winegrowers, put a spell on him. Once he graduated from Dijon with his degree in oenology, he started gathering experience in many classic wine-producing regions of France, Italy, and Greece. He had long held the vision of starting his own project in his Grecian homeland, and in 1986 that came true.
George started with a small wine-making facility in Pyrgela, a small village on the outskirts of Argos. After that, his next step was to create a boutique winery in the Nemea appellation in the village of Gimno. He then expanded, by establishing a final winery in Malandreni, also in the Nemea appellation, in 2004. The new infrastructure increased capacity and technical capabilities, but not for creating more technical wines. For the Domaine Skouras team, technology is all about control and observation, allowing for minimal intervention on the wines, if and when it is needed – and only to the requisite extent.
The region of Nemea and the Argolida highlands is blessed viti-vinicultural land.
Domaine Skouras is located in the Northeastern Peloponnese, in Argolida, close to the provinces of Corinthia and Arcadia, just a few kilometres from Argos, in the village of Malandreni.
The winery is situated within the Nemea zone, the largest and possibly the most exciting Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) for red wines in Greece. Mantinia, another important PDO region for white wines, is in close proximity, while the surrounding areas have excellent terroirs, although not of PDO status. Across all of these locations, Domaine Skouras owns a number of very interesting vineyards.
Domaine Skouras currently cultivates the indigenous varieties grown in Argolida, Corinthia, Mantinia and Nemea, which are Roditis, Alepou and Moscofilero (all pink-skinned grape varieties, but usually used in white wine production), as well as reds like Agiorgitiko and, more recently, Mavrostifo of Argos, an old and almost extinct variety of the region. In addition, cosmopolitan varieties are also cultivated, such as Chardonnay, Viognier, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Syrah and Merlot.
This particular bottling, the ZOE white, is fermented in stainless steel vats with short skin contact, no malolactic fermentation and a short period of aging over fine lees. It is bottled with a screw cap. Think...fresh, crisp acidity, lively, aromatic.
