A Greek Travel Tip from Barbara Bonfigli: Learn to Love Retsina

There’s a quick way to go broke in Greece, besides letting an octopus swallow your wallet. It’s cocktails. Johnny Walker and Jim Beam only travel first class; mojitos and martinis, strictly deluxe. So what’s a thirsty traveler to do? Drink Greek. It’s a lot easier than speaking it, and you’ll probably make more friends. Greek beer (i.e. Mythos) and brandy (i.e. 3-star Metaxa) and ouzo (any brand) are inexpensive and delicious. Greek wine is the best bet of all.

Greece is a wine drinker’s paradise thanks to eons of experience, perfect growing conditions, the recent explosion of artisanal winemakers, and the blessing of Bacchus, an ancient fun-loving god whose only job is to lead you astray.

Every region has its native grapes – the agiorgitiko, the robola, the savatiano, are among 300+ indigenous varietals. And each region has its characteristic wines: the medium-bodied, fruity Nemea reds of the Peloponnese; the gentle, elegant whites from Patras; the richer complex reds of Macedonia; the sweet, luscious, dessert wine muscats from Samos.

Photo Credits: byrdiegyrl on Flickr

Enjoy the learning curve. Bottled wines come in every price range; there are decent reds and whites for 6-8 euros, good ones for 9-11, and excellent ones for less than twenty. Experiment within your price range and your palate will dance with unexpected pleasures. If you dislike a wine you’ve ordered in a taverna, they’ll usually replace it, knowing you don’t know your assyrtiko from your agiorgitiko. And you can often find good inexpensive local wines at small groceries that sell them in bulk; just be sure not to store them in cheap plastic containers.

A unique, beach-and-fish-friendly Greek white that costs a fraction of its flavor is retsina, made with the pale flowery savatiano grape. (You fly over the savatiano vineyards of the Markopoulo Valley when you land at the new international airport of Athens.) 2500 years before FedEx, wine was shipped around the Empire in amphorae sealed with plugs made of pine resin. People got to liking the piney flavor, then they decided it kept them from getting headaches or hangovers in hot weather (this is history I’m quoting, from the people who invented it.)

Some Greek oenophiles think you’re kidding when you order retsina. Others love it. I’m in the lovers camp and I was born near Napa Valley, which may be proof of reincarnation. Or not. But if you can develop a taste for retsina — best when it’s ice cold — you’ll save enough for another Greek odyssey. The toast is “Yamas!” To our health.

Barbara Bonfigli is the author of “Café Tempest: Adventures on a Small Greek Island” (cafetempest.com) and the host of a series of short, savvy Greek Travel Tip videos.