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Sunday, August 09, 2009

TASTING SANTORINI WINE: Visiting the Boutari Winery

The Boutari Winery

JUNE 15 (part of the ill-fated 'tour' we took around Santorini.)
The one good part of our supposed 'tour' was the first request we made, to visit the Boutari Winery. There are several wineries on Santorini but because I favor Boutari wine, I wanted to see how it is made and what products they have that are not exported. As I expected, their best wines are not exported, but we got to taste them and learn a lot about Greek wine, especially the wines of Santorini.



The wine steward explains the wines.

The wines of Santorini are special because of the way they grow the grapes. The vines are coiled close to the ground to protect the fruit from the heat and winds. The wind in Santorini is very strong so this provents the vines from being damaged or blown over. We were invited for a tour of the winery and intrudiced to the art of wine tasting by the wine steward.

We tasted six different varieties both white and red. Selladia Boutari is a dry white wine, with the fresh and aromatic scents of green banana, white peach and citrus bossoms.; Santorini Boutari, another dry white with a subtle citrus aroma, full bodied and a long after-taste. Kallisti Reserve Boutari, a brilliant yellow dry white had a complex aroma of wood, hazelnuts, smoke and vanilla (the result of aging). It's excellent with shellfish and grilled fish.
Nykteri Boutari, another dry white with a golden color and high alcohol content, was aged 20 years. It's a rich tasting wine, good with spiced dishes, sea food and grilled fish.

In the red catagory, Experiemental Madilaria Boutari is a semi-sweet, fruit wine. I enjoyed the rich taste. It can be enjoyed as an apertif. Vinsanto Boutari is another naturally sweet wine with a characteristic orange-yellow colour acquired from the grape's exposure to the sun and the length of time the wine is kept in the barrel. It's a slight amber/red color with a dark, syrupy texture. Best served as an apertif or to accompany desserts. I brought a bottle of Vinsato home to save for the wrap party when I finish my novel.

The somalier told us that Bourtari is trying to break into the cartels and export more of these fine wines which are not available in Canada. Besides the bottle of Boutari wine I brought home for sentimental reasons I got a bottle of "Lava" rose, from the Vulcan Wineries. That's the first kind of Santorini wine I tasted on my first visit to the island in 1979.

A Santorini vineyard

If you want more information on the Boutari Winery in Santorini: www.boutari.gr

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1 comment:

Unknown said...

Hi excellent Santorini Wine Tour a number of wine & gastronomic tours and pioneered the idea of wine tourism