Introduction to Greek Wine, Spirits and Beers

The Greeks choose to drink to be sociable, whether lingering over a coffee or simply a carafe of wine at any time of the day or night.

Making the Most of Greek Wine

Restaurants will usually offer you a choice of bottled wines and some may have their own house varieties kept in barrels and served by the litre or half litre out of metal jugs or carafes. The local house wine (krasi dopio) is always inexpensive and worth a try. Among the bottled wines Kambas, Boutari and Domestica are good inexpensive whites (aspro), whilst the reds (mavro) include Tsantali and Rotonda. Although not as fashionable as in years gone by, the pine resin flavoured retsina has to be tried for the experience. You may care to try it mixed with Sprite or 7Up and ice as a long cool refreshing drink.

Tasting the Spirits

Basically there are two local drinks. Ouzo the aniseed-based aperitif, is ideally drunk as the sun goes down with ice and a little water (nero), although there appears to be a popular tendency now for it to be mixed with lemonade. Occasionally, you can still come across the older established ouzeri where they will serve you ouzo and mezedhes together, a lovely way of trying all sorts of bits and pieces of fish, meat and vegetables on cocktail sticks. Metaxa, the local apricot brandy, is available as a three, five and seven star choice.

Drinking Beer

The local Fix brewery in Athens closed down some years ago, initially leaving the field to Amstel, a lovely light but slightly perfumed Dutch lager bottled under licence in Greece, and the slightly more expensive Henniger (German lager) and the popular imports Heineken, Kronenberg and latterly Budweiser. Nowadays the Fix brand has been reintroduced by popular demand and competes with the other Greek brewed lager, Mythos, which is widely available. All these lagers are wonderfully refreshing at lunchtime as you sit and contemplate life, the universe and the wonder of it all.