Liatiko

Stuck in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea roughly halfway between the Greek mainland and the northern shores of Italy, we find the largest of the Greek islands, Crete. And on that island is the little known wine region of Daphnes. That's where we are going today to drink Liatiko.

Why Liatiko? It's the only wine grape permitted under Greek wine regulations in Daphnes, the Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) centered around the town of Dafnes. That's good enough for me. While other grapes are often found in the wines of the region, they don't carry the particular PDO labeling.

Reminiscing about ancient history that we learned in grade school and then again and again and again, we recall that Crete is home to some of the oldest civilization known to man. In fact, humans are said to have inhabited the island for nearly 130,000 years and the Minoan civilization was there as much as 6,000 years ago.

It's a mountainous island, created from volcanic residue in ancient times. The highest mountain on the island is Mount Ida and barely to its east, shielding by Mount Ida from Mediterranean rains is Dafnes. Warm and dry during the growing season with highly minerally soil, its an excellent grape-growing area.

The Liatiko that is grown here is a highly aromatic grape, more like Pinot Noir than any other well-known grape that comes to mind. The wines are fairly rubyish in color with a light body. On the nose, we get ripe red fruit, both cherry and strawberry, along with Mediterranean herbs, and hints of gardenias. The palate is quite naturally leathery and spicy with hints of that same ripe red fruit intermingling. It is fairly acidic and low in tannins, reminiscent of Pinot Noir.

Pair your Liatiko with a lamb roast, rabbit stew, or shish kebabs. And, no matter what you have, consider adding to it a tzatziki dip when drinking Liatiko with it.