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CRUISE

A wine-tasting cruise around the Greek islands

On a scenic sailing around the Aegean Sea, Fiona Sims samples vintages from a new wave of talented producers

Vines on Santorini
Vines on Santorini
GETTY IMAGES
The Sunday Times

Swimming in an active volcano is a first for me. We’ve anchored beside a mountain of black lava in the middle of Santorini’s caldera, ringed by the island’s multicoloured cliffs.

My reward for taking the plunge is a glass of chilled retsina, thrust into my hands as I clamber back onto our yacht, Harmony G. Though this isn’t your normal retsina. While Greece’s pine-infused wine might usually prompt some to shudder, Gaia’s Ritinitis Nobilis — passed to me by our wine cruise ambassador, Tim Clarke — represents a more refined new-wave interpretation; it’s more citrussy, less resiny, than the retsina of old.

Containing just 21 cabins, Harmony G is owned by the Athens-based Variety Cruises, which operates eight small ships. I’ve joined the first of its new Greek wine sailings. The journey takes us not only to classic hotspots such as Nemea and Tinos, but also to quieter villages in the Cyclades and eastern Aegean islands, with swim stops en route.

A Greek salad
A Greek salad
FIONA SIMS

Clarke has lined up daily tours to local wineries, as well as themed lunches at local tavernas and estates, and meals on board paired with yet more Greek tipples as he fills us in on the country’s winemaking traditions, which go back at least 3,500 years. “I’ve stuffed a cabin with cases for us to try,” he grins.

Despite this ancient viticultural history, the good stuff has only been around for 25 years, thanks to a growing cohort of talented producers.

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The only stumbling block are the names: xinomavro, assyrtiko, moschofilero and agiorgitiko are never going to roll off the tongue. Still, “I’ve never known a time as exciting as this for Greek wine,” Clarke enthuses to the passengers — half of us Brits, plus French, Americans and one German, all bonding over oenophilia.

Bernd, a Berlin-based consultant who loves rioja, tells me he is intrigued by what Greek wine has to offer, while the grape-growing Tina, from the Finger Lakes region in upstate New York, is looking forward to nosing around the vineyards to inspect Greek methods.

It was assyrtiko from Santorini that put Greek wine on the map, ever since the high street wine merchant Oddbins started trumpeting the grape 20-plus years ago. We leave the crowds at Santorini’s main port of Athinios and wind up the cliff to visit Argyros, which has won many awards for both its assyrtiko and its very old, very sweet vinsanto.

Argyros’s unique vine-training system is what strikes you first — the plants are coiled into a basket shape to protect their grapes from strong winds. We sample salty, lemony whites.

Before Santorini, hilly Tinos was our first stop. The husband-and-wife-team from Volacus vineyards joined us on board for dinner, talking us through their minerally wines.

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Just a mile from Turkey, Samos came next. Thanks to its mountainous landscape and generous rainfall, winemaking is rife here. Sweet muscat is what the island is chiefly famous for — even Lord Byron waxed lyrical about it. “Fill high the cup with Samian wine!” he wrote, repeatedly. So we did just that at Vakakis.

Fiona Sims explores Milos
Fiona Sims explores Milos

A rather bumpy night’s journey takes us from Santorini to Milos. All thoughts of the rolling sea soon disappear, however, when the cruise co-ordinator Dietmar announces an imminent swim spot at the turquoise Kleftiko sea caves on the southern side of this Cycladic island.

Luminous Milos is where the Louvre’s prized Venus de Milo sculpture was found. The island’s spellbinding coastline is the chief draw, with more than 70 beaches as well as a big network of caves, naturally formed arches and rock formations, but there are also plenty of new places to eat and the Imerys vineyard — recently planted on an abandoned perlite mine — to check out.

Grilled sea bream awaits us back on board, served alongside a dill-flecked potato and artichoke stew, plus beetroot salad with salty capers and yoghurt. All of it is made by the Egyptian chef Ahmed, who consistently delivers an outstanding array of Greek favourites. Best pairing? An amphora-aged “orange” wine made using rare santameriana grapes.

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Next, Harmony G heads for the Peloponnese, stopping first at Monemvasia. Before exploring its stone-built medieval town, founded by Byzantines in the 6th century, we first head up the road to the Monemvasia Winery.

Founded in 1997, the project sees Giorgios Tsimbidi and his three daughters exploring this region’s forgotten grape varieties, such as kidonitsa and asproudi. For its perfect balance of acidity and aromatic fruit, the former gets my vote — we tried it the night before at Archontoula, a restaurant in the old town in Milos, and loved how well it paired with rock samphire and sheep’s cheese fritters (mains from £11; archontoula.gr).

Before the cruise returns to Athens there’s time for a quick look at Greece’s premier wine-growing appellation Nemea, boasting protected designation of origin status for its wines made solely from the indigenous agiorgitiko. This one’s pronunciation gets me every time; “eye-your-yee-tiko,” I practise quietly.

Having anchored in the picturesque harbour town of Nafplio, we drive through orange groves to the village of Koutsi and the Semeli Estate. A sign of things to come, this Napaesque winery has stylish bedrooms, an infinity pool and a slick cellar tour. It makes for an impressive finale to my Greek wine odyssey.

Fiona Sims was a guest of Variety Cruises, which has seven nights’ all-inclusive on the Aegean Wine Cruise itinerary from £3,766pp, including all tastings and tours, departing on September 1, 2023 (varietycruises.com). Fly to Athens. Fiona was also a guest of Athens Flair, a boutique hotel that has B&B doubles from £147 (athensflair.com)

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