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That Useful Wine Site

  Wine explained, clearly and helpfully, including critic-recommended specimens of each variety.

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The Savatiano Grape


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About Savatiano

(Synonyms: Dobraina Aspri, Doumpraina Lefki, Kountoura Aspri, Perahortiko, Sakeiko, Savathiano, Savvatiano, Stamatiano, Tsoumprena.)

Background

Map showing Greece

Savatiano is an ancient (c. 2500 years old) white-wine grape originating in Greece, possibly (but not surely) around Athens. Though not well known by its name outside Greece, it is in fact the most-planted white-wine grape in that nation. That is because an awful lot of it is used as bulk wine to make cheap Retsina and other low-priced wines for everyday consumption in Greece. But, as is so often the case, when interested winemakers go at it with some care and dedication—notably using older vines and controlled yields (quality over quantity)—the grape can produce quite good wines, and more and more such bottlings are now showing up.

A modern, well-made Savatiano typically shows aromas of yellow fruit (pears and peaches) and perhaps new-mown grass; the palate carries the fruit qualities through. The wines are medium in body, and with acids in good balance with the fruit. All in all, it is a wine that is not too much this nor too much that (so to speak): it is a wine built on nuances rather than power.

Factoid: It is said, and certainly could be, that Socrates and Plato drank (and enjoyed) Savatiano wines.

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Some Descriptions of Savatiano Wines

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Some Savatiano Bottlings to Try

(About this list.)

Regrettably, there are no Savatiano bottlings that meet our quality/price/availability criteria. Sorry.

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This page was last modified on Sunday, 8 December 2024, at 9:46 pm Pacific Time.