Greece in pictures

Peza and Archanes – Crete

Two views of Crete. Above, looking out to the Aegean in the north, is the region of Peza. Below, a little further inland, is a view of Archanes. These are two of the main PDOs on Crete along with Sitia and Dafnes.

A bunch of recently harvested Vidiano – one of Crete’s indigenous white varieties. Vidiano is an increasingly popular variety on Crete with generous harvests as well as an aromatic profile. Bunches such as this one regularly exceed 700grams in weight. The very best Vidiano vines are planted in some of the highest and driest parts of the island.

The ancient wine press of Vathipetro in Archanes. Dated to 1580 BC, it is one of the earliest known wineries in Europe and supplied the palace of Knossos, which lies not too far away, just as the Bronze Age world of the eastern Mediterranean began to collapse into anarchy.

More Cretan history albeit a little later than the late Bronze Age. A fountain in Heraklion displaying signs of Venetian rule which lasted from the 13th to the 17th centuries. The Venetians were awarded overlordship of the island following the collapse of the Fourth Crusade which famously sacked Constantinople and saw many parts of Greece occupied by Frankish rulers. The Venetians were eventually expelled by the Ottoman Turks in 1669. The Ottomans would rule until the final Cretan uprising of the 1860s which led to the establishment of Crete as an independent state in 1898. The church behind to the right, St Mark’s Basilica, is also Venetian and out of sight down the road is another Venetian loggia from the 16th century.

Naoussa and Anthyeon – Macedonia

The headquarters of Vaeni Naoussa, one of the largest and leading Macedonian co-operatives.

Further up from the plains of Naoussa, Macedonia becomes wilder in the uplands of Amynteon.

The local red grape for Macedonia is Xinemavro, here being grown on pre-phylloxera vines that are nearly 100 years old.

A modern barrel room and rotating fermentors at Alpha Estate in Amynteon. This is, increasingly, the true face of Greek winemaking as producers invest in modern equipment and technology. Furthermore, winemakers who have trained in Europe and even further abroad are returning home with the intention of producing wines that can compete on a quality level with other countries – using either international or indigenous varieties (and often both).

Nemea – the Peloponnese

A handy bit of highway construction allowed this shot of the soil beneath these vines in the Peloponnese. The majority of the soil is red clay rich in iron among other minerals.

A view typical in Greece, a vineyard block growing alongside an olive grove here in one of the highest parts of Nemea.

Can you tell what it is yet? Although the picture above may look like a bare hillside, eagle-eyed readers will spot a man made construction at the base of the rock. And here it is, a small, ruinous section of what was apparently an aqueduct built by a Roman emperor (possibly Hadrian). Modern builders have claimed it is impossible to transport water between the two sites this ancient structure once did. Other bits of the aqueduct and others are sometimes visible, dotted around the hillsides.

A view of the valley of Argos seen from Domaine Skouras. The hill directly ahead in the far distance is the site of an ancient palace of Argos, now crowned with a later Roman fort among other buildings. Some of the fortifications can be seen in the picture below.

And finally…a fabulous view of the Parthenon at sunset seen from the rooftop bar of the Grande Bretagne in central Athens. db was able to unwind a little before jetting off to Bulgaria for the rest of the week. Photos of which will follow tomorrow…