Dolcetto Mavrodaphne Rum Greece Peloponnese

In Italian, Dolcetto means 'little sweet one' – a slightly misleading name, as the black grapes of this varietal have relatively little natural sugar and almost almost produce dry wines. However, the Dolcetto grapes are remarkably popular with those looking for a full, rounded and highly flavorful wine, and are grown extensively in their native Italy, and in many other countries around the world. Dolcetto varietal grapes tend to have quite a high level of tannin, due to their thick, black skins, and low acidity, resulting in interesting wines with a large feel in the mouth, despite being relatively light in body. They are most commonly associated with big, complex flavors such as liquorice and prunes, and are regularly described as having a finish similar to the flavor of bitter almonds.

In the Archaea region, high in the Northern Peloponnese mountains, the predominant grape varietal grown is the prized Mavrodaphne. Meaning 'Black Laurel', the Mavrodaphne grapes have extremely dark skins, and ripen slowly under the Greek sunshine, helped by the mineral rich soils the vines thrive in. This grape varietal is mostly used to produce the opaque, inky fortified wine of the same name, which is popular all over Greece and elsewhere in the world. This fortified wine allows the grapes to really show off their complex and fascinating flavors, which range from a rich marzipan to flavors of bitter chocolate, sweet coffee, dried figs and prunes, as well as plenty of jammy fruit notes.

Mavrodaphne is produced in a traditional method which involves leaving the grape juice exposed to the sun in large vats, before having its fermentation halted by the addition of various distillates taken from previous successful vintages. This mixture contains plenty of residual sugar, which gives the end result its characteristic sticky sweetness, and also helps with the next fermentation process, which typically takes place in large underground cellars. The final product is a heady drink, absolutely bursting with unusual, rich and sweet flavors and carried in a dark and slightly viscous Port-like liquid.

Mavrodaphne grapes are also used for the production of still red wines, but are generally blended with varietals such as Agiorgitiko or imported grapes like Cabernet Sauvignon. Mavrodaphne grapes are excellent for mellowing more acidic varieties, and producing deliciously rounded wines, which have taken the international market by storm in recent decades.

Additional Information on Greek Wines

Greek Wines
Ancient Greek Wines – A Brief History of Wine in Greece
The Myth of Dionysus, Greek God of Wine
What is Retsina?

It is difficult to categorize rum as a single spirit, because of all the spirits found around the globe, rum is perhaps the one which varies most dramatically from place to place. Clear, white rum - a favorite for cocktail drinkers - is perhaps the most prevalent example found today, but there is a whole world of darker, spiced and molasses-rich rums to explore, thanks to the fascinating history and wide reach this drink has.

Rum came about during the colonial times, when sugar was a huge and world-changing business. The molasses left over from the sugar production industry could easily be distilled into a delicious alcoholic drink, and provided extra income for the sugar traders. Before long, it became a favorite of sailors and transatlantic merchants, and it quickly spread across the Caribbean and Latin America, where it remains highly popular today.

The production of rum is a basic and simple one - you take your molasses, add yeast and water, and then ferment and distil the mixture. However, as is often the case, the devil is in the detail. The variation in yeasts found from place to place, the maturation period, the length of the fermentation and the type of stills and barrels used provide the rainbow-colored variation that gives rum its spectrum of styles and characteristics.

As one of the oldest wine producing countries in the world, Greece has millenia of experience and expertise when it comes to viticulture, and has developed a set of flavors and characteristics which are found nowhere else on earth. The ancient Greeks revered and deified wine, and were the first true innovators in the history of wine, adding everything from seawater to honey and spices in order to find exciting new taste combinations and aromas. Today, Greek wines are just as varied, although far more refined and sophisticated than their ancient counterparts. The practice of enhancing Greek wines with aromatic substances never left the country, though, as can be seen in the popular Retsina wines, which use pine resin to provide their unique taste and aroma combinations. There is far more to Greek wine than merely Retsina, however, and the vast variety on offer is a testament to the expertise of Greek wineries making the most of the wonderful climate, terrain and grape varietals they work with.

The Peloponnese wine region of Greece is one with some serious history behind it. Mentioned by Homer in one of his epic poems, it was named Ampelonessa in Ancient Greek - literally translating to ‘land full of vines’. It has survived massive political upheaval, several devastating wars and the full force of the phylloxera epidemic, and remains one of Greece’s key wine producing regions to this day. Indeed, the twenty-first century has seen something of a renaissance for Peloponnese wines, and they’ve found themselves more in demand than they’ve ever been thanks to a renewed interest in Greek produce, and the traditional methods the vintners who work there use in their winemaking.

Peloponnese is a large wine region, and it is characterized by its range and variety. This is due to the massive differences in terroir found from one appellation to the next, and sun-baked plains, misty hillsides and breezy plateaus are all accounted for as you move from one part to another. Despite this, there is one grape varietal which sits head and shoulders among the others in this part of Greece, and that is the gorgeous Agiorghitiko grape. This vine is native to the region, and it produces the deep red, velvety and complex wines the area is famed for.