A while ago, whilst watching Rick Stein travel around Europe for his ‘Venice to Istanbul’ series,
he visited a winery in Monemvasia and for some reason, other than the fact, that my husband and I both love Greece, we remembered it and decided it would be an absolute inclusion of our Peloponessian sight-seeing.
Monemvasia Wines are known for their decadent sweet white wines, that are fermented from sun-dried grapes. This process gives the wines their distinct notes. Everything and I kid you not, everything I tasted was of stellar quality. Even the wineries ‘most lower grade of wine’, as Nikos said, had an authentic and original appeal to me and my palette. I am by no means a wine connoisseur but, I certainly enjoy a good drop and can appreciate wine in all its grades. What you will find in the Monemvasia Winery’s selection, is that there something for everyone.
History of the monemvasia region
The history of the Monemvasia region goes back to the Neolithic period, about 8,000 years ago. The region was active in the Bronze Age and right through to the construction of it’s impregnable fortress, the castle of Monemvasia, in the Byzantine era. Malvasia wine, as it is know in the Monemvasia region, has a long history. From the 12th century onwards it influenced the Western and Eastern marketplace.
WHAT’S IN A NAME?
To understand its popularity one only needs to look at the wine’s name – Monemvasia. The Italians call it Malvasia, the French call it Malvoise and a brilliantly executed line comes to us from Shakespeare’s “King Richard III,” where he calls it Malmsey.
I had the pleasure of meeting Elli and Nikos and whilst there they met and chatted with my husband and children. They are knowledgeable people and know their industry like many wine professionals around the globe. They were also very accomodating and excellent hosts. I totally recommend that if you are travelling around Monemvasia, you pop in and grab a couple of bottles to enjoy.
We drove away with some amazing bottles of wine that will be shared with relatives. After all, that is what good wine is for.
