Greek Harvest 2017: A vintage full of contradictions

The harvest is completed in the viticultural areas of Greece (except for some minor exceptions for specific styles of wine), so this feels like a good time to contemplate how this very unusual year affected the vines in the different regions.

"This year has been the cause of much discussion," says Stefanos Koundouras, the Professor of Viticulture at the Aristotelian University of Thessaloniki, "It started as a late harvest, but ended slightly prematurely," he adds. The weather, compared to last year, showed great fluctuation all through the winter and spring, then evened out in the summer, resulting in later ripening of grapes - to a greater or lesser extent. S. Koundouras explains that a magical September with perfect sunshine and heat, reversed circumstances. This favoured the late ripening varieties (e.g. Xinomavro in Naousa and Amyndeon) and interestingly enough, by the 25^th of September most of the grapes had been harvested.