We spent 16 days all over Greece, visited multiple wineries, and fell in love with Assyrtiko and how dry and mineral forward it is. It seems due to how small the production is very little makes it over to the US. Is there anything that is easily available in the states that will deliver a similar profile?
Photo of our favorite bottle for attention.
by The-Hand-of-Midas
15 Comments
Depending on where you are, you can find good Assyrtiko in the US. A top one that they ship is Skitali from Hatzidakis.
I love Santorini Assyrtiko, and Argyros in particular for their varying degrees of wood treatment
If you’re in a major metro area in the US you should be able to get some Santorini Assyrtiko, maybe even Argyros.
I wouldn’t bother with mainland Greek Assyrtiko as it’s lacking the dry salinity from the islands (but happy to be corrected on this if anyone has a suggestion.)
You could check out these fine folks, but I can’t speak to quality as haven’t tried it yet: Perlegos Family Wine Co. https://share.google/AkufovzR3DPTaMn2H
Perlegos brothers in Lodi make it in still and sparkling versions. All their other wines are great also, especially the Zins.
You can almost certainly find Santorini Assyrtiko in the U.S. unless you are in an extremely small market. Just find an independent wine shop and ask them.
not sure where you are in the US but you can definitely find assyrtiko here. I’ve sold it in 2 out of 3 wine shops I’ve worked in, but to be fair these have all been in manhattan. still, it’s probably one of the easiest greek wines to find in this country
Total Wine has eight different Assyrtiko wines. My personal favorite is the GAI’A Thalassitis Assyrtiko. I was fortunate enough to visit the vineyard a few years ago and I still buy a few bottles a year.
Rather than tell you that you can totally find Assyrtiko in the US, I’ll suggest Rías Baixas. It’s a region is Spain that produces wines from Albariño and definitely hit the saline notes, and good examples have the complexity of Assyrtiko. I love both wines so much and for much the same reasons. Another wine that will scratch a similar itch is a decent Muscadet Sèvre et Maine. Slightly different profile, but a great mix or fruit and mineral notes.
It’s definitely here. Also try picpoul!
I’m surprised that no one mentioned Sigalas assyrtiko. One of the big dog producers that is worth checking out. I can usually find a bottle at my local total wine in Florida. If you can’t find that and are looking for something similar, I’d recommend Aussie Riesling, muscadet, some leaner Chablis, listan from the Canary Islands, or even some Sicilian whites. All of those will be lean mineral driven wines
Since you went in Greece you probably tried agiorgitiko too if you didbt take a look!
Cosco frequently brings Megas Oinos from skouras which is agiorgitiko-Cabernet and it’s delicious!
What state do you live in?
If you live in a state with independent liquor stores, any good retailer will happily special order you a bottle. Either give them an exact product/producer to order or just tell them to ask around. If the distributor Winebow is in your state, they always have a good, diverse book, you can tell the buyer to ask their rep. Buyers usually work M-F or Tue-Sat 9-5ish, speak with them directly— I wouldn’t necessarily trust night crew to pass on the message of the request, even if they have a request book.
Source: I am the manager and buyer of a nice store in NE GA. I have at least 2 if not 3 assyrtikos.
Assyrtiko is certainly available in the US
I get it from Astor Wines
There’s a winery/vineyard in Paso Robles, ca (boutz cellars) that has multiple Greek white varieties planted including Assyrtiko. Im sure they ship almost anywhere in the states