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Kerkyra, known also as Corfu,
is the northernmost of the Ionian Islands. Perhaps because of its status as a resort
for well-heeled Europeans, the development of a significant wine industry on the
island does not seem an urgent priority. Because we have not visited the island (it
is on the itinerary for 2002) we offer what limited information we have:
At the time of his writing, Lambert-Gocs found 1800 hectares of vines dominated mainly
by white Kakotrygis and red Petrokoritho (both cultivars having
both red and white versions). Also cultivated on the island are the white Petrokoritho, Moschato Aspro, Robola
and Kozanitis and the red Kakotrygis
and Mavrodafni.
Lambert-Gocs was somewhat put off by a local style he described as "sweet-sour,"
and a tendency towards skins-on fermentation of tannin-laden white varieties.
- It might be presumed that a sweet-sour
notion of flavour harmony has as much validity in wine as in food, yet it is apparently
not a first-choice native inclination on Corfu, and seems to succeed there rarely.
It's origin on the island is due to the attempt of household wine producers to retain
enough residual sugar to counteract coarseness in wines produced by fermentation
on the skins in unsulphured barrels, under conditions of relatively high temperature,
using must derived from the several pressings of the grape material. [p. 228]
Lambert-Gocs blamed this tendency on the pernicious effects of tourism, surmising
that "so many Greek and non-Greek tourists become willing captive customers
on Corfu each year that the typical island bottler finds his small allocation of
wine disappearing quickly, no matter what its quality."
Still, he found exceptions in the wines of Alexandros Vasilakis, whose bottle-aged
red Kakotrygis was a well-received respite from the more problematic local versions.
Despite his dismal view of Corfiote wines generally, Lambert-Gocs was enthusiastic
about the wines of the Theotikis family, which he found 'world-class', especially
their white. We will be filling in the gaps in this section with reports from Greece
and notes from our our visit in 2002.
In 1989 Sotiris
and Irini Livadiotis opened
a small winery on the island, producing one label, Halikouna, a white wine
made from the Kakotrygis,
a variety for which they received a vin de pays appellation. They are also involved
in the revival of two local cultivars, the white Petrokoritho (a table grape of predominantly
table use) and the red Skopelitis.
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producers:
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Vasiliakis
Karpo
Theotikis |
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Appelations:
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OPAP
OPE
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| Common Varieties |
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rozaki
mantzavi
fidia
kokkino-moustitsa,
xipleko,
arkadino
koryianitis,
afioni,
agoumastos
lepoura
pinpiniola |
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