Xinomavro can, at time be a little hard work. Bracing acidity and high tannins sometimes make for a chewy, but no less delicious wine. This wine, however, tells a slightly different story. The nose is dominated by intense notes of ripe, almost coinfected black cherry - think Vimto or Ribena. Juicy and supple in the mouth with a faint earthy character, this is a friendly introduction to arguably Greece's finest red grape variety.

In northern Greece, in the municipality of Aristotle, you will find the relatively new Akrathos winery. Conceived in 2007 by Babis Berkis and with the financial support of an Athens-based lawyer, Nassos Felonis, this visionary project came to fruition. Greece is home to over 300 local, indigenous grape varieties. The couple shared a vision of creating a wine estate that takes the best from the fruit basket that mother Greece provides and integrating those grape varieties with more prolific, international names such as Sauvignon blanc. The team planted five hectares in 2009 with a philosophy of minimal impact in order to conserve as much of the local landscape as possible and in 2014, their winery was built. With talented winemaker Kyriakos Kynigopolous at the helm, Akrathos has proven to be one of Greece's most exciting wine projects of late, producing outstanding white and red wine from Assyrtiko, Sauvignon Blanc and Xinomavro respectively. These are age-worthy wines and you would struggle to find better quality in this part of Greece - in particular from their whites.