Athens-Vienna, a vineyard away
The issue of wine tourism in Athens has become much more pressing, thanks to the increase in tourism to the capital. Unfortunately, foreign tourists, just like many Greeks, do not know there are vineyards and wineries only 30 minutes from the city. How can a European capital have such an ace up its sleeve, one wonders, and keep it so well hidden? Some wineries are shining exceptions, but they are but a drop in the ocean.
In contrast, another capital, without having the great wine tradition of Athens, is leading the way among European capitals with vineyards on their outskirts. Vienna decided years ago to promote its wines and has undoubtedly done so quite successfully. The strange thing is that Athens and Vienna have a lot in common.
Organised viticulture began in Vienna in Roman times, something its inhabitants draw special attention to, particularly referring to the emperor Marcus Aurelius, who permitted viticulture beyond the Alps. Archaeological finds on display from that period are almost always associated with wine. A classic case is the cellar of the Palais Cobourg, which lies against the walls of the Roman and later medieval fortress. In Athens, it is easy to find something similar. The city is full of archaeological sites and finds that demonstrate the traditional role of wine in the city. Why haven’t we connected, for example, the remains of a 4th century tavern in the Ancient Agora, the beginnings of viticulture in Attica as depicted on a carving in the Theatre of Dionysus, the evidence from countless drinking vessels, banquets, references in texts to wine, ways of drinking and serving it, with wine production in Attica? A simple example: In Aristophanes’ Plutus (‘Wealth’) the protagonist says that the tavern keeper knows exactly how diluted he wants his wine. But we forgot this ‘wealth’ in our search for easy money.
Don’t think that everything is rosy for everyone else. The local wine of Vienna is the Gemischter Satz, a blend of white varieties. It was produced by all the Viennese wineries and was served in all the taverns. Thanks to mass production and low quality, by the early ’90s, no one even wanted to hear about Gemischter Satz. Not so different from the Attic retsina. In 2006, four leading winemakers decided that the Viennese tradition should not be lost and created Wien Wein. Their painstaking work gave a huge boost to the blend and also to the local variety Gruner Veltliner. There is currently no restaurant or bar that doesn’t have Gemischter Satz on its wine list.
When I created Wines of Athens, to promote the Attic vineyard, I thought it was important for winemakers to visit Vienna and see for themselves the work of Wien Wein in reviving local wines. ‘You can do nothing alone; you need to work with others. We talked for months about how to bring about the production of quality wines that would properly express the terroir. We were thinking not only of the Gemischter Satz, but also of the Gruner Veltliner. We were fed up with drinking bad wines made with an outstanding variety of grape,’ said Rainer Christ, one of the founders.
When I asked Herbert Schilling, president of the approximately 200 wineries in Vienna, if Wien Wein benefited the others, he had no hesitation in saying that the initiative had not only increased the sales of other producers, but had also changed Vienna’s image as a wine city globally.
Attica has 30 wineries and they are probably having a hard time keeping up. Is it time to let go of conservatism, petty sectional interests and look to the future? Savatiano is a grape variety with real potential. Retsina is one of the very few examples of a wine with a global tradition—an ‘ancient wine’, if you permit the expression. Quality limits and rules must be applied, and if the state doesn’t apply them, the producers must do so themselves.
Vienna promotes its wines as gastronomic. It also has the long tradition of Heuriger, the winery taverns, an institution that goes back to the Middle Ages. An imperial decree allowed wineries to serve their own new wines with food. Most wineries today have Heuriger, and visiting them at weekends is an integral part of Viennese culture.
In Vienna, restaurants, wine bars and even cafes have a good list of local wines, followed by other Austrian and international wines. Typically, the locals prefer a white Grüner Veltliner, even with meat dishes. In Athens, how many tavernas have wines from Attic wine producers, and how many recommend a good retsina? And here we are talking about Savatiano and retsina, gastronomic wines par excellence, suitable for a wide variety of foods.
For all the tradition, local ingredients, and history we speak of, you can count on the fingers of both hands the restaurants where you can find Attic wine, In a capital that is flooded with tourists coming to admire its culture, its wine is entirely absent.
The Region and the Municipality, despite occasional announcements and celebrations, have never seriously taken on board the fact that this city has a very important product, closely associated with its history. It has Savatiano, a variety which is cultivated in a very particular way—stems low in a goblet and not high with support—and old vineyards, extending over hills between archaeological sites, olive groves, fig and pistachio trees. They never believed that wine is a cultural product that needs to be promoted
I return to the issue of wine tourism. In Vienna there are special routes that connect wineries, food in the Heuriger, of course, and bicycles, picnics, wine-related events and the Heurigen Express, which with its hop-on hop-off system makes it possible to visit many wineries at once. In Vienna, there is assistance from the Municipality and Austrian Wine Marketing, but the producers also collaborate. At many wineries they recommended I visit others in their area and make sure not to miss this or that medieval village, monastery or view of the Danube.
On my last two visits to Vienna Airport, there were wine tasting stands. Has no one thought of tempting the thousands of travellers to El. Venizelos Airport with a wine tasting or even with advertising posters on the way to the city? We don’t only have the Parthenon, tzatziki, souvlaki. Our wine is also part of our culture.
In the centre of Athens, there could very well be a market offering tastings of the city’s wines to introduce people to delicious products. And so as not to throw everything onto the shoulders of public organisations, I will also mention the Tresors de Champagne, the wine bar created by 28 small champagne producers in Reims. A small masterpiece of design, ingenuity and entrepreneurship.
The Attic vineyard is here, it shines under the eternal blue of its sky, it offers its rich juice, but it needs work, determination, a collaborative spirit, and new ideas. It is time for it to make up for lost opportunities and take a leading place in the hearts of residents and visitors to Athens alike.
