Aegean islands / Αιγαια νησια

Island in the Aegean, off the coast of Turkey, belonging to Greece, one of the Sporades group of islands. The land area is around 470 km². According to legend, the first king of Samos, Ankaios, who was also an Argonaut, brought vines to the island around 1000 BC. Three famous men were born here. The first was the philosopher and mathematician Pythagoras (580 - 496 BC) to whom the mathematical theorem named after him is ascribed. The mathematician Aristarchos (approx. 310–250 BC) was convinced the solar system was a heliocentric one, with the sun at the centre, but was not taken seriously in his time. And the third was the philosopher Epicureus (341-270), whose proclaimed philosophy of a wise, retiring lifestyle without material requirements (Epicureanism) was later diffamed as hedonism. In the late 19th century, wine was exported from Samos to countries all over Europe, mainly red wines made from indigenous grape varieties. Then phylloxera was introduced to the island, devastating practically all the vineyards. When the vineyards were replanted, this was done mainly with the white variety Moscato Aspro (Muscat Blanc à Petit Grains), which today covers 95% of the vineyard area. The vineyard area totals around 1.800 hectares on limestone-rich soil, many of the vineyards are on steep terraced slopes at an altitude of up to 800 metres above sea level, with often just two rows of vines on a terrace. The sweet white dessert wine produced her eis one of the best-known Greek wines after retsina. The „Muscat of Samos” was declared an OPE appellation in 1982. It is a straight varietal wine made from Moscato Aspro. The light gold, sweet liqueur wine is characterised by an incomparable bouquet of oranges and spices. There are four versions available. The Vin doux is made in the style of a vin de liqueur, spirits are added to the must before fermentation. A version of this wine that has matured in oak barrels is known as Anthemis (old name of Samos). In the case of theVin doux naturel fermentation is stopped at an early stage, while the Vin doux naturel Grand Cru version is made from overripe grapes. The best version is the Vin naturallement doux (naturally sweet, without any added spirits) is made from sun-dried grapes, the wine is hten matured in oak barrels for three years, and has an alcohol content of up to 15% vol. This version is described as Nectar on the label. There are also some dry wines made on Samos, these are not declared as OPE wines. The white Samena is named after the ancient warships found on Samos. A version made from overripe grapes is known as Golden Samena. There is also a retsina made from Muscat grapes. Well-known producers on Samos include the Co-Operatives of Samos, Kourtakis and Tsantali.