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GRAPE GRO WING lots of food (roasted lamb especially), and the distilled beverages are consumed either cold or warm, depending on the weather. Tsipouro is produced in the north, whereas raki is produced only on Crete. If you visit a winery, and the owner likes you, expect to end the visit with a shot of this very warming beverage. In northern Greece distilled pomace is called tsipouro, while raki is served only in Crete. good, as fruit is selected from the estate vineyard at a high-elevation site (2,100 feet) in brilliant sunshine, and then made only from free run juice. This is a stunning wine with deep, intense aromatics, crisp acidity and good structure. Tsipouro and Raki: Like the Italians, the Greeks save all of their pomace and distill it at the end of the crush in copper pot stills. It is a time of celebration (and, I suspect, inebriation). There are usually parties with Conclusion Greece has some amazing wines that are not on the radar screens of most serious wine drinkers. The Greek wine industry is beginning to show the world what it can do, and the white wines are espe- cially interesting when you consider that such fragrant, well-structured and crisp wines are being produced in a sunny, warm climate. There are some Greek varieties in the USDA Grape Vine Germplasm Repository, and Michalis Boutaris verified the collec- tion while he was a graduate student using DNA finger printing techniques with Car- ole Meredith at UC Davis. Unfortunately, many of the vines need to be heat-treated and tissue cultured to remove viruses. Dr. Deborah Golino at the UC Foundation Plant Services is committed to bring these varieties into the trade so that we have more clean plant material of very inter- esting varieties for warm climates. (See a Q&A with Golino on page 44.) You may be able to find some of these wines at your favorite Greek restaurant— or, for the really adventurous, plan a trip to Greece! I still have fond memories of enjoy- ing a cold glass of Assyrtiko in the warm sunshine at a taverna right on the beach on the island of Santorini, overlooking spar- kling blue water of the Aegean Sea. Glenn McGourty is the UC Cooperative Ex- tension winegrowing and plant science advisor for Lake and Mendocino counties. He also tends a 1-acre vineyard of the aromatic Italian wine- grape variety Arneis on his property along the Russian River near Ukiah, Calif. To comment on this column, e-mail edit@winesandvines.com. Author's Note: This concludes our series about Mediterranean varieties that have great potential in the sunny, warm wine- growing regions of California. I encourage all winegrowers to try something different than the varieties commonly grown around the world, even if it is only on a small scale (enough to make a barrel or two). There are so many possibilities, and there are some treasures waiting to be discovered by adventurous winegrowers. Experiment! Wines & Vines FeBRUARY 2011 79 evAn blAsser