Th Kai Oypanoe (Earth and Sky)

Greek wines can be very confusing and thus are terribly misunderstood. The labels are in Greek, the grapes aren’t French vinifera, the geography is complicated, and the PDO Wines of Greece (AOQS/AOP) are relative newcomers to the European geographical indication lexicon. For example, take “Champagne”, “Chablis”, or even “Montalcino,” most novice wine drinkers will already have an association with the type of wine that word connotates. But “Naoussa”? “Rapsani”? “Goumenissa”? Agh. The grape Xinomavro has long produced some of my favorite wines. Notable for their savory tomato leaf character and structure, these wines can age for decades. Thymiopoulos is a bit of a rebel with his wines, more apt to experiment and go against the traditional way of vinifying Xinomavro in Naoussa. Approachable when young and stunning when aged.