Amorgiano; Pariano; Vaftra; Koundoura Black; Mandilari: These are but a few of the names of the late-harvested red grape Mandilaria variety and serve as testimonials to the extent to which the variety has spread throughout Greece and the Greek isles in particular. As early as the time of Pausanias, Mandilaria has participated in the production of the renowned Ariousios wine from Chios. Today, it is also blended in a great number of reds, rosés, and dessert wines with a strong identity and personality. Nevertheless, Mandilaria monovarietals are quite rare.
The Mandilaria heartland is to be found in the Aegean Islands and in Crete. It is thus no coincidence that in those areas, the variety participates in the PDO Peza, Archanes, PDO Paros reds and is entirely responsible for the production of the PDO Rhodes red. On those islands’ wind-swept and sun-scorched vineyards, the goblet-pruned Mandilaria acquires extraordinary characteristics: It assumes a dark red color; aromas of vine-ripened fruit; fleshy aromas (e.g., of leather); and a medium body with unrestrained, hefty tannins. Toiling hard both at the vineyard and at the winery and by mixing it with other varieties (the white Monemvassia, in Paros and the soft red Kotsifali in Crete) many a wine grower of note have been trying to tame the overall untethered nature of Mandilaria. Still, leaving it in the bottle for a few years is the best way to find ourselves before a “European” wine whose taste travels you to the magnificent place of its origin.
The vineyards of Paros occupy approximately 1,200 acres, mainly planted with the white Monemvassia and red Mandilaria varieties. When blended together, these two varieties yield a unique red wine, as the white Monemvassia adds aromas and softens the roughness of Mandilaria. Monemvassia is also used for the production of a dry white wine.
Paros is, for the most part, a flat island with a strong summer winds (called meltemia) and limited to minimum rainfall during the summer period, but also with higher levels of humidity than other Cycladic islands. ?he vineyards of Paros has never been blighted by phylloxera. The vines are planted on rich calcareous, sandy and sandy-claye soil that is the result of erosion from the slopes of Mount Profitis Elias. The central part of the island is mountainous with an altitude of 724m (2375 ft.). The vines grow freely in bush form, many of them self-rooted. The old wood extends horizontally and young shoots grow vertically, creating a floor covering of vines, a system known locally as aplotaries (from the Greek verb ‘aplono’, which means ‘to spread’).
Red wine is wine made from dark-coloured grape varieties. The color of red differs based on the grapes variety or varieties used.
Interestingly, black grapes yield a juice that is greenish-white. The actual red color comes from anthocyan pigments (also called anthocyanins) from the skin of the grape (exceptions are the relatively uncommon teinturier varieties, which produce a red colored juice). Most of the production centers around the extraction of color and flavor from the grape skin.
