Falling from grace

During the 19th century, the addition of pine resin was augmented by the use of pine casks to hold wine. A particular marriage of flavors was achieved by storing or aging wine: it developed a peppery taste, a carbonic mouthfeel and a grainy aftertaste. After this type of cask disappeared from winemaking, pine resin itself remained in use, but now it became a means of masking the flaws of substandard wines. In fact, it was this use of resin as a concealing agent of sorts that eventually gave retsina its bad reputation, a notoriety from which it is only now starting to recover.

Meanwhile, as 20th century Greeks left the countryside for the cities and started to travel more extensively, they developed a taste for fruity, unresinated wines, which they deemed more sophisticated.

Retsina, long associated with the “common-folk” culture of tavernas – where it was mainly sold and consumed – was no longer considered acceptable at the dining tables of the country’s aspiring Western-minded bourgeoisie. This, in turn, caused a downward spiral, not only for retsina but for the Greek wine industry as a whole. With few exceptions, retsina became a terrible wine – rough, harsh, lacking in flavor and character – that was served only at tourist traps.

In the minds of both foreign and domestic consumers, all Greek wine became associated with bad retsina, and early efforts to produce good-quality unresinated wine were unable to overcome this obstacle of public perception.

Promising present

Eventually, high-quality unresinated Greek wine did manage to win over the public, but retsina, which, thanks to its unique flavor, could have been a leading ambassador for Greek wines, was left behind. This abandonment was a cruel fate for the humble but long-lived retsina. This is particularly true when one considers that it is only thanks to the ability of the resin in retsina to mask inferior taste characteristics that Greeks remained wine drinkers at all, when in fact they could have turned to other alcoholic beverages.

Lately, however, things have improved; there has been a revival of this very special wine, with a number of visionary producers investing in its “Greekness.” They are hoping to put retsina back on the path to success, both in Greece and abroad. They have taken on this rather cantankerous wine, experimented with it and performed a daring but successful leap of faith. They have achieved harmony between the varied fruity tones of the grape and joined it with the distinctive yet discreet flavor of pine resin, underlined with hints of mastic gum, rosemary and sage, the slight bitterness of the pine needle and a peppery finish.

Good-quality retsina features a balsamic quality imbued into the wine by the pine resin which nonetheless allows the grape aromas to come through. An almost indiscernible bitterness gives it a refreshing finish, as though the wine were aerated, making it the perfect companion for the heavier or more complex traditional Greek dishes.