Throughout 2013 the supermarkets and national wine retailers in the U.K. started to stock more wines from the East Mediterranean region, after all it is one the oldest wine producing regions in the world. Lets hope the trend continues in 2014! There are currently around 50 wines easily accessible in store or on line in addition to those available via the independent wine merchants.

There seems to be a growing trend for wine drinkers to move out of their comfort zones and try something new. But, I wonder how many actually have taken the plunge faced with unknown grape names and relatively high prices. Is the risk worth taking? East Med Food decided to take the risk for you and I will be reporting on wines tasted from this region each month. I will also present my research into each wine to give the reader a broader understanding of the wine rather than just my opinion of it (Read my bio to find out more about how I taste these wines). I am going to start with the wines that are easy to get hold of and then move on to the ones from the independent merchants.

For the first tasting I tried three wines: (Click on each for more information)

1. Thymiopoulos Xinomavro 2011, Naoussa, Greece. (£10.49 Marks and Spencer)
2. Chateau Ksara Reserve du Couvent 2011, Bekaa Valley, Lebanon. (£10 Oddbins)
3. Anfora trio 2012, Turkey. (£7.49 Marks and Spencer)

Verdict:

The Xinomavro was the best of the three it was well balanced with lots of character. It is a good food wine and certainly worth the price.

The high acidity and tannin of the Bekaa Valley wine led me to believe it would be worth keeping for a few more years to develop. However, if you were to drink it now with red meat or strong cheese then you will not be disappointed.

The Anfora Trio was an easy wine to drink and it certainly needs to be drunk within the year. It had good red cherry flavours, but lacked body. I think this would be a great wine for the summer slightly chilled, but I am not sure it is worth the £7.49 price tag.

Cheers