Domaine Ligas Moschomavro Pella Red 2020

Pella, in central Macedonia, is a very fertile landscape, unlike the rocky, poor soils that most Greek winemakers contend with. Wine has long been a part of this region, dating back to the 4th century BCE. Euripedes' most well-regarded tragic play The Bacchae was even written and set here in 405 BCE, and deals with Dionysos and his followers. Thomas Ligas, who started the estate in 1985, was of a generation of Greek winemakers who learned their trade in France, as there were no oenology degrees in Greece at the time. Though he began with larger cooperatives and more modern winemaking, he devoted his own project to natural farming and permaculture from the beginning. Today, Ligas is run mostly by Thomas' daughter Meli, and Ligas is one of the most visible standard-bearers for the natural wine movement in Greece.

This wine is 100% Moschomavro, a Macedonian grape that is aromatic and makes for lighter, fresher wines. Ligas' version is made with more of an 'infusion' approach than extraction, and zero sulfur additions, with fermentation and aging in older oak. It's a little wild but it's extremely tasty, with notes of hibiscus and dried apple rings. Great with a little chill. Jonathan Kemp