Vaimaki Family "Popolka Pata Trava" 2021

Press 4 White • June 2025 Direct Press Selection

Vasilis Vaimakis received a PhD focused on the oxidation of white wines and was one of the first to do extensive experiments with zero-sulfur winemaking and one of the first to commercially release zero-sulfur wines in Greece. Earlier in his career he successfully led some bigger, high-volume wineries and cooperatives but that led him to believe that a lot of the additives were unnecessary. "Wine should contain only one ingredient," is now Vasilis' catchphrase. He makes wine in Amyndeo, one of the more respected wine regions in Greece's mountainous Macedonia province, sitting at 600 meters above sea level and dotted with lakes.

Xinomavro was called "Popolka" until the 1970s, and Vasilis, like many of the old guard, uses the older name for this grape here. Xinomavro is a red grape that is often compared to Nebbiolo, and it thrives in the humid Alpine climate of Amyndeo. Yet here Vasilis makes it into a blanc de noirs, pressing it off the skins to make it look like an orange wine. There is zero sulfur and plenty of funk here, a turbid mixture of lactic tang, yeasted waffles, Butterfinger, and lemon juice that is quite intriguing and delicious, though admittedly this will not be for everyone. I feel fried food calling out to me for this one. Chill it down and get your Greek freak on. Jonathan Kemp