Negoska Tales: The Rise of a Rare Grape

Within the hills under Mt. Paiko, in a quiet nook of Macedonia, there’s a very high quality city for wine. Goumenissa has loads going for it: sunny days with cool nights in summer time that permit the grapes relaxation; clay-rich soil; and slopes caressed by light breezes. There’s a protracted custom of winegrowing right here, bolstered by the arrival of Greeks from Japanese Rumelia with their very own robust winemaking heritage. Their Feast of St. Tryphon, patron saint of the vine, is a spotlight of the cultural and non secular calendar. Custom can be central to the PDO; the rules set forth by the Division of Agriculture require that the grapes be tended in a sure means prior to reap.

The opposite factor central to the PDO is the native grape Negoska, a comparatively uncommon selection that makes up maybe just a little greater than a tenth of the full grapes grown within the space. Nonetheless, it’s notable. Negoska has lengthy had its admirers, together with the numerous French troopers posted right here in WWI, honored within the inscription on the fountain in Goumenissa’s most important sq. that reads “Passager, souviens-toi le soldat français.” With its deep shade, greater alcohol content material, and softer tannins, Negoska is claimed to have been the troopers’ favourite.

Two Tales Entwined

Xinomavro and Negoska share a narrative, although the previous is well-known, starring within the PDOs of Naoussa, Amyntaio, Rapsani and Goumenissa, whereas the latter options solely in Goumenissa’s PDO zone, the smallest of the 4. Some consider that earlier than the names “Xinomavro” and “Negoska” took maintain, they have been each known as “Popolka.” In line with this concept, Xinomavro was Xini (“Bitter”) Popolka, whereas Negoska was Glykia (“Candy”) Popolka, reflecting how the grapes style when eaten straight from the vine. This isn’t a certainty, nevertheless, and neither is the origin of  the fashionable title for the grape.

Though Negoska is unique to Goumennissa’s PDO zone, many say it’s named after Naoussa, which was as soon as referred to as “Nea Augusta” – “Negusha” to their Slavic neighbors. (In that case, meaning the grape took off in Goumenissa however pale into obscurity in its native city.) Periklis Tatsis suggests one other risk: “Some males of my grandfather’s technology have been on the vineyard having tsipouro and meze, and reminiscing, telling tales that they had heard as youngsters concerning the days earlier than the primary world struggle, earlier than the phylloxera, when brokers from France would come to purchase wine in bulk. They referred to as these brokers ‘Negotia,’ a Greek model of the French phrase ‘négociateur.’ With its deep shade and softer tannins, Glykia Popolka was their favourite. They paid a premium to have it vinted individually: Negoska, the selection of the Negotia.”

A Grape with a Massive Persona

Moreover as soon as sharing the title Popolka, the 2 varieties share complexity and sturdiness, as each age effectively. Periklis Tatsis describes Negoska as a sibling of Xinomavro. However that deep shade of ruby units it aside; Xinomavro, regardless of its title that means “Bitter black,” will not be wealthy in shade. They’re siblings in style, too, however whereas the traditional Xinomavro profile has notes of tomato, olive and chocolate, Negoska presents loads prefer it appears: stuffed with ripe pink fruits similar to black cherries and berries. Its decrease acidity poses a problem; it wants finessing to deliver out its liveliness. Alternatively, its very workable tannins are a plus. Tatsis describes Negoska’s tannins as “rounder,” illustrating the tannins in Xinomavro with a pointy peak (in The Wines of Greece, Konstantinos Lazarakis MW describes the tannins in Xinomavro as “angular”), and, for comparability, Merlot’s with a mild curve. (After all, taste traits are subjective, so that you received’t know what you suppose till you strive the wine your self).

Moreover the PDO wines, many different Goumenissa reds embrace Negoska. With its thick, polyphenol-rich pores and skin, it has a lot to contribute. The depth of shade, pleasing pink fruits and plentiful tannins are all simply distinguished within the glass, particularly when evaluating wines; a Goumenissa PDO (Xinomavro blended with a minimal of 20% Negoska) is usually rounder than a Naoussa PDO (100% Xinomavro). Negoska’s decrease acidity and tannins make it a high quality complement to Xinomavro. “It has an enormous character,” says Tatsis.

Difficult and Charming

The brothers Stergios and Periklis Tatsis felt the grape may stand by itself and produced their first single-varietal Negoska in 2007. Ten years later, they made Outdated Roots Negoska, utilizing grapes completely from vines that have been 70 to 100 years previous. Vasilis Tsaktsarlis of Mikro Ktima Titos makes a sublime 100% Negoska rosé, whose notes of pink fruits are complemented by floral aromas. Ktima Aidarini has a single varietal, unfiltered, wild ferment Negoska from the 2017 classic (bottled three years later) referred to as Si-La-Vie, which enhances their Si-La-Vie Xinomavro. In 2018, Chatzivariti Property launched two single-variety Negoska reds.

In line with Chloi Chatzivariti, “you have got this robust tannic stage, however you don’t have the freshness of the acidity that may steadiness the impact of the tannins, the astringency.” Because of this, she handled the grape’s traits in two methods: she blended a rosé from grapes harvested early to retain some acidity with a pink wine constructed from later harvest grapes for the wild fermented, unfiltered Spin; for her Negoska Carbonic, she employed anaerobic maceration to deliver forth pink fruit aromas similar to sun-dried strawberries, in addition to notes of heat spices.

It’s an agreeable grape within the winery. Oenologist Maria Tatsis, raised amongst these vines, tells us why: “Negoska is fragile on the flowering stage, very delicate to rain, however sturdy after that and immune to most illnesses. Shoot thinning and leaf removing are each fast work, and the comparatively massive bunches make for a straightforward harvest. The grapes are free within the bunch, in order that they’re all at an analogous stage of ripeness. Furthermore, as a result of there’s much less fruit, the vine can supply extra concentrated nourishment, leading to wonderful taste and character.”

Maria opens a bottle of their 2017 Negoska and swirls it within the glass earlier than taking a look. Its legs – poetically referred to as “tears” in Greek – point out the alcohol content material; at 13.5%, it hits the nostril with the aroma of pink fruits. She mentions how effectively the wine works with meals, holding as much as wealthy meat dishes and cheeses. It additionally works properly by itself, opening up significantly after 20 minutes or so. The tannins soften, revealing its complexity. The end is pleasant and lengthy. The grape has many high quality qualities. “However it’s greater than that,” says Maria. “Negoska is central to Goumenissa’s distinctive id.”

Ruby Purple Future

With every of the wineries that makes a PDO Goumenissa providing a single varietal Negoska – or typically extra – coming throughout a bottle as of late is less complicated than ever. Goumenissa’s wine neighborhood is more and more concerned with giving voice to its signature grape. “This may catch the attention of me; Negoska is our future,” says oenologist Fotini Aidarini, of the brand new technology at Ktima Aidarini. “It’s what makes us particular, all of us in Goumenissa, collectively.”