Ξινόμαυρο Σιάτιστα / Xinomavro Siatista

The air was bracing and the temperature 
plummeting as we seized the last sunrays

Siatista is the fifth Xinomavro region. Also the least known.
Tucked-in between the Pindos mountain range (a sister mountain of the Alps) and Mt Velia, 
lies this sleeper Xinomavro terroir. Wine regions prosper thanks to transport. 
Until the arrival of the Egnatia motorway, this essentially isolated mountain pass may 
well have been consigned to history books. 
In the 1990s, vine acreage reached 150 hectares. It now stands at 3.5 hectares. 
It is not all Xinomavro, however. The microclimate goes one better than Florina's 
cooler-climate Amyndeon. 
This landlocked clay-limestone slope inches closer to a full-fledged continental climate. Actually, it is the single coldest wine region that I know. 
With climate change, this frontier may well surpass all its currently better-known sister vineyards. While walking the vineyards of this discovery and tasting the 2011, 
the region’s contrasted weather vagaries become illuminating. Vintage variation is marked. 
The 2009 and 2014 were rain-plagued – diplomatic language for a wash-out. 
It reminded me of the 1990s vintage chart of Goumenissa. 
Wash-out vintages were peppered with good, and occasionally brilliant, 
conditions to coax the high-tannic Xinomavro grape into ripening. Goumenissa has 
Negoska to pad out Xinomavro. 
The subtly fragrant red Moschomavro steps up for the more famous sweet Siatista. 
The fortunes of this promising patch are linked to the rise and fall of a far more lucrative profession. Nearby Kastoria and Siatista are famous for the furriers, who were allowed the privilege to wear fur hats as a social distinction during the Byzantine times. 

Thanks to Dimitri Diamantis the winds of change are blowing again. 
Autumn is a lovely time to visit this off-the-beaten-path region. 
Standing at the Agios Panteleimon mountain shelter overlooking the majestic, 
fir-covered Mt Bourinos (1866 m.), this little-known alpine Greece comes into focus. 
Our reward (we drove up this time) was a mushroom stew of freshly foraged 
orange terracotta hedgehogs 
(Hydnum rufescens – the word is derived from (h)udnon/ύδνον, an Ancient Greek 
word for truffle according to the Wikipedia) and stone milkcaps 
(Lactarius salmonicolor, named for its colour). 
Enjoying this emerging address was another unique mountain experience. 
With no glassware available, we made spontaneous use of alloy cups. 
The air was bracing and the temperature plummeting as we seized the last sunrays. 
There are rare moments on my quest for such discoveries when it just Does.Not.Get.Any.Better.Than.This. Fingers crossed, Siatista bags a stellar vintage sooner, rather than later. 
That would be worth taking a hike up any mountain in this part of the world...[...] http://www.greekwineworld.net/