Epirus

Epirus has vineyards on fertile plains and higher slopes with poorer, lime-bearing clay soils. Slope sites require more work. At altitude, conditions are cool and humid, winters snowy and ripening slow; harvesting takes place from early to mid-October. Wine production centres on Ioannina, notably Zitsa and Metsovo. Debina, the leading native white grape, gives tangy, medium-bodied wines with marked acidity and is also used for sparkling wine. Vlahiko makes reds with relatively little drying tannin. Bekari gives deeper colour and firmer tannin.