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Lemon, oregano, olive oil and feta. The Greeks solved this themselves centuries ago.
Assyrtiko for anything lemony or grilled; Agiorgitiko for lamb and tomato. The local wines suit the local food, as they usually do.
Greek cooking runs on lemon, olive oil, oregano and salt, with feta or yoghurt somewhere nearby. Two of those — lemon and salty cheese — set a high acidity bar, and Greek white wine happens to have the highest acidity of almost anywhere in the Mediterranean. That is not a coincidence.
Lemon is in the marinade, in the dressing, squeezed over the grill and stirred into the avgolemono. Acidity in food raises the level a wine must reach: below it, the wine tastes flabby and hollow. Above it, the pairing sings.
Feta compounds this. It is brined and sharply acidic itself, and salty enough to soften whatever you open — which is helpful, because it means a very high-acid wine will not taste austere beside it.
Assyrtiko. Grown on the volcanic soil of Santorini, and remarkable for keeping ferocious acidity in extreme heat, which most grapes lose as they ripen. Bone dry, citrus-driven and faintly saline — it handles lemon, grilled fish, feta and olive oil without effort. The single best answer on this page.
Agiorgitiko from Nemea for moussaka, lamb and anything tomato-led. Soft tannin, ripe red fruit and gentle spice.
Xinomavro if you want something more serious. The name means "acid-black" — very high acidity, firm tannin and a savoury, tomato-leaf character often compared to Nebbiolo.
A meze table is the dim sum problem in Greek: many small dishes at once, nothing dominant, everything different. Assyrtiko covers most of it, and a dry rosé covers the rest. Do not try to pair with any single plate.
Retsina — white wine flavoured with pine resin — is worth trying once with grilled sardines or a strongly herbed dish, where its pine note stops being odd and starts making sense. Modern examples are far better than the reputation. It is not an everyday wine, but it is not the joke it was.
Avoid oak throughout. Lemon plus oak turns bitter, and the cuisine has almost nothing rich enough to need it.
Assyrtiko for anything lemony, grilled or with feta; Agiorgitiko for lamb, moussaka and tomato dishes.
It keeps ferocious acidity even in Santorini’s heat, where most grapes lose theirs. Greek cooking runs on lemon and brined cheese, both of which demand a wine sharper than the plate.
Assyrtiko or a dry rosé. With many small dishes at once, pick a wine that is good with all of them rather than perfect with one.
Modern retsina is far better than its reputation, and with grilled sardines or a heavily herbed dish the pine note makes sense. Worth trying once; not an everyday bottle.
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