Island Wines

[Jenise]

That's the topic of an upcoming gathering. There will be a preponderance of Sicilian, I suspect, and I have prospects in my own cellar. But beyond that, what are other options I might look for? I can think of:

Tasmania
Corsica
Almost anything Greek
Canary
Long Island (would be fun but probably impossible to source from here)

What else?

Madeira.

-Paul W.

Santorini is usually my favorite locale for wines from Greece, but the vast majority are from the mainland?
Canary Islands are my fave island wines as a whole.

Others you didn't mention:
Sardinia
Ischia
Crete
Madeira
Actually, NZ is two islands!

Hawaiian sparkling pineapple wine
I believe wine is made in the Azores
There is wine made in Malta but it is hard to find

[David M. Bueker]

UK sparkling wine perhaps?

[Jenise]

Santorini is usually my favorite locale for wines from Greece, but the vast majority are from the mainland?
Canary Islands are my fave island wines as a whole.

Others you didn't mention:
Sardinia
Ischia
Crete
Madeira
Actually, NZ is two islands!

Going to have to look up Ischia! Btw, did you mean Cyprus not Crete (since Crete is a Greek island)? I had an amazing white from Cyprus last year that I temporarily forgot about. Re NZ--duh, of course it is. I've even been there but don't think of it that way.

oops, yes Cyprus.
Yes, G. Britain and NZ aren't what you usually think of for islands!

Clos Montmartre, which is technically from the Ile de France. (But probably not qualifying as an island for the organizers)

Has anyone ever tasted it?

[Jenise]

oops, yes Cyprus.
Yes, G. Britain and NZ aren't what you usually think of for islands!

Could humorously even make a case for Australia, as in One Great Big One.

[Jenise]

Just got off the phone with a wine seller in Canada. She's waiting on a delivery of wine from Pico Island, a tiny place off the coast of Portugal. Won't get here in time for me but wouldn't THAT would be obscure!

[David M. Bueker]

oops, yes Cyprus.
Yes, G. Britain and NZ aren't what you usually think of for islands!

Could humorously even make a case for Australia, as in One Great Big One.

I was thinking that but decided not to use it. Continent trumps island.

[Jenise]

I agree, but desperate people do desperate things. There IS always Kangaroo Island, though, speaking of Oz.

Or Tasmania!

Does a castle with a moat qualify?

[Jenise]

Does a castle with a moat qualify?

You mean like Alligator Alcatraz? It has a moat.

[David M. Bueker]

Do they make wine from migrants?

[Jenise]

They would if Trump could sell it.

Santorini makes some of my favorite (but hard to find) wines. Cyprus and Santorini are two of the few places that are phylloxera-free.

-Paul W.

[Jenise]

Paul, I certainly haven't had but one Cyprus wine that I know of. The store I bought it at also had a Cab Franc from the same producer, but when I went back for that and more of the white, they were out. I posted a note about it in early 2024, and before that you have to go back to a Tom Hill note in 2020 to find another Cypriot. Definitely a rarity here. For yucks, here's the wine I so liked:

2022 Makarounas 'Aerides', Xynisteri of Paphos, Cyprus
Deep yellow color with attractive, intense aromas. If you've ever smelled or eaten fresh quince, THIS, along with pineapple and fresh bay leaf. Texturally it leans toward full-bodied without getting into Mae West territory, and the finish stays with you long after you put down your glass. Outstanding.

Sicily!

[Jenise]

Sicily!

Yeah, that's what my intro note said would be the most popular. Lots of it around locally and most of us own some; I sure do.

But guess what I found, a Cyprus cab franc. Same I mentioned to Paul. Had to order it from outside sources, but at least I have something no one else will bring.

If you want to puzzle people with a technicality, Dashe Cellars’s winery is in Alameda, California, which has been an island since a canal was dredged between it and Oakland at the turn of the 20th century… and their Zin wasn’t bad last time I checked, although I haven’t checked in at least a decade.

Paul, I certainly haven't had but one Cyprus wine that I know of. The store I bought it at also had a Cab Franc from the same producer, but when I went back for that and more of the white, they were out. I posted a note about it in early 2024, and before that you have to go back to a Tom Hill note in 2020 to find another Cypriot. Definitely a rarity here. For yucks, here's the wine I so liked:
2022 Makarounas 'Aerides', Xynisteri of Paphos, Cyprus
Deep yellow color with attractive, intense aromas. If you've ever smelled or eaten fresh quince, THIS, along with pineapple and fresh bay leaf. Texturally it leans toward full-bodied without getting into Mae West territory, and the finish stays with you long after you put down your glass. Outstanding.

I can get this here in Da Big City. I gotta go way out of my way, but the intertubez sez it is for sale.

Don't forget Vancouver Island....Blue Grouse, Alderlea, Beaufort......