Paros is an island in the central Aegean Sea, a part of the wider Cyclades island chain. This windy, mountain-dominated island is home to significant plantings of the Malvasia grape variety, which makes both a crisp, dry white wine and is blended with Mandilaria to make a soft red wine.
Paros lies about 100 miles (160km) southeast of Athens on the Greek mainland, just west of the island of Naxos. Paros is roughly tear-shaped and measures eight miles (12km) across at its widest point and 15 miles (25km) long. The famous tourist island of Mykonos lies to the north and the wine-producing island of Santorini – also a part of the Cyclades islands – is to the south.
Paros enjoys a Mediterranean climate that is cooled throughout the growing season by strong winds from the north-east. Vines on north-facing terraces are pruned low to the ground in a gobelet style to protect them from the strongest winds. Generally, the red variety of Mandilaria is planted at lower elevations on the coastal plains where the temperatures are higher, while the white Malvasia grape variety is planted higher on the slopes, where cooler temperatures slow ripening and lead to the retention of acidity.
The grape variety Monemvasia (the local name for Malvasia) has long been important to the growers of Paros. During Greece's period of Venetian rule in the Middle Ages, a blended sweet white wine known as Malvasia was produced across the Central Aegean Islands (including Paros), appropriating the name of the port town of Monemvasia on the eastern coast of the Peloponnese peninsula. Although Monemvasia and Malvasia have long been considered to be the same grape variety, there is some suggestion that the two are in fact unrelated.
The Venetian viticultural legacy lives on today in Paros's modern wine industry: both red and white wines are permitted in the Paros appellation law, and both require a percentage of Malvasia in the final blend. White wines must be 100 percent Malvasia, while red wines are made with one part Mandilaria to two parts Malvasia. In this case, the white grapes soften the characteristic harshness of the Mandilaria.
The coastal town of Naousa (not to be confused with Naousa in Macedonia) is home to the Paros Wine and Vine Museum. This subsists on wine donations made by local producers keen to educate tourists and promote viticulture in the Aegean Islands. Around a thousand famers are involved in viticulture here, producing roughly 25,000 hectoliters of wine a year.
