A few days lazing on a Greek island beach and it’s easy to forget that the wine you’re drinking smells and tastes like a bath full of pine needles. Retsina’s medicinal flavours are an acquired taste that can grow on you, especially if the local ouzo is too strong. But you never really quite wash those memories from your head, let alone your mouth. It wasn’t until Oddbins introduced a raft of fresh Greek wines to the chain way back when that it dawned on me that Greece had more to offer than retsina.

Today, a number of UK wine retailers, notably Marks & Spencer and Berry Bros. & Rudd, have taken up the Greek cause and added a small but significant raft of Greek wines to their ranges. In Marks’ case, they’re part of a broader, well-chosen Mediterranean portfolio, but a useful starting point is the 2011 Atlantis, £10.49, M arks & Spencer, a smoky, spritz-fresh dry white blend of the volcanic island of Santorini’s three native white grapes, assyrtiko, aidani and athiri, whose burst of lemony acidity is a perfect foil for asparagus.

From the aptly-named Drama, the 2010 Ktima Pavlidis Emphasis Assyrtiko, £13.50, Berry Bros. (08002802440) puts the emphasis, as it were, on the assyrtiko grape in an exuberantly rich yet zingy dry white of apple and stonefruit concentration. Berry’s also have the fine 2010 Diamantakis Vidiano White, £10.95, a distinctive dry white from Crete with smoky, vanilla whiff and a peachy, honeyed opulence. Blending local with international, the 2011 Ktima Pavlidis Thema Assyrtiko/Sauvignon Blanc, £11.49, Laithwaites (www.laithwaites.co.uk), is an assertive blend with grapefruity flavours and a zesty lime-like tang.

The rose-tinted glass of yesteryear has today given way to many a rosé-tinted glass. In the 2011 Phaedra Xynomavro Rosé, Macedonia, £8.99, Waitrose, you’ll find a refreshingly dry strawberry cup-like blend of the native xynomavro with a touch of syrah. From George Skouras in the Peloponnese, the 2011 Cuvée Prestige Rosé, £7.99, Marks & Spencer, is another crisp summer pudding rosé, in this case made from the agiorgitiko grape. And for the sweet of tooth, Crete’s Domaine Lyrarakis Malvasia, £17.75, BBR, is intensely fragrant with luscious apricot fruit balanced by a delightful nuttiness and moreish juiciness.

Alongside white, rosé and sweet, fresh and fruity reds can also hold their heads high in Greece’s modern pantheon of styles. The 2010 Nemea Red on Black, £8.49, Marks & Spencer, for instance, is a succulently juicy red from Mitravelas in Nemea made from agiorgitiko, showing lively black cherry sweetness and damsony acidity. Pavlidis in Thrace also make a powerful 2008 Thema Red, £13.95, BBR, a modern Greek blend of the agiorgitiko with syrah displaying a polished whiff of vanilla oak and lots of glossy spiced plum and blackcurrant fruit flavours.

Something For The Weekend

Something For the Weekend 23 June 2012

Couch Potato

2010 Domaine de la Croix de Chaintres, Saumur-Champigny, Loire

This bright, summery red from the Filliatreau family is pure cabernet franc, bringing a herbal character to the red berry fruit flavours and a delicate whiff of green pepper. £8.79, down from £10.99, until Tuesday, Waitrose.

Dining In

2011 Tesco Finest* Tingleup Riesling

From Howard Park’s Janice McDonald in Western Australia, this is a consistently excellent dry riesling whose lime-like aromas are complemented by a zingy lime-zesty fruit quality that’s neatly rounded out by an almost imperceptible touch of juicy sweetness. Tesco, £9.99.

Splash Out

2008 Vincent Girardin Saint Aubin Premier Cru Les Perrières

This Côte de Beaune chardonnay is a superbly crafted, complex, full-flavoured dry white Burgundy in meursault style with a whiff of oak smokiness underpinned by a richly concentrated nuttiness and intense, mineral dry aftertaste. £25, Laithwaites.

Ends