Roditis

or Rhoditis

Appears in
Oxford Companion to Wine

By Jancis Robinson

Published 2006

  • About

Roditis or Rhoditis, slightly pink-skinned grape variety that is greece’s second most common after savatiano on a total of 9,127 ha/22,544 acres in 2013. Although its name is probably derived from the island of Rhodes, it was traditionally grown, often as a field blend with other clones of Roditis, in the Peloponnese and was even more important in the pre-phylloxera era. The vine is particularly sensitive to powdery mildew. It ripens relatively late and keeps its acidity quite well even in such hot climates as that of Ankhíalos in Thessaly in central Greece, although it can also ripen well in high-elevation vineyards. It is often blended with the softer savatiano, particularly for retsina.