What Greek sweet red wine is produced in the Patras region?

Mavrodaphne is the Greek sweet red wine produced in the Patras region. It is made primarily from the Mavrodafni grape, an indigenous black grape associated with Achaea in the northern Peloponnese.

The wine was first produced around 1850 by Gustav Clauss, founder of the Achaia Clauss winery near Patras. Fermentation is stopped by adding grape distillate, leaving residual sugar and creating a fortified dessert wine. Many examples are matured using a solera-style system, blending younger wine with older vintages.

Mavrodaphne is typically dark purple to nearly opaque, with flavors and aromas often compared to raisins, plums, caramel, chocolate, and coffee. The name means “black laurel,” a reference to the appearance of the grapes, although romantic stories connect it with a woman named Daphne.

A common mix-up is treating Mavrodaphne as only a grape variety or only a wine. The name refers to both: the grape and the sweet fortified wine made from it. Agiorgitiko and Xinomavro are also Greek red-wine grapes, but neither is the canonical answer here.