I want to have a GREEK wine tasting at a Greek Restaurant. Anyone game?
On Thu, Aug 7, 2008 at 11:37 AM, Jim L. Ellingson <jellings(a)me.umn.edu>wrote:
FYI/FYE
August 6, 2008
WINES OF THE TIMES
Crisp, Refreshing and Greek
By ERIC ASIMOV
IT.S so easy to fall into a wine-drinking rut. We all have wines that we
enjoy and look forward to for just about any occasion or type of food, so
why even think about choosing a different bottle?
I get it completely. Some people never tire of exploring France, so never
daydream about vacationing in Spain. My own two sons, my own flesh and
blood, might consider altering their orders in a Chinese restaurant . but
they never do. Not that there.s anything wrong with that. It.s just that we
are living in a golden age of wine drinking, where so much pleasure is to be
had from so many different parts of the world that I find it a shame not to
branch out occasionally.
In this spirit of exploration I give you the white wines of Greece, which
at the very least will expand your perspective on the popular genre of cool,
crisp, refreshing wines that immediately improve any Mediterranean-style
meal. You know the type: wines that are lively and unpretentious, that smack
of sunshine, whitewashed walls and seafood. They are made to be drunk young
and they come most often but not exclusively from Italy, France, Spain and
Portugal.
Greece simply offers a subtly different take on these familiar wines. But
it.s a great different take, with unfamiliar, indigenous grapes grown
nowhere else. From the windswept volcanic island of Santorini in the Aegean
Sea comes the assyrtiko grape, which produces dry, deliciously minerally
wines. The assyrtiko vines, by the way, are trained in little bushlike
circles that hug the ground, both to protect them from the wind and so that
they can absorb the morning dew on this largely dry island.
From the Peloponnesus comes the pink-skinned moschofilero grape, which
produces highly floral wines that can often have a rosy tinge to them. And
there are so many others, like the ancient athiri, the light, citrus-imbued
roditis and the textured savatiano. Of course, this is the modern world, so
Greece has a growing proportion of nonindigenous grapes, like sauvignon
blanc and chardonnay, but so far they play a supporting role.
The wine panel last tasted Greek wines four years ago, at the time of the
Athens Olympics, and since another summer Olympics is about to begin it.s
time to revisit them. So much has changed and improved.
In 2004, we had to taste both whites and reds to get a full complement of
wines. This time we had no trouble finding 25 bottles of white wine. Last
time we found too many bottles that tasted tired from languishing on store
shelves (always an issue with unfamiliar wines) or that were overpowered by
the struck-match smell of sulfur dioxide, used as a preservative but best in
amounts too minute to notice.
This time, fewer bottles were dragged down by sulfur, and freshness was not
an issue. For the tasting, Florence Fabricant and I were joined by the
husband-and-wife team of Scott Mayger, the general manager of Telepan on the
Upper West Side of Manhattan, and Beth von Benz, a senior wine buyer at
Zachys in Scarsdale, N.Y. We were all impressed with the variety of flavors.
.They.re all about summer, freshness, communal eating and all that one
envisions going along with that,. Scott said. Beth got even more specific.
.Lemon, capers, fish, tomatoes,. she said before trailing off, thinking as
well, perhaps, about all that goes with communal eating. I think maybe I
haven.t spent enough time in the Mediterranean.
Our No. 1 wine was the 2007 Tselepos moschofilero from the Mantinia region
of the Peloponnesus, an unusual yet delicious wine that smelled like roses
and tasted like grapefruit. The 2003 was one of our favorites four years
ago. Back then I said it reminded me of gewüminer, and I can still see that
today. Our No. 2 wine, the 2007 Ktima Pavlidis Thema, comes from Macedonia
in eastern Greece, near the city of Drama, and is a combination of assyrtiko
and sauvignon blanc. Together they produce a floral, earthy wine with
flavors of minerals and lime.
We were all big fans of the moschofilero wines from the Peloponnesus,
including the 2006 Antonopoulos; the 2007 Boutari, which was also our best
value at $12; and the 2007 from Domaine Skouras. Incidentally, Greece uses a
French-style system for appellations, including French-language
designations. The Skouras, produced outside the boundaries of the Mantinia
appellation, therefore receives the appellation Peloponnese.
Our No. 6 wine, the 2007 Sigalas assyrtiko Barrel from Santorini, so-called
because it is barrel-fermented in the manner of chardonnay, was the most
expensive wine in the group at $33. While it might be easy to deride a wine
like this as pretentious, it was in fact well done, taking on a lush, smoky
richness. By contrast, another 2007 wine from Sigalas, made from 70 percent
assyrtiko and 30 percent athiri and without the oak treatment, was simply
clean and refreshing.
A number of these wines are surprisingly low in alcohol, 12 percent and
under, which is rare for a dry wine these days. The Antonopoulos was 11.5
percent and the Boutari and the Skouras were 11 percent. Frankly, it.s not
something that you think about when drinking these wines, but it does make
them all the more appealing in the sun.
I mentioned that fewer wines had sulfur problems, but one was a wine that
I.ve grown fond of, the Gaia Thalassitis, an assyrtiko wine from Santorini.
I.d made the 2006 a staple in my fridge and had found the citrus, honey and
mineral flavors attractive at any time of the year. But in our blind
tasting, I marked down the 2007 for having too much sulfur.
I happened to have a bottle of the 2007 at home and opened it to check
again. It, too, was burdened by a sulfur aroma. Even after decanting and
waiting 10 minutes, it remained. I may wait for the 2008s.
Tasting Report: Conjuring Whitewashed Walls and an Azure Sea
Tselepos Mantinia Moschofilero 2007
$16
***
Rosy in color, dry and precise with rose petal perfume and grapefruit
flavor. (Importer: Athena Importing, Atlanta)
Ktima Pavlidis Themis Drama 2007
$15
***
Pretty and floral, with lovely texture and persistent flavors of citrus and
minerals. (Athené Hempstead, N.Y.)
Antonopoulos Mantinia Moschofilero 2006
$17
** 1/2
Tart, tangy and refreshing with aromas of grapefruit and flowers. (Fantis,
Carlstadt, N.J.)
BEST VALUE
Boutari Mantinia Moschofilero 2007
$12
** 1/2
Juicy and lip-smacking with citrus, floral and herbal flavors. (Terlato
Wines International, Lake Bluff, Ill.)
Domaine Skouras Peloponnesus Moschofilero 2007
$18
** 1/2
Dry, lively and minerally with zesty lemon-lime flavors. (Diamond
Importing, Chicago)
Sigalas Santorini Assyrtiko Barrel 2007
$33
** 1/2
Rich and smoky with lush texture and juicy tropical fruit flavors. (Diamond
Importing)
Emery Rhodes Athiri 2006
$14
**
Rich and golden with creamy texture and distinctive herbal and floral
aromas. (Athené
Megapanos Spata Savatiano 2006
$12
**
Dense and dry with a pleasing texture and floral and mineral flavors.
(Wonderful Ethnic Imports, New York)
Sigalas Santorini Assyrtiko 2007
$17
**
Clean and refreshing with peach and tropical fruit flavors. (Diamond
Importing)
Mercouri Foloi Pisatis 2007
$13
**
Floral and zesty with mineral notes. (Athené
WHAT THE STARS MEAN:
Ratings, from zero to four stars, reflect the panel.s reaction to the
wines, which were tasted with names and vintages concealed. The wines
represent a selection generally available in good retail shops and
restaurants and on the Internet. Prices are those paid in shops in the New
York region.
Tasting Coordinator: Bernard Kirsch
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* Dr. James Ellingson, jellings(a)me.umn.edu *
* University of Minnesota, mobile : 651/645-0753 *
* Great Lakes Brewing News, 1569 Laurel Ave., St. Paul, MN 55104 *