Blog

Assyrtiko, Keftedes, and Salt #WinePW

 

---

For August, Robin from Crushed Grape Chronicles has challenged the #WinePW crew to find “unexpected white wine pairings”. More than just food though, Robin has opened this event up to pairing wine with books, moves, music…think outside the box, she said! You can read her full invitation and how to participate here. Everyone’s pairings will go live August 11 and 12 and we’re going to try to have a chat about them on the new Instagram Threads on Saturday, August 12, at 8 am Pacific, 10 am Central, 11 am Eastern, 5 pm in France & Italy, and 6 pm in Istanbul! 

Assyrtiko, the King of Santorini

If you know Greek wine, you know Assyrtiko. It is the King of Santorini, but also grows on other islands and around the mainland. It is the most exported Greek variety (if the not the one with the highest plantings!). Now, many theorize that Santorini could be the site of the lost city of Atlantis. There’s even an interactive Atlantis museum on the island. The veracity of that theory aside, Santorini is fascinating enough on its own without needing to attach dubious legends to it. 

Taking the spot as the southernmost island of the Cycladic complex in the southern Aegean, Santorini is actually multiple islands. It is however the largest island of a small circular archipelago, made up of Santorini, Thirassia,  Nea Kameni, Palaia Kameni, Aspronisi, and Christiana. Thanks to the Minoan eruption that decimated the island and its inhabitants about 3600 years ago (one of the largest volcanic eruptions ever recorded), soils are volcanic and consist of a combination of basalt, volcanic ash, sand, pumice, andesite, and other volcanic materials over what remains of the island’s original limestone bedrock. 

A hot Mediterranean climate provides lots of sunshine and mild winters, but also the danger of drought. Much of the precipitation vines receive comes from morning mists that blanket the vines. Vineyards receive cooling breezes (meltemia) off the Aegean some 300 days a year. Although those breezes are a double edged sword. They can often reach speeds so fierce, especially in the spring, that they strip vines of leaves and fruit buds, destroying large sections of crops. Vines famously protect themselves with their basket shaped kouloura and kladeftiko. These also carry their own pros and cons, but that’s a longer discussion. 

Assyrtiko is the most widely planted grape on the island. The island has several PDOs and PGIs with PDO Santorini, established in 1974, as the most well-known. This is the Assyrtiko PDO. To qualify for this, wines must contain a minimum of 85% Assyrtiko with the balance going to Athiri and Aidani. However, in practice, most wines contain 100% (or close to it) Assyrtiko. 

Vassaltis Vineyards

A number of my friends don’t love Santorini Assyrtiko, claiming that the acidity is so high that it will “strip your teeth of enamel” or “rip off your face”. Quite vivid and not inaccurate descriptions really. I must say that I don’t actually mind that in a wine…but that’s not the style they aim for at Vassaltis. 

One of the youngest wineries on the island, Yannis Valambous established Vassaltis Vineyards in 2014. Vassaltis produces a wide range of wines, most of them 100% or at least featuring Assyrtiko. On an island dedicated almost entirely to this one grape, how do you stand out? Valambous believes the answer to that is traditional but sustainable evolution and growing on the roots planted by previous generations. He knows that he receives the benefit of hundreds – even thousands – of years of winemaking history on the island and strongly feels the burden of making sure that wine can still be made there hundreds of years in the future. 

They like to do things differently at Vassaltis. For example, contrary to tradition, they’re putting their Assyrtiko on a trellis. One of their wines is a red that has a small amount of Assyrtiko added. And the Assyrtiko they do make is not of the face/teeth stripping variety. They work towards more fruit, more finesse, more elegance. 

Vassaltis Gramina, 2021 and keftedes

Vassaltis’s Gramina represents one of the highest tiers of the winery’s wines. While winemaker Yannis Papaeconomou is a big fan of blending across plots to create depth and balance, he knows a special plot when he tastes it. One of the winery’s plots, in the Vourvoulos area of the island, is generally homogenous character with respect to the age of the vines, their aspect, the high percentage of Assyrtiko, and the elevation. To best show off the magic of these grapes, Vassaltis decided to create a single plot wine – Gramina. Grapes are harvested before sunrise and go from picking to pressing in under two hours. After fermenting in stainless steel tanks, the wine matures on its lees for 12 months, then rests for a further seven months in the bottle.

Golden color with rich apricot, honeysuckle, candied lemon peel, honey, and crushed shells with a whiff of that signature Santorini Assyrtiko brininess. On the palate it’s medium-bodied and round but with marked acidity and a very appealing texture with stone fruit, flowers, bergamot jam, and a long briny lemon finish. An outstanding and delicious wine with structure and vibrant acidity to keep you coming back for another sip.

Not forgetting of course that we’re meant to be pairing things! While red meat with white wine no longer seems the revolutionary pairing it might have once been, that’s what I did. I made a Turkish dish called yeni köfte, but with a few twists and a Greek salad. The dish, prepared with lamb mince, usually involves loquats, but I missed loquat season by two days. I substituted apricots, ditched the red and green peppers in favor of caramelized lemons, substituted pomegranate syrup for a yuzu fruit vinegar, and made some spice decisions. 

Somewhat disappointingly, the most wow pairing was the wine and the salad! However, it still did pretty well with the meatballs, especially if you managed to get a bite with meat, garlic clove, and apricot all together.

Vassaltis Santorini and Salt

It wasn’t until after I’d done the above pairing that Robin issued her invitation, including the challenge the pair white wine with non food things! I couldn’t resist so I quickly chilled my two bottles of Vassaltis Santorini Assyrtiko (2019 & 2020) and paired them with, in my mind, the most obvious book…Salt by Mark Kurlansky. If you haven’t read it, it’s a fascinating book about the history of Salt production and its affect on global affairs. Also, you’ll learn whence the term “red herring”! 

Vassaltis Santorini was the first wine they produced and they’re rightly proud of it. It follows the winery’s desire to make a more fruit-forward style of Assyrtiko and allows oenologist Yannis Papaeconomou’s blending skills to shine. Always 100% Assyrtiko, whole cluster pressed, aged for six months on its lees, and never oaked.

Vassaltis Santorini, 2019 

Yellow fruits, quince, candied pumpkin, pastry, dark honey, and Santorini’s signature briny minerality framed by lively acidity.  A smoky streak along with grapefruit and pomelo linger on the zippy, citrus finish. 

I’m again and again surprised by how high the alcohol on Santorini Assyrtiko is, usually hovering around the 14% mark as these two do. There’s such energy and balance though that you would never guess at the high alcohol.

Vassaltis Santorini, 2020

An intense and crisp wine showing a saline character, with yellow fruit, bready, and freesia detail and smoky and briny notes framing a core of citrus, seashell, and mineral. Firm acidity harnessed by fruit. 

For being only one year apart, these were two very different wines! 2019 was a difficult year on Santorini though. Massive wind storms in March, April, and May tore through vineyards destroying as much as 40-60% of crops. What grapes made it to harvest were super concentrated and the resulting wines absolutely outstanding.

With what else can you pair white wine?!

There’s seemingly no end to what you can pair with white wine, so don’t forget to check out what the rest of the #WinePW crew has to offer!

 Wendy at A Day in the Life on the Farm shares “PBJ and Gewurtz? Say What?!!”

Cam of Culinary Cam shares “Pecorino Times Three: Two Cheeses and a Wine with a Lamb Burger”

Andrea of The Quirky Cork shares “Assyrtiko, Keftedes, and Salt”

David of Cooking Chat Shares “Grilled Filet Mignon with Mushrooms and White Wine”

Jane of Always Ravenous shares, “Lamb Curry paired with Viognier”

Gwendolyn Alley of Wine Predator shares“Yes, Sparkling Whites from Mendo’s Scharffenberger and Marche’s Mai Sentito Pair with Pizza!“

Robin (that’s me) of Crushed Grape Chronicles shares, “Sauvignon Blanc with Lamb and Cocoa?”

And Susannah with Avvinare shares “Pinot Grigio from Valadige and Shrimp with Green Sauce”