For years I'd wanted to visit Santorini. All the beautiful pictures you see, the wine
Read MoreOver the last two years, I've really enjoyed exploring some of the wines of Cephalonia (or Kefalonia, as you like). I've yet to make it there though although it's one of two Greek islands I'd really love to get to sometime soon. The other being Paros, if you were wondering. Until then, I shall just have to content myself with the Robola and other interesting wines from the islands that I can source in Athens. And while Robola may be the most prominent grape from Cephalonia, that's not what today's wine is. Advent day 22 Sclavos Tsaousi, 2019 Sclavos Wines is one of the island's more prominent wineries. With possibly the
Read MoreToday's wine is one I've had a fair few times. Two of my best friends live in Athens but her family is from Kalavryta in the Peloponnese. Tetramythos is one of the few wineries there and they've taken to buying a half case every time they drive to the village. The winery produces quite a few wines, but they tend to buy mostly the Mavro Kalavrytino, the local black grape. Eva laughs at me every time I have to talk about it because, while I can say 'Kalavryta' no problem, for some reason, putting the 'mavro' before it completely trips up my tongue. Advent day 18 Tetramythos Mavro Kalavrytino, 2020 Deep and
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Time for more bubbles! This one post a day challenge I set myself is going swimmingly. Or maybe all the wine just makes it seem like it is! Riesling is possibly my favorite grape. Riesling bubbles?! Forget about it. Advent day 16 Von Winning Riesling Extra Brut Sekt From the Deidesheim area of the Pfalz, the organic grapes for this non-vintage wine came from chalky, loess-clay soils and red sandstone. The wine, a traditional method, rested for some 24-28 months on the lees before disgorging. Lightly golden with excited bubbles bursting with aromas of warm citrus, golden apple, brioche, and crushed gravel. Bone dry with a creamy mousse and searing acidity. Gotta love
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Of all the wines I'm talking about this Advent, this one is perhaps the most appropriate. How can a wine be appropriate for Advent? No, there's no such thing as Advent wine. But
Read MoreToday's Advent wine takes us on a journey to Greece! I don't think I've done a Greek wine yet, how unusual of me. Most definitely time to rectify that. And, because I love an unusual grape, I'm getting two for the price of one post today! Advent day 13 Gonidakis Potamisios, 2021 Gonidakis Family Vineyards is one of Greece's many island wineries. Not from the famous Santorini, but one of the often overlooked Cycladic islands, Kynthos. Owner Kostas Gonidakis focuses on Cycladic grape varieties, several of which seem to be exclusive to his vineyards. Almost certainly I got this from Greece and Grapes, my favorite wine shopping website in Greece. Since I've
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I've had this wine for about a year and finally pulled it out. A gift from Austria from a friend who knows of my love for all the Muscats of the world. With no indication on the label to give me any idea as to its sweetness level, I really had no idea what to expect. But, sweet or dry, I thought something as aromatic as Gelber Muskateller (more well-known as Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains) would do well with Indian food. I made a feast using recipes from my friend Kay's Punjab cookbook and crossed my fingers. Advent Day 8 Winzerhof Kridlo Sierndorfer Schatz Gelber Muskateller, 2019 When I opened the
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Today's Advent wine comes from Bazaltkő Pincészet in Hungary and features a favorite grape of mine: Kéknyelű. Found primarily in Badacsony, it's an old grape that fell out of popularity but has been making a comeback in the region. Kéknyelű is late-ripening, low-yielding, plagued with poor fruit set, and requires a lot of work in the vineyard. Especially since it needs another variety to pollinate as it has only female flowers. This would be part of the reason it fell out of favor. It's also why it's known locally as the gentleman’s grape’ (on the assumption only someone of affluence could afford to bother with it). Advent Day 3 Bazaltkő Pincészet Kéknyelű,
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Yes, I've set myself with this wine a day for Advent challenge (which I already regret) but today is also #CabFranc Day! So, I thought it would be a perfect day to talk about this Romanian Cabernet Franc that I received as a gift. Advent Day 2 Crama Ferdi Cuvee Francisc, 2021 As the name indicates, this Crama Ferdi wine is a cuvee, not a 100% Cabernet Franc. In this case, the blend includes Cabernet Franc and Merlot aged for 14 months in oak. Initially, the wine showed vanilla and stewed fruit aromas then slowly unfolded to reveal spice and cola notes. Very smooth on the palace with almost no discernable tannin
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This month, the #ItalianFWT group is exploring the wines of Piemonte and/or Valle d'Aosta. Culinary Cam will be hosting a Twitter (I refuse to call it X), on Saturday, November 4 at 8am Pacific/11am EST/6pm Istanbul. You can read her invitation to the event here. Lacking any wine from the Valle d'Aosta, I chose a wine from Piemonte. I have several on hand at the moment but my overwhelming love for anything bubbly trumped all the other wines, and so I had to choose a Brachetto. Brachetto the grape and the wine Brachetto is both a grape and a wine, both of which hail from Piemonte. The berries are dense and firm
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