Last week my selection was made to help me prepare for standing up and banging on about wine (blah, blah, tannin, blah, acid, balance, blah...) and this week's wine has also been selected to assist with preparations, of a sort. Soon, together with a regular collection of friends, The One and I will be heading off to a Greek island for some late summer sun and yesterday evening we all met to babble excitedly about the prospect and agree the rules of engagement. I knew Moussaka had been prepared to provide a theme for our gathering and so I thought it best to choose a Greek wine to accompany it. I did, but that one was red, so I also took along:
It doesn't come from an island, but it's close enough. As the name suggests it is a blend of two grape varieties, being 80% Moschofilero and 20% Roditis. In medical circles this latter grape sounds like the inflammation of a small part of the eye. Or of something else which doesn't warrant further thought, but it isn't. It is a citrus flavoured fruit used often in the production of Retsina, that favourite of Greek holidays, and also frequently distilled into Ouzo to be brought home and ignored. Pink skinned and delicate it was once more widely grown but fell victim to phylloxera and lost its place somewhat.
The majority partner, Moschofilero, is another pink skinned producing more aromatic flavours and is said to be so versatile that it justifies having the nickname of 'Chameleon'. Versatile may also be a euphemism for unpredictable, it seems.
The chameleon we encountered starting by providing a passable imitation of a Sauvignon Blanc and then morphing into something like a Pays de Gascogne, being less sharp. It had the aromatics and the floral tones and was bright and lively, but there was also something a little earthy that, at first, I was unsure about. On passing the bottle around the table as the discussion ranged between which hire cars we would have and whether skinny-dipping would be permissible (it isn't, in my opinion. The ages range from mid-fifties to mid-sixties so how could it be?) one of my dining companions described the wine as 'delicious', so it must be, especially when the bottle is nearing emptiness.
My wine merchant recommended I should try it with saganki...ok, let me rephrase that. It says on the M&S label that it goes well with saganaki, described as prawns grilled in tomato sauce, or leaving it to mature for a couple of years to let more honeyed tones develop. Two problems with this. Firstly, the cap had been unscrewed and the contents polished off within approximately five hours after purchase, so there goes the honey, and secondly, I thought saganaki was fried cheese! That last point sent me scurrying off to uncle Google to check that what I had really enjoyed a few years ago on Kefalonia really was a) fried cheese and b) called saganaki. Turns out it was, on both counts, but that a saganki is in fact the frying pan and that anything cooked in it can be called by the same name. The most common (like me) is the cheese dish, but anything goes. A bit like Teppanyaki, I assume. Or barbeque. As it happens I am not a big fan of the prawn, but am of the cheese so if the opportunity arises I will test that second pairing.
The red, in case you are curious, was a Xinomavro. This grape has featured in my exploration twice, exactly a year apart, in August 2014 & 2015.
Looking forward to seeing the shimmering sea up close and will report back on any local discoveries later in the season.
Buy again? I doubt it. Its ok but not particularly compelling.
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