#84- Agiorgitiko

It was a beautiful September day and we were having an exceptionally warm month compared to let's say- our July. I love barbeques so I was intent on making the most of the nice days. I had already planned my dinner- a rack of baby back ribs (pork) with a side greek salad. Now all I needed was a wine to match.

Greek salad + Greek wine = perfection! Or that's what I was hoping for anyway when I chose a Greek wine for dinner. While the ribs were busy being barbequed to deliciousness on the grill, I went inside and popped open the bottle of red to let it breathe a bit before dinner.

Now I haven't had the greatest luck of late with my Greek wines (even though I love Adonis Greek looking boys, greek mythology and my dream is to go to Greece and explore their history- heck I even fake married a Greek boy this summer in Thailand...ahem..different story...digressing back....)

So it was with a little trepidation that I pulled out a 2007 Kouros Nemea wine. It is bottled by Kourtakis Wine Cellars.

In a word- fabulous! This is just excellent wine! I'm sitting here writing the blog sipping on the wine weeks after I originally opened it (yes I'm way behind on my blog writing) and it is still amazing in the mouth. I did keep it in the fridge but I thought for sure it would have gone bad.

Indeed it hasn't. In fact, it might be better than what I remember it to be when I paired it with the ribs and the greek salad (though I will say that I loved that meal- nearly finishing the bottle, all of the salad and a half rack of ribs to boot).

The wine is very aromatic and the fruit smacks you in the face long before you stick your nose to glass. beautiful ruby colour, the wine has been aged in oak barrels for 6 months (I love oaked red wine). It is moderatly rannic and 13% alcohol. It is buttery and voluptuous in the mouth. So many different flavours bounce in your mouth, a truly balanced and elegant wine. I very much love this wine and will be buying it again for sure. It appears oxidation of the wine doesn't affect it too much which is good to know if you don't finish a bottle right away.

The grape is the Agiorgitiko grape and it has been grown in Greece since forever (500 BC). It is low in acidity and is a moderate wine. The names means St. George in Greek. God bless St. George! It is a heat resistant wine therefore making it a great grape to grown in Greece (so I've heard- anyone want to pay me to go? Takers? Anyone? Hello!) It's grown in the Nemea region (the wine is from this region). It is a soft tannic wine and is quite dry.

I can't wait to finish the bottle. And I think I will unless Craig puts up a fuss. What's that Craig...silence...great! Let's down this baby!

#77- Aglianico

Another Greek wine. Another great win for a country I can not wait to visit. If you remember my earlier posts, you'll note that the Greek wines were not off to a great start but they have made up for it lately. Except it's not Greek really- it originated in Greece but is actually an Italian wine. Maybe that's why this wine is a win! Ah, who I am kidding, I have no idea...but we'll give them all credit- yay Italy and Greece!

I picked up a bunch of wine at Aristocrat Liquor in Edmonton and again, was pleasantly surprised by their selection (I'll be popping in there from time to time to check out their selection).

Aglianico is a red wine and is pretty heavy and acidic.I haven't really had much like it, the closest being a Zinfandel (same but different). it is very intense and has a lot of impact in the mouth. It's very dark, almost black in colour. The winery is the Villa Matilde in the Campania region of Italy. Their wine is very fruity and you can really taste the blackberries. While it is quite heavy, it has that velvety smooth feel to it. It's an immediate impact on your mouth and if you enjoy red wines, this wine will be a delight to drink.

I paired the wine with a red meat- hamburger meat of all things. I tend to mix up my countries together because I'm just not that organized but it seems to work out. That night I made a plate of soft tacos with a great salsa and lots of vegetables. I found it to be a great combination and I would actually pair this up again. Sometimes playing outside the rules is the best way to find a good pairing. So yes, try it with tacos or spicy food.

I very much recommend this wine and again, still waiting from Craig to hear about this wine (I have a feeling he'll like it though....I'm starting to figure out his tastes).

I'd like to try more Aglianico wines and see if it was just a fluke (hint, I don't think so as I review another of this winey's white wines....and I liked it...stay tuned) or if the Aglianico is one heck of a grape.

Until tomorrow...

#76- Vilana

Less than 25 grapes to go now and I can apply to the Wine Century Club!

Craig was actually at home for this wine so I have finally caught him for one of the pictures! The grape this week is the Vilana grape and I seem to be on a roll picking out white grapes that are very similar to each other so the last few, I feel like I'm drinking the same wine over and over again. And with a quick glance at the varietal table, I can see there are a couple more white grapes that I've picked up that aren't all that different from this one either. Not that I can do much- I simply go with the wines that I can find at the time.

The wine is from KreitikosWinery of Greece, more specifically Crete. What's interesting to note is on the website it says that it is 70% Vilana grapes and 30% other. But on the bottle it says nothing of the sort- says it's all Vilana. No matter- it is what it is.

For a Greek wine, it was pretty good. We finished it off no problem. No pine taste here (thank God).The wine had a very fresh taste and went very well with our meal of pork loin (perfectly barbequed) with seasonal vegetables. One day I should really try lamb with a Greek wine but I really am not a fan of the meat. Maybe someone can offer me a good lamb recipe and that may help.

Overall this was a great fruity wine, quite fragrant and easy on the palette. It is very yellow (as has the last few been, which makes sense seeing as they're so close to each other). It bears a citrus flavour with a hint of pineapple.

The Vilana grape is found in Greece, primarily in Crete. It is not an easy wine to cultivate and not an easy wine to find apparently outside of Greece. Take advantage then that this wine is available here and knock another grape variety off your list.

As you know it's getting harder and harder for me to find 100% grape variety wines. To keep going and actually try some of these grapes, I'll have to resort to blends. My plan is to try to find blends where the majority is the grape varietal I'm reviewing but that may be impossible too down the line. I'm really hoping I can exhaust my list and finish 2 full years of 100% grape varieties before going for the blends. I'm not sure if my task will become easier or harder for me but I will not attempt to do so until I really feel like I have no other choice but to go to the blends.

#74- Roditis

It can also be spelt Rhoditis. Where do I even begin with this Greek wine?

I had this bottle of wine visiting my parents. We had chinese food and I know probably not the best food to eat with a Greek wine but after drinking this wine, I'm not any food would have done. And besides, I hadn't had chinese food in a while and I didn't care. It's not about perfect wine/food pairings anyway this little experiment of mine.

So what about the wine? I'm pretty sure that even if you didn't have a good wine palette, you'd be able to figure this one out. In fact, Craig pegged the smell and taste right away while my mom and I took a few sips (very strangled sips) to determine exactly what it was.

The taste is pine. Yes pine! Imagine sipping on Pine Sol cleaner and it's pretty much what you get with this wine. It was so bizarre. For the first while it was quite undrinkable, the stringent pine taste and smell was too overpowering. It just didn't seem right to be drinking a wine with such a pine taste.

I let the wine sit for a while and it did become a bit easier to drink but I'm not entirely sure if it's because you become instantly drunk (or high?) off the first few sips and then don't give a damn.

The Roditis grape is a lightweight and very similar to a Silvaner, Greco and Inzolia wines. Except I liked the others. I wouldn't buy this wine again unless I was attempting to show people an unusual wine of aromatic proportions (it's not often you get to pull a pine smell and taste from a bottle of wine- a long ways from the usual berry or tropical taste we're used to in a white wine).

So do I suggest you pass on this wine? Certainly not. It's one of the wines you have to try it to believe it. But don't say I didn't warn you...

#51- Assyrtiko

Happy New Year! I hope 2011 has been spectacular for you. For me, the year is going by as well as it can for one who is without a job (long story but let's just say I was thrilled to see 2010 come to an end). I've been more relaxed than I've been in a long time and can't wait to see what awaits for me this year. 11 is my lucky number so I'm hoping this year is a turn around of sorts for me.

But no matter! Some things do stay the same and this blog is one of them. Okay, an excuse to say that the wine drinking continues but hey, all done in the name of research! Year two and 52 more wines to try. Craig, my family members and I are up to the task. I've got my lists ready of new wines to try, what stores carry them and we've got a half dozen already waiting in my wine cabinet.

We did manage to try 52 wines last year, I'm just slightly behind the writing (not a new year's resolution as that will never change). But I hope to be caught up this week as Craig and I have already had wine #1 for the year (and #53 on the list). So, let's get on with it shall we?

Christmas at the Stevenson household can be a little chaotic with 8 adults and 3 children (2 of which are just 7 months old) so I brought the wine to get us through the day. I chose a Greek wine to go with the turkey dinner (it is suggested the wine be paired with poultry) being prepared (mom thought it was a good idea to cook a 32lb turkey- the bugger was huge!). With nearly a dozen of us sitting around the table, the delivious meal was devoured and dessert inhaled. Mom and Sharon did a bunch of baking as did Kristin and I (we had a couple of disasters as neither of us are round the year bakers...). Christmas was fabulous as usual.

Too bad I can't say the same for the wine. My idealistic views of Greek wine are now evaporating before me as this is now two Greek wines in a row I haven't liked. The white wine is made from the Assyrtiko grape and the winery is the Boutari Santorini Winery in Greece.  But to be fair, Craig didn't mind it so we consider it a neutral pick.

All I could taste with this wine was apples. It tasted like very dull apple juice. And petroleum. The taste of alcohol was too overwhelming for me and left a really bad taste in my mouth afterwards. The taste is very lingering and aromatic.The acidity of this wine is very apparent when you drink it. You're supposed to be able to taste a citrus flavour but my tongue tasted none of that. It was almost as if the wine had started to go bad. It didn't taste enough like wine for me to like it.

#46- Savatiano

I'm pretty sure it's apple juice. Besides it looking identical to childhood's favourite juice (think urine yellow to be frank), to me, this wine tastes exactly like apple juice. According to the bottle I have the fruit wrong but when it tastes like juice, does it really matter?

The Savatiano grape is widely known in Greece and is often used in Retsina. It's not acidic at all and is considered a lightweight wine. It's easy enough to drink but it does leave a very distinct fruity taste in your mouth. While some wines are quite clean and once they're swallowed, that's it, this one tends to wallow in the back of your throat for a while. I can't say I'm a fan.

I guess if I wanted to drink apple juice, I'd drink apple juice. To be, the wine isn't distinct enough in its taste to really want me to drink more. I remember bragging just a few short blog posts ago how I hadn't met a Greek wine I didn't like. Well, I don't like this one. Apparently they only made 4,100 bottles in 2005. Probably a good thing. The winery is the Fragou Winery in Greece.

According to the back of the bottle, the fruity taste is from orange blossoms and peach. Odd as I don't taste orange at all (I do have to admit I had two Christmas oranges today so perhaps it's ruined my tongue for the orange) and I certainly don't taste peach! Dammit it's apple!

Being a Greek wine, I opted to eat a nice Greek salad with the wine. I think I liked it when I did eat it with salad, the dressing nicely offsetting the sweet taste of the Savatiano. Paired with vegetable, the wine went down easy enough so having a Greek salad with this wine is an excellent choice.

I doubt I'd get this wine again (okay maybe but just to see if I do or don't really like it, a comparison to this one) especially when I have enjoyed so many other Greek wines so much more!

UPDATE: Craig liked the wine (so it's a neutral pick). He liked the apple like taste and said it went well with turkey sandwiches.

#43- Xynomavro

I've always wanted to go to Greece. It's definitely on my list of near future travels. And the Greek wine I just drank- well, I am now wanting to go more than ever!

Greece doesn't get a good reputation here for making good wine but I've had some pretty good experiences so far and this wine- the Grande Reserva Naoussa Boutari- is bloody fantastic!

But first let's back up a bit and learn about the grape shall we? The Xynomavro grape (besides being the best new word you've learned to play Scrabble with!) is founs in several areas in Greece and is often considered the "Bordeaux of Greece". I would agree. Man it's easy to digress....the name itself means acidic black / bitter. It's not an easy grape to grow so the quantities are limited.  This is a Grande Reserva so it is implied that is a of higher quality or has been aged. This wine is both (the bottle notes it's been aged 4 years). The winery is the Boutari Winery located in Naoussa.

Let me set the scene for you shall I? So I'm single, mid (ahem) thirties with no kids and living in a pretty nice condo. I haven't decorated for Christmas in a while (why, just for me? really?) but for some reason this year I decided I would put up the tree and a few decorations around the place. Perhaps I'm just in a better place, or perhaps I'm in complete denial that my life is a bit of a shambles right now (have I mentioned at all yet that I got laid off? Nor fired- laid off) yeah, happy Christmas to me!

In any case, the boxes came down from storage and I went to town! But what is decorating without a little rum and eggnog? Well, with no eggnog in the house, I decided to bring out a bottle of red. To go along with the bottle, I made myself a platter of (spicy havarti) cheese and crackers with some Mundare sausage and edamame beans in a red garlic spice. The bottle recommends spicy food.

I took my first sip. As it hit my tongue, I was underwhelmed. Ah well, you can't win them all. I swallowed. I took a step and then suddenly it hit me-- the taste was overwhelming in my mouth. It was like a lovely warmth had blown itself into my mouth. This wine was all about the lingering, the after effect, the pregnant pause after the swallow. Oh my God this is a fabulous wine. I'm not even one to really appreciate an oaky wine but this- this one is just perfect! The delectable taste of oak danced delightfully on my tongue as my lips eagerly made their way back to the wine glass for more. This wine will be gone in no time! I so can't do the description of this wine justice so you can read about it- I need to get another bottle before everyone else finds out about it.

The spicy cheese enhanced the flavour of the wine beautifully and before I knew it, the tree was decorated, the house was Christmassy, and I was full of red wine goodness. A good night wouldn't you say?

If Craig doesn't like this red wine, I will have no doubt left in my mind that he is part alien.

UPDATE: Craig has tried the wine-- and he likes it!! Damn rights. "Dry, but not too dry" he says. So now you know. This is damn good wine.