Visiting Greece Via the Palate

by Julian Schultz
                       julian@oxfordwineroom.com

             Why did Norma Caron’s simple statement bring a tear to my eyes? She said matter-of-factly that she and Dr. Roland Caron always anticipate attending- and they always enjoy the Webster House wine dinners because the food is never overly seasoned, never overly spiced, and never causes stomach distress or belching during the later evening.

             Her words recalled dinner at a Greek restaurant in Boston 15 years ago when I asked my Lillian, of beloved memory, why the dinner reminded me of the Grande Bretagne Hotel in Athens and the Greek islands, where we spent two weeks in 1982.

             “Fish dishes and lamb, gentle herbs and spices, seasonings varied and restrained, delicate and delicious,” she answered promptly. She thought a moment: “Remember how surprised we were that the food at the Grande Bretagne was softly seasoned and the food on Mykonos, Santorini, Rhodes and Crete was quietly accented? We had expected our stomachs would be seared with strong spices and grisly garlic – the latter your ‘evil bulb’ that you so vehemently and vociferously vilify.”

             She added mischievously: “Remember the consternation we caused when we ballroom-danced on the marble foyer floor at the pretentious Grande Bretagne, and how on the Island of Rhodes your eyes almost popped our of their sockets when we saw – as you exclaimed, gasping – the ‘bare-breasted beauties!’ parading along the beach?”

             Yes, I remembered. I bid time return: The past of that 22-years-ago in Greece flowed to the Greek restaurant in the Boston of 15 years ago. I had taken Lillian’s hand then, smiled into her eyes, and we reminisced…

            I hope neither Roland nor Norma noted that my eyes were glazed now with remembrance, seemingly ignoring their presence.

 My little reverie was interrupted: I was abruptly returned to the present as platters of the reception food -- yogurt dip with dill, feta cheese pieces, Greek olives, green and red sliced peppers, and pita bread -- were served, a pleasant surprise inasmuch as we didn’t have it at the trial dinner. Absolutely delicious as paired with the reception wine of Megapanos Savatiano 2002, $7.99, special wine dinner price (as are all other prices shown here) at O’Hara’s Wine & Liquors, 402 W. Boylston St., phone: 508-853-1919.

 Notes on the Savatiano: “perfume green apple-y nose; palate: firm, crisp, clean, dry, balanced with sweet-edged green apples, tropical fruits, green grapes and fruit acids; smooth swallow, lingering aftertaste. Price value: 135/100, rated A-minus.

 Dreamily as I sipped and ate away, my mind returned to Lillian and Greece. I recalled we visited the ruins of downtown ancient Corinth – the downtown area seemed as big as a minute by today’s comparison. We listened to the spirited band concert music as we climbed the Acropolis to the Parthenon; sat in the most distant recesses of the ancient amphitheater at Epidaurus, where we heard dialogue from the stage clearly from far below – no microphones!

            Promptly came the appetizer wine red wine, Haggi Pavlu Aghiorgitiko 2000, $12.79, followed by the food: Cephelonian-style three meat pita triangle baked in phyllo comprising chicken, beef, lamb, prepared with tomato, Parmesan cheese, rice, sauteed red onion, herbs, cinnamon, nutmeg, black pepper, salt and olive oil.

         The triangles were a sensation: Almost heart stopping, so exquisitely delicious was the generous portion. Raves of delight emanated from the tables of the sold-out group of 54 (17 late reservations were reluctantly refused). Linda, my caregiver, whispered that she could eat 12! I advised Chris Liazos, mine host/owner, to include the triangles at all future dinners, Greek or not. Barbara Houle, Worcester Telegram Food Editor, seemed to be making her notes with stars dancing in her eyes and the pita in her mouth. I heard importunes for seconds, including my own.

         Notes on the impossible to pronounce – try to do it! – Haggi Pavlu Aghiorgitiko, red wine of the St. George grape: “plum, cherry, balanced with soft tannins, whisper of oak, fruit acids, smooth texture; perfection with the triangles. 120/100, A-minus.”

         Between courses I couldn’t control my not returning to Lillian and our adventures in Greece: Rhodes fascinated us. The once-giant Colossus of Rhodes, the 105-foot high seventh wonder of the ancient world that bestrode the entrance to the harbor, was now a partially submerged crumbled ruin. It was replaced by an eighth wonder of the world: hordes of titillating females lying about or strolling on the beach, topless and scant-bottomed. I said to Lillian that I wanted to “lie around” and allow my imagination admire the what was once the magnificence of the imposing Colossus and the sparkling azure blue ocean, and that I preferred to skip lunch at the nearby restaurant. She called me a “voyeur” and ordered me to join her “like right now!” for lunch. I did…looking reluctantly over my shoulder.

     I never did get the opportunity to imagine and admire the beauty of what once were the ancient Colossus of Rhodes, the present beauty of the sparkling azure blue ocean…and the beauty of the scenic beach.

 Waitstaff of alert, smiling, graceful Jen Smetana, Patty Thomas and Sean Maynard again interrupted my reverie, their arriving with trays of the first entrée, haddock plaki, a fresh fillet of haddock, baked, seared and served with fresh vegetables of red/green peppers, dill, sauteed onion, zucchini, summer squash and toasted pita slices. D-licious! Only completely empty plates were returned to the kitchen.

 The accompanying wine – good luck pronouncing it! – Magapanos Moschofilero (grape name) 2002, $11.99, served properly before the food, was sipped eagerly while we awaited- then enjoyed it with the compatible fish.

  Notes: “orange, honey-ish nose; palate: peach, pear, pineapple, mineral, grapefruit/lemon (thank you Norma Caron for the latter descriptor – good palate); firm, crisp, balanced; rather Alsatian style dryness, lean and clean, reminiscent of pinot blanc. 135/100, straight A.

 Ah, the island of Mykonos, pulsating and exciting with dozens of glowing, suntanned European backpacking young males and females. They dined at sidewalk cafés on thin, acidic white wine, cheese and crusted breads. At one café they hailed us Americans with contemporary and standard American tunes accompanied by an accordion.

Second entrée: skinless, boneless, roasted chicken breast, prepared with herbed potatoes and a tasty egg/lemon sauce, was paired with Techni Olipias Sauvignon Blanc 2002, $12.79. The complexity of the lemon-accented chicken was elevated by the sauvignon blanc’s citrus-y bouquet, rounded sweet fruit with nuances of lime, mineral and grass flavors, and balanced fruit acids. As my caregiver, a novice, consequently a sweet wine devotee at this stage, said, “I can sip this wine without noticing any cloying, and it doesn’t jade my palate after repeated sips.” Fair enough, agreement from me. 125/100, A-minus to A.

 “You look far way, Julian,” my caregiver said. “Are you OK?”

 “I’m remembering the island of Santorini when Lillian and I visited Greece,” I answered. “ We rode uncomfortably on slow-footed asses to the top of a steep, much too narrow mountain road, where I enjoyed chewy bread with olive oil, red wine, cheese, cold fish and lamb. When we descended precipitously and apprehensively, worried that the donkeys might fall over the mountainside, our backs were stiff and our asses were aching and sore….”

 Came now two red wines that I was eager to taste again. These were the two we selected at the trial dinner from the five reds we tasted: Megapanos Aghiorgitiko St. George, 100 percent St. George grape, 2000, $13.59, aged in Greek oak; Vatistas Cab-Aghiorgitiko 2001, $12.79, aged in French oak, 50 percent each of Cabernet Sauvignon and St. George.

Matched to the wines was oven baked sliced roast leg of lamb with lima beans, in a red wine sauce with rosemary, oregano, lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper.

 And hereby hangs a tale: Chris had advised the kitchen staff that Greeks prefer their lamb well done – and we had many Greek gourmets attending the dinner this evening. So platters of well-done lamb were paraded across the function room. The kitchen staff must have assumed that all other diners enjoy their lamb raw tartare style, and that’s…what…we…got! (At the trial dinner, the lamb was perfectly prepared medium-rare.) Some of us had our lamb returned for additional cooking; others of us, surfeited from already too much food, didn’t bother with it; other guests took it home to oblige the microwave next day.

 So…I was compelled to taste and compare the two wines without food, which was no great catastrophe. Both are superior wines, rank with other countries’ best at considerably lower prices. Notes on the Megapanos: “deep assertive grape nose transfers to the palate and adds to the flavors of the full bodied rich straightforward grape, subtle cherry, berry and spice; masculine texture, balanced fruit, fruit acids, tannin; somewhat rugged swallow and deep aftertaste; long life needed and predicted.”110/100, A-minus to A.

Notes on the Vatistas: “Big nose – unique green pepper? More discernible fruit than in the Megapanos; plum, pomegranate, sour cherries, blackberries, cassis, herb; soft wood and tannins; surprising complexity in so young a wine, smooth swallow, persistent velvet-y aftertaste.” 150/100. Straight A.

 Resting, after finishing seconds of both wines and waiting for Helena Liazos’ famous baklava cheese cake conclusion to the superlative dinner, my mind wandered to the island of Crete, where I wondered how the food and wine must have tasted that were stored for lengthy preservation in gigantic clay jugs in the labyrinths of the excavated palace of Knossus…

 I reflected on the varieties of herbs and spices that were used at the different hotels, restaurants and outdoor cafés. Apart from garlic that some chefs at some cafés reluctantly eliminated from our dishes, the seasonings kissed the food gently – subtly – and made our Greek dinners memorable.

 With dramatic gesture, the waitstaff gracefully peeled off at the tables and extended the baklava cheesecake dessert for all to admire before they served it. Admire it we did, and more so when we tasted it: subtle lemonade flavor made with feta cheese and topped and bottomed with moderately sweet baklava pastry. Delicious! Decadent! Delightful! De-lovely! And diet busting! Degenerate dieters consumed the generous portion, albeit some of us were green around the gills from already having supped all too well and perhaps none too wisely. Perfection plus!

 Ding-a-ling Dolly Dooley – she attends all wine dinners, certainly the ones I do – asked, “How come, I mean, how come, I have not heard from you in your wine columns anything about Greek wines? You have spoken, I mean, have spoken, about wines from just about every other country; nor do I see Greek wines advertised.”

 I said the names are totally unfamiliar to most of the public – not like cabernet sauvignon or pinot noir, not like the wine from the growing regions of Bordeaux’ Medoc, Burgundy’s Cote de Nuits, California’s Napa Valley, or the emerging increasingly popular Paso Robles wines. Moreover, the names are unpronounceable. German wines, likewise, suffer from this misfortune. I asked, “Would you walk into a wine shop, unless it were at the Irish Greek, Jim O’Hara Vasialidas’, and try asking for the wines poured at this dinner, excepting the sauvignon blanc? In this instance, I fear that unfamiliarity breeds contempt.”

 “So, what would you suggest to the Greek wine merchants here tonight, Konstantine Drougas, Greek wine importer, and Alexandros Megapanos, Greek winemaker, to do about it?” Ding-a-ling asked.

 “I would tell them to anglicize the names and shorten them, making them more familiar and pronounceable,” I said. “Induce wine shops to conduct tastings with them, have them poured at wine dinners, advertise them in newspapers…And pray like hell for their deserved acceptance, what with all the competition these days.”

The lamb tartare and wine names unpronounceable notwithstanding, the dinner was sensational.

 Next wine dinner: January 14th 6 PM   Same $65 inclusive price.

 PLEASE! Reserve early – don’t repeat the disappointment of the 17 would-be guests whose last minute reservations for the sold-out Greek dinner were unable to be accepted.

 Wine Pick: Midnight Cellars Chardonnay (Paso Robles) 2000, $15, a 13.9 percent biggie, so perfectly balanced with fruit, fruit acids and texture that one is unaware of the alcohol content. Enjoy lively acidity, fruit of apples, citrus, tropical fruits, sweet spice, creamy viscosity. More recent vintages are excellent, also.

Wine Pick: Errazuriz Cabernet Sauvignon (Chile) 2000, $10. Nose: cherries, coffee, dried fruits, vanilla; palate: cherries, blackberries, plums, spice varieties, soft oak and tannins. Some tasters detected tobacco and buttered toast; all agreed the Errazuriz cab at $10, or thereabout, is a fine bargain.

Wine Pick: Trinity Oaks Pinot Grigio 2002, $9, has spicy aromas of citrus, melon, pears and peaches, light touch of mineral; palate replicates aromas, is crisp, clean, fresh with medium body, balancing acidity, smooth swallow and fairly long aftertaste. Great value.