All posts tagged: Assyrtiko

Wine tasting on Paros island at Moraitis Winery

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I spent some of the summer of 2015 with my family on the island of Paros in Greece. Our hotel had no dining facilities and so we ate out in the small fishing town of Naoussa every evening. The restaurants we visited were all excellent as was the wine. We made a point of choosing Greek wines and on quite a few occasions we had local wines suggested to us. Local included wines from other islands such as neighbouring Santorini but also wines from Paros island itself. The latter were quite unique and made from grape varieties that I had not previously encountered. The producer of those intriguing wines was Moraitis and happened to be located in Naoussa, a short distance from the town centre. One afternoon when it was simply too hot to be on the beach I set off to find out more about the winery. I stepped into the cool building and found myself in the main tasting room. I was not alone. Quite a few tourists were there too, having escaped the heat, and were …

An escape to Greece – a narrative

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It had been a long time since I last went to Greece but I still have vivid memories of summer holidays spent there. Happy childhood days clambering freely over the Acropolis, wandering through the ruins of Knossos, sitting on the throne of King Minos, eating juicy chunks of watermelon on a hot, dusty road. I returned later as a young adult, fresh from secondary studies in classics, and hiked around the south coast of Crete. Then, whenever my travelling companions and I stopped for a meal and refreshments, we were invariably offered Ouzo, Retsina or Metaxa. Food was more often than not basic and rather greasy. Communication was carried out in a mix of ancient and modern Greek. How things have changed. During this summer’s vacation I did not have a single bad meal and not once was I recommended retsina. Restaurants served up a selection of succulent traditional and innovative dishes made from fresh local produce. There never was any problem in shops or when ordering food as everyone spoke English. As far as alcoholic …