just witnessed |
Encounters With Wines On Crete.
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The Delight Of Buying Wine And Lamb Chops And Enjoying Them We Could Have established a miniature winery with the little yield of grapes above the veranda in our present Kalyves "home". But fortunately the season was already over when we arrived, so we didn't have even a chance of making such fools of ourselves. Instead We Can Rely on "Cretan Wines" (on the "main street" of Kalyves) run by the Hatzidimitrou family. Their shop, a constant and repeated delight for a wine lover, is at present in the hands of Dimitrios Hatzidimitrou, a friendly gentleman well into his eighties. He seems to be always either in the shop or having a game of tavli (backgammon) with a friend outside. If he's in the middle of a game, just say "yassu" to him, enter the small wonder of wines, and he'll take a break in the ralaxation to attend your wishes in a quiet and respectful way. The Cretan Wines Shop is a young, but logical sibling in the family's business, founded only five years ago. For 60 years, three generations, they've manufactured wine barrels in the workshop next to the wine store. Dimitrios' father, Stavros, started the tradition of craftmanship. Today barrel making is in the hands of a younger Stavros, Dimitrios' son. From Cretan Wines we selected a new aquintance: Glinavos Wines Kokkino Veloudo (Red Velvet) 2003 which proved to be exactly on par with its name, and with the painting on the label. (The artist seems to be a member of the wine making family of Glinavos.) Kokkino Veloudo accompanied our first own try at grilled lamb chops in Cretan style. The half a kilo of fresh chops were bought from one of the three butchers in our small village. It was a delight to see the butcher actually take a long strip of chops, and use the cleaver to hack us the number of chops to make exactly the miso kilo we had ordered. And it all took just seconds. To a supermarket-oriented meat buyer, however expert the people are behind the meat counter, it was a joy to shop meat in the real style. The Next Evening we lit the chargoal grill on the veranda, and let the flames and heat do their wonders on those chops Kiti had seasoned and marinated the day before. During Our Stays In Crete we have studied thoroughly the science of lambchoppology in tavernas, wondering could we graduate to the high level of Cretan mastership in that discipline? Its basics evidently start from the fact that world's best lambs wander here rather freely, without stress, and nourish themselves with the tasty grass and herbs of the island. But there's also the art of seasoning, and grilling the chops. A fascinating science indeed. To our delight we came very close to earning a high apprenticeship in lambchoppology, considering it was our first go at the praxis of this science at its cradle. The meal of lamb chops, basmati rice (with pepper, soy and local, home made, olive oil in the cooking), and a tomato-onion salad was ofcourse crowned by Kokkina Veloudo. The wine's firm, fruity structure, and a literally velvety finish suited the meal very pleasantly. The warm and starry night, some candles, and Pashalis Terzis on the CD weren't too bad either.
-Hannu |
11 Piano Paraludes
by Jani Malmi
Music
of the Week:
11 Piano Paraludes 
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HEAR
Turn your volume knob to the south-east!
Eli botikat kaakkoon!
©Jani Malmi - more enjoyment on his homepage.
If your heart is warm with
happiness, you'll need a glass -
if sorrow chills your heart, have two!
"Avidly testing reasonably
priced wine with a view and a vision in mind."
(c) Lassi
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WINE OF THE
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Texts, photos & visuals
© Hannu
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