Greek Wine and Kebobs

Taster A and I were out and about just before supper time and knowing there was nothing in the house, popped into a local market to grab some chicken. What we found in addition to the chicken was some decent looking leg of lamb for a reasonable price so we decided to take a chance.

It turned out to be a good gamble. Taster A who is a little more familiar with cooking lamb than I, cut the meat into cubes, along with some red bell pepper, and Vidalia onions. He didn’t season the meat at all—just put it under the broiler for roughly 12 minutes (I think everyone has to play around with timing in their own broiler). Once the kebobs came out, and this is the genius part, he brushed the kebobs with a paste of olive oil and zhatar. For our side dish, he toasted some whole fennel, cardamom and cumin and we made some basmati rice with the spices, some olive oil, and a little bell pepper and sea salt.



I had opened up our Loire red because I wanted to get it going so I would have a couple of days to evaluate it before Wine Blogging Wednesday #44 but, it wasn’t working for us. So at the last minute I said “Hey! Let’s open up that Nemea wine!” I said that because I couldn’t remember how to pronounce Argiorghitiko (Ah-yor-yee-tiko) right at that moment. What could be better with North African style shish kebobs than a Greek wine? It was a fantastic meal.


‘ACHAIA’ CLAUSS
Nemea

Varietal: Agiorgitiko (also agiorghitiko)
Vintage: 2003
Alcohol: 12%
Price: $10.99



Color: Ruby Red
Intensity: Medium
Aromas: Apricot, prunes, fig, baklava, lemon blossom, olives, sage
Flavors: Apricot, strawberry, rosemary, chalky
Body: Light
Sweetness: Off-dry
Acidity: Moderate
Finish: Moderate

Summary: This wine is just so Greek, which is just so good when you’re freezing and severely lacking in the tan department in New England. It stood up well to the exotic spices in our rice, and even seemed sweeter than it is with our meal. It was like a built-in dessert: Baklava and galaxy burrito all rolled up into one. Don’t let me scare you off, it’s not a sweet wine, the meal just brought out more of the richer fruit characteristics in the wine.

ITHAKI: An Island of Culinary Delight in a Sea of Fried Haddock on Boston’s North Shore

Next time you are north of Boston, treat yourself to a fantastic Greek meal at Ithaki in Ipswich, Mass. We feel very lucky to live in an area with so much great seafood, and yes, fried haddock, but we feel most fortunate to have an authentic Greek restaurant in our area. Dining there really is almost like a mini-vacation to the Greek Isles. Ithaki prides itself on using the freshest organic and local ingredients. To paraphrase my grandmother: Good ingredients make good food.

I’ve never been a lamb fan but Ithaki does it so well that I’ve changed my tune. Its never gamey (mutton) and always fresh and well prepared. I’m not positive but, I think they may make their own yogurt as well. I’ve had good Greek yogurt but, the yogurt they use in their tzatziki and other sauces is a cut above.

We’ve had a few good Greek wines at Ithaki. Most recently a dry red: Katogi Averoff Agiorgitiko which comes from the Nemea growing area where they cultivate Agiorgitiko grapes on an altitude of 250-800m to the southeast of Corinth.

I didn’t take any tasting notes but, found it somewhat similar to a merlot with a mellow almost brandy-like nose. It went very well with the lamb gyro we ordered for lunch.

We’ve never been disappointed at Ithaki: Even when it is not perfect, it’s still fantastic.

More info about Ithaki