The Cyprus wine blog - January 2010
It's January 2010 - the new millennium is not so new any more. We are already through the first decade. Whatever the custom, whatever the country, no matter where we live, the New Year signifies a new start, a new life. People feel a sense of rebirth and renewal facing a new year and want to drop bad habits and embrace new, healthy ones. We take the opportunity to throw out the mistakes of the past year and start anew. We wish each other good luck and promise ourselves to do better in the coming 12 months.
Making wine is probably as old as humankind itself is. The first written tale of wine is said to be in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. Apparently, Noah planted vines and made wine. Scientists have dated fossilized grape vines at 60 million years old. Scientists and historians alike believe that wine was not invented; it was more discovered by chance. They believe that ancient people made the discovery of wine when they found their grapes had spoiled and fermented, creating fermented grape juice. There is a story frequently quoted by many folklorists about a Persian Princess who is credited for the discovery of wine. According to this fable, the Princess - having lost the favour of the King - attempted to poison herself. She went into the basement of the palace and found a jar of grapes, which were fermenting and giving out heat and gas. She assumed that the jar contained poison so she treated herself with as much spoiled grapes as she could. She subsequently became intoxicated and giddy and fell asleep. When she woke up, she found that she her depression disappeared and felt joyous. She eventually told the king of this magical discovery. The King liked her new attitude and after tasting himself the fermented juice, he felt so cheerful that he admitted her back into his good graces.
Historians believe that Neolithic man gave the world winemaking. Not only had the domestication of the grapevine permitted him to take advantage of the potentials of this innovation, but also the development of ceramics. The manufacture of pottery, the earliest of which appeared in 6000 BC, by the Neolithic people was the technological advance that made winemaking possible. The first traces of the production of wine were found around the Caspian Sea and in Mesopotamia, near present-day Iran . Very soon, the cultivation of the vine and the production of wine spread west from Mesopotamia to the Mediterranean coast and Egypt .
Texts from tombs in ancient Egypt prove that wine was in use there around 2700 to 2500 BC. Wine was particularly popular as an offering to the gods - and inevitably, gods became patrons of the drink. The Jews had Noah, the Greeks had Dionysos, the Indians had God Soma, the Egyptians had Osiris, and the Romans Bacchus. In Greek mythology, Dionysus, son of Zeus and his mistress Semele, are named as the inventors of wine. The high regard for wine from the ancient Greeks is best illustrated in a quote from the famed historian Thucydides: "The peoples of the Mediterranean began to emerge from barbarism when they learned to cultivate the olive and the grape."
One of the oldest winemaking regions in the world is Cyprus . A study of the evolution of wine in Cyprus reveals three broad and distinct periods, or three leaps of history that have left their marked footprints in the development of the island.
The first period lasted several thousand years, from the time the cultivation of the vine appeared on the scene till the time the Ottomans discouraged winemaking and its consumption. The second period begins with the arrival of the British, which triggered the revival of the wine industry and lasted nearly a century. The third is the period we are currently experiencing, a period of rapid growth - a wine-revolution that aims at providing the international market with world-class wines with Cypriot identity.
The First Period (3500BC - 1898 A.D)
Cypriot wines trace their roots as far back as the Neolithic times, and possibly even before that. Exactly how far back wine production in Cyprus goes is unknown. Excavations on the outskirts of Erimi village unearthed (amongst other artefacts) pottery fragments dated to the chalcolithic period (between 3500 BC-3000 BC). In 2005, a team of Italian archaeologists led by Maria-Rosaria Belgiorno examined the chemical signatures of 18 of these. Twelve showed traces of tartaric acid (a component of wine), proving that the 5,500-year-old vases were used for wine. Another archaeological excavation near the village of Pyrgos on the outskirts of Limassol led to the discovery of a Bronze Age (2500-2000 BC) perfumery. Near this perfumery, an olive press, a winery, and copper smelting works were also discovered. Wine containers and even the seeds of grapes were unearthed.
The island's winemaking tradition is already well documented, but these latest discoveries prove that Cypriots were the region's oldest winemakers. Wine was being traded at least as early as 2300 BC, the date of a shipwreck carrying over 2,500 amphorae, discovered in 1999, lying on the seabed off Cyprus ' southern shore. These findings predate winemaking by ancient Greeks by at least 1,500 years.
After the arrival of the Mycenaeans in around 1400 BC and the mass waves of Achaean Greeks, the Greek language, religion and customs spread throughout the island. It was during this period that wine drinking became the pre-eminent beverage and played an important social and cultural role in the daily life of the ancient Cypriots. At Enkomi on the South East coast of Cyprus, a 12th century BC building with benches along its walls, one of the most imposing public buildings of this Late Bronze Age town, was considered by the excavator as the main reception hall where feasts used to take place and wine was available. In an adjoining room, large storage jars were found which were used for oil, wine or grain. At Maa-Palaeokastro, a 12th century BC settlement in the Paphos District, excavations have brought to light a large number of drinking cups of Mycenaean type. This settlement has been identified as a military outpost where immigrants from the Aegean settled around 1200 BC. The drinking cups are no doubt indicative of what they did in their spare time.
The fame of Cyprus wines spread throughout the ancient world and were richly praised and immortalized by contemporary poets, historians and artists. There was praise for Cyprus wines in Homer's poems and, thanks to his writings, we have precious insights into the life and customs of ancient Greeks. The Cypriot poet Stassinos, in his epic songs about Cyprus , mentions the myth of Anios and his three daughters Oeno, Spermo and Elaida, who had the magical powers of producing wine, wheat and oil respectively. Homer and Pindaros paid tribute to Cyprus wines, and in 735 BC, Hesiod described the manufacturing process of the sweet "Nama" of Cyprus .
"Leave the grapes ten days in the sun, ten nights and then five days in the shade and eight more in the jar".
Reference to the Cypriot wines is made also by Euripides, one of the three great tragedians of classical Athens . He wrote of large numbers of pilgrimages visiting Cyprus to follow the cult of Aphrodite and to taste the island's "Nama" wines. Cypriot wines are also mentioned in the Bible. In Solomon's "Song of Songs", the verse "My beloved is unto me as a henna flower in the vineyards of Egadi" makes reference to a village in Cyprus . The people of Ancient Egypt loved wine and were among the first to record the harvest of grapes on stone tablets and the walls of their tombs. The Egyptians, and particularly the Pharoahs of Egypt, showed special preference and affection to Cypriot wines.
In the Hellenistic period, wine came to embody Greek culture and became more widely available. Greek citizens spent much of their time discussing wine and finding ways of making it even more enjoyable. Wine was used not only in the Symposia, the Greek drinking parties, but also medicinally to clean wounds and as a safer drink than water. They also traded different wines among the many Greek islands. Cypriot wines were in great demand by the ancient Greeks, and later by the Romans. In many early Greek books, Cyprus is referred to as "Evinos" - or the island of good wine.
Wine also played a role in the religion of the Greek dominions, with Dionysus as its specific deity. In Greek mythology, Dionysus was also the God of Ecstasy and his cult was one of the mystery religions. He produced the first wine from the vine, and spread the art of tending grapes, but he also had a dual side to his nature - on the one hand he could bring about joy and divine ecstasy, and on the other hand, brutal unthinking rage, both reflecting the nature of wine. No other god has ever been more joyfully celebrated than Dionysus and his Roman replica, Bacchus. Dionysus was one of the most important gods in everyday life, and was associated with several key concepts. One was rebirth after death. His dismemberment by the Titans and return to life is symbolically echoed in tending vines. Each year the vines are pruned back sharply and left to become dormant through the winter, ready to bear fruit in the following spring.
The mosaics in the House of Dionysus at Paphos depict the story of the first mortal Icarios to be taught how to make wine. The teacher was Dionysus, the god of wine himself. According to mosaic picture and mythology, Icarios offered wine to two shepherds who got drunk, hence the inscription in Greek "the first wine drinkers". The friends of the shepherds unfortunately killed Icarios because they thought he had poisoned them.
At the archaeological museum in Nicosia , there are numerous ancient oenochoes, pots and amphorae verifying the role and the importance of wine for the Cypriot society during the period of the 6th to the 2nd century BC. It is worth mentioning that on one item of pottery found in the ancient town of Marion near Polis Chrysochous, there is the inscription in Greek ?????? ??? ??? ??, which means "Be happy and drink well".
Cypriot wine as well as wines from the Aegean islands was traded throughout the known ancient world.
In antiquity, wine was stored in a clay vase called an amphora. The typical amphora looked like a root vegetable with a long neck. The bottom end was never flat; rather it was pointed or knob-like. The average Greek amphora had a capacity of about 40 litres, while in later times the average Roman amphora was 26 litres. Bars had special stands to hold their amphorae. These stands were usually tripods and were often placed against walls. Both the amphora and its tripod were robust enough to survive sea voyages, which facilitated the trade of wines throughout the Mediterranean Sea . The amphora also kept wine for long periods if properly sealed. Olive oil was often used as a sealant to avoid oxidation. The amphora had a key role in the advancement of the wine trade.
During the Hellenistic period, the Greeks introduced winemaking techniques to their colonies as far away as Italy , France and Spain , whilst Alexander the Great's conquest of the Persian Empire in the 4th century BC spread the wine trade eastwards. Greeks embraced wine drinking more enthusiastically than any culture before them. Wine became a drink not just for the elite, but for everyone. It is said that of all the vessels Greeks used daily, more than half related to the consumption of wine. Wine was considered to be a gift from Dionysus, the patron god and symbol of wine, and was used in religious rituals. And Greek doctors, including Hippocrates, prescribed it for their patients.
Greeks considered it barbaric to drink wine straight, so they diluted it in varying proportions with water. And they learned to add herbs and spices to mask spoilage. Another addition to this delicious taste profile was the flavour of pine resin. Greeks typically stored their wine in porous clay jugs, which had to be sealed to preserve the wine. They sealed the jugs with the resin of pine trees, which imparted its unique essence. Wine was important to the economies of Greek cities. It was traded within Greece and exported throughout the Mediterranean world. As Greece began to colonize the western Mediterranean , the Greeks took their grapevines and winemaking technology with them. The ruling dynasty of Ptolemies, the successors of Alexander, exploited the island's resources and were particularly fond of the Cypriot nectar. We know that under the reign of Ptolemy I, a great number of Jews left Palestine and settled in various places in the Eastern Mediterranean including Cyprus . The Jewish community of the island may have been charged with the duty of sending Cypriot wine to Jerusalem where it was used in sacrifices in the Temple .
The Romans who conquered Greece adopted Dionysus under the deity of Bacchus. The Romans showed preference to sweet rather than dry wine. The Ancient Romans placed great importance on the development and cultivation of wine. Like the Greeks, the Romans were wine-lovers and well-organized vine growers. They wrote handbooks on viticulture and wine production, and created a tradition still maintained in Italy .
Roman farmers changed from growing grain to grapes and combined Greek influence with their own farming background through viticulture. The Roman Empire is responsible for the spread of wine throughout Europe including such places as France , Spain , Italy and even parts of Britain . In 58 BC, Cyprus also became part of the Roman province of Alicia in Asia Minor . Many fine reports praising the Cypriot wines are found written during the age of the Roman Empire . Large quantities of wine amphorae have been unearthed in the Roman villas at Kato Paphos, as well as wooden barrels, pottery amphorae and leather skins which were commonly used for the transport of wine. Marc Anthony and Cleopatra are said to have toasted each other with it. Mark Anthony, Shakespeare informs us, gave Cyprus to Cleopatra with the words, "your sweetness, my love, is equal to Cyprus "Nama". Sinesius refers to Cyprus wine by calling it most "delicate", whilst Pliny, a Roman officer, encyclopaedist and author, found Cyprus wine superior to all others. Rome was a huge market for wine. The public's demand for wine at the time of the Roman Empire reached a new height. Many cities had wine bars on almost every street and festivals were held to ensure a good year's harvest of grapes.
Wine trade in the 4th and 5th centuries continued to expand with Constantinople as the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire . Dionysus had a huge cult following among followers of the Roman polytheistic religion, yet wine would play its integral part in another significant religion during the empire - Christianity. Many scholars today believe that Jesus Christ did indeed partake in the drinking of wine; a claim which seems to uphold his choice of wine as the substitute (or actual embodiment) of his blood at the Last Supper. With the fall of the Roman Empire, wine continued to be associated with Christianity and the Mediterranean . During the Byzantine years, the viticulture tradition continued to flourish. Orthodox Christianity was closely associated with the consumption of wine. During religious ceremonies, wine was blessed as part of the Holy Communion. The sweet Cyprus wine was in great demand.
In the middle ages, the Crusaders conquered the island and Cypriot wines became available in the western part of Europe . The earliest record of Cyprus wine being drunk in the west is dated at 1178 when Count Baldwin of Guines offered it to the Archbishop of Rheims. King Richard the Lionheart was also responsible for introducing it to England after he conquered the island in 1191. He sold Cyprus for 100,000 dinars to the Order of the Knights Templar, who established their "Grand Commandery" at Kolossi Castle . The Knights Templar acquired the vineyards on the southern hills of Troodos from Avdimou to Kilani in the North and Paphos in the West. However, a year later the Templars faced difficulties in the ruling of the island and sold it to the King of Jerusalem, Guy de Lusignan. This started a new period for Cyprus under the Frankish domination.
When the fall of Acre in 1281 ended the Latin Christian presence in Palestine and Syria , the Knights Hospitallers moved their headquarters from Acre to Cyprus . Like all religious orders, the Knights Hospitallers (or Knights of St. John ) acquired land on a large scale and produced their own wine. They administered their estates based on the feudal system where the control of a group of vineyards was under the authority of a commandery. The development and promotion of wines was actively encouraged by the Hospitallers. It is worth noting that during this period, the name "Commandaria" was given to the sweet wine first described by Hesiodos. Since then, "Commandaria" has been the wine with the oldest tradition worldwide and is made in the same fashion when it was first introduced.
Among Commandaria's fans was King Philippe of France , who called it the "Apostle of Wines" in the 13th century. Francis I of France attempted to naturalise the Cyprus grapevine at Fontainebleau but without success. Rudolf von Sudheim, a German traveller who visited Cyprus between 1336 and 1341, mentioned the vineyards of Egadi as located in the mountainous area of Paphos. He also wrote that the nobles of Cyprus are the richest in the world, and that there are no greater or better drinkers than in Cyprus .
In the winter of 1363, the Master of the Vintners Company in the presence of the Kings of England, Scotland , France and Denmark feasted King Peter of Cyprus , during a visit to the city of London . The wines served were from Cyprus and were highly praised.
During the 300 years of Lusignan rule (1192-1489), wine production was refined and expanded. French historian De Mas Latrie calls Commandaria wine "une des especes superieures de ces vins justement renommes".
Estienne de Lusignan, writing in 1580, praises the wine of Cyprus as the best in the world. The mediaeval Cyprus wine industry was commercially the most important in the region. The Venetian period, which followed (1489-1571), gave new impetus to wine trading, and the island's wines became popular in the Latin world. The Venetians traded the wine from Cyprus to Venice and from there to the rest of Europe and England .
The Ottomans invaded Cyprus in 1571 and occupied it for over 300 years until 1878 when they ceded the island to Britain . During this period, little was done to help the wine growers. Wine consumption in the Middle East and Eastern Mediterranean , the birthplace of grape wine, had all but ceased (though some production continued). The rules of Islam forbid the drinking of wine, which is seen as a gift from God which man misused and therefore relinquished his right to drink. However, from the writing of several visitors, we can deduce that even under those difficult for viticulture times, their cultivation in Cyprus continued to provide a living for those residing in the mountain villages. In these areas, where the soil is not sufficiently fertile for agriculture and the land is fractioned in small fields, wine grape growing wrote history and determined the distribution of human settlements.
The Ottoman Turks, following the Moslem tradition, discouraged winemaking and its consumption. They imposed heavy taxation on vineyards, prompting the villagers to destroy their vines, rather than allow the taxman to take possession of them. Wine was subject to an arbitrary triple taxation (10% levied on grapes, 10% on the wine and 8% on its exports). Eventually, the Cyprus wines fell into obscurity and lost their fame.
Seigneur de Villamont, from the Duchy of Brittany, wrote about the Turks in Cyprus in 1589: "And although their law forbids them wine, they will drink to excess without scruple or shame".
One of the few publications on Cyprus during the Ottoman Turkish occupation was a book written in 1772 by the Florentine Giovanni Mariti called "Del Vino di Cipro", in which special reference is made to Commandaria. In addition, from evidence given by Alexander Drummond, the British Consul in Aleppo who visited the island in May 1745, one can be assured that wine was still a major agricultural product for export. The year 1878 marked the handover of the island from Ottoman rule to the British Empire . The arrival of the British brought with it a revival in the winemaking industry.
To be continued..
Wine News and Information
This year marks the 200th anniversary of Darwin 's birth, as well as 150 years since the publication of his thesis, "On the Origin of Species". Much has been made of the life and achievements of this great English biologist, but few fully appreciate his contribution to wine. As part of his study of climbing plants, Darwin had a particular fascination with grapevines. He was intrigued by the fact that the vines produce tendrils (for climbing) or bunches of grapes (for reproduction) opposite each leaf - a reminder that grapevines evolved in a forest habitat 60 million years ago. The vine could adapt to a shaded environment and climb to sunlight using tendrils, or, when at the top of the forest, produce fruit.
In The Movement and Habits of Climbing Plants (1865), Darwin writes: "It is also an interesting fact that intermediate states between organs fitted for widely different functions, may be observed on the same individual plant of. the common vine; and these cases illustrate in a striking manner the principle of the gradual evolution of species." So, according to Darwin , the vine is a perfect example of evolutionary principles - fair praise indeed from the father of evolution. Today, grape growers the world over manage their vineyards to expose fruit to sunlight and so improve wine quality.
Another significant contribution of Darwin to the modern world of wine is probably his greatest. From the 1860s onwards, the vineyards of France planted the European wine grape "Vitis vinifera" which was increasingly challenged by the root louse phylloxera. This little yellow insect killed countless thousands of hectares of vines. Scientists at the time were hard pressed to find the cause of this devastation, and, once discovered, then to control the pest. The answer came from Darwin 's principles of evolution.
Given that the pest came from America where native vines grew without been affected, the obvious solution was to graft the sensitive European vines to rootstocks derived from American species. This approach was based on Darwin 's theories of adaptation and was proposed by French scientists Planchon and Millardet of Montpellier, and Riley and Munson in America , who are recognised as being instrumental in saving Europe from phylloxera. The principle of grafting on to phylloxera-resistant rootstocks is still used today, and is one of the best examples of biological control known to agriculture.
There are significant consequences that are already occurring because of climate change, since it affects almost every aspect of living of the human kind. It affects the agriculture industry with the unpredictable change in the weather. It also affects the temperature of the globe, which causes the permafrost to melt down increasing to sea water level and loss of inhabitants of some animals. Global warming is threatening the future of humankind. With the wine industry, it is highly important to be able to predict the climate because wine grapes are particularly affected by changing weather. Extreme weather conditions affect the quality of the grapes. Vintage quality of grapes is easily ruined by extended rainfall or when temperatures reach 35?C or more, causing the grapevine to shut down.
American farmers, according to a recent U.S.D.A. report, are already feeling the impacts. Climate change will lead to increased crop disease and pest prevalence, higher livestock mortality due to hotter summers and more rapid weed growth due to elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide levels. There are significant consequences that are already occurring as a result of climate change, and they are only likely to get worse if action isn't taken. The United States Department of Agriculture will devote an additional $90 million over the next four years to climate change research and will also join at least 21 other nations in a new international research cooperative focused on climate change and agriculture.
Monolithos Monthly News
To everything, there is a season, and this is most true in a vineyard. Each season brings a new joy and challenge. Maintaining a grape vineyard is a year-round labour of love for grape farmers. In late autumn, the vines' long shoots are cut off and the leaves turn brown and fall. In December, depending on the local weather, the vines enter a dormant stage. Early January is the time to commence pruning to help control the yield and quality of the coming year's grape harvest. Pruning is cutting the long, dry vines to allow for new growth. If not pruned back, the number of buds that would bloom and turn into fruit would be of lower quality. This task should be completed before spring and especially before the last few frosts. Waiting too long to trim the vines will make them more susceptible to damaging buds. During this process, great care must be taken to prune efficiently, yet not to remove too much of the vine as this will limit the crop.
At the winery, work on the stabilisation of the 2009 vintage white wines is underway. All 2008 wines have been bottled and are available for tasting and purchasing.
If at any time you are passing near the village of Pachna and wish to visit the winery or sample any of our products, Martin Wood will be pleased to meet and assist you at his "Fig Tree Villa" in Pachna, so do not hesitate to phone him at 25-816212 or 99-165995.
Regards from all of us here at Monolithos and always remember:
With wine and hope, anything is possible.
Spanish Proverb
Monday, 11 January 2010
Friday, 27 November 2009
Cyprus Wine Blog - December 2009
The holiday season is now upon us with many joyous activities for all the family. Of course, it also brings with it the ubiquitous holiday parties as well – thrown by friends, colleagues at work or, again, family. Therefore, most people are now about to tackle the difficult task of purchasing wines that can be paired with festive delicacies. This short article attempts to address the issue with some tips and suggestions.
First, do not stress out! This is the holiday period, a time generally rife with enough stress that the choice of what wine to bring to a party should not cause any more. Holidays are supposed to be fun – remember that, if you remember anything.
Some people are under the impression that hosting a party involves purchasing the most expensive wine they can find, wine that would impress even the most seasoned connoisseur. However, when it comes down to it, the price of wine is not nearly as important as the variety.
Holiday parties typically consist of a large variety of refreshments. Therefore, it is important to purchase wines that are “easy” to accompany anything you prepare. The simplest way to do this is to purchase at least one red and one white wine.
First of all, remember to differentiate between the full-bodied and light-bodied wines. These terms apply for reds as well as for whites. For instance, some of the most famous light-bodied white wines are the Muscadet, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Xynisteri, while some of the full-bodied white wines are the Chardonnay or barrel-fermented Sauvignon. On the other hand, some of the light-bodied red wines include Beaujolais , Rioja, Chianti, Sangiovese, and the Cypriot Mavro. Finally, some of the most famous full-bodied red wines include the Syrah/ Shiraz , Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot.
Buy local – yes, you may well spend €1 or €2 more for each bottle of wine you purchase relative to the cheap imported wines. However, by visiting local wineries or specialised wine shops, you will be able to ask questions and get advice on what wines to buy during this season, or even taste and select what appeals to you.
Buy a variety of wines in different price ranges. If you choose some wines in a medium price range – say €8 per bottle (Monolithos Cabernet Sauvignon), consider also purchasing some less expensive wines such as Ayios Stephanos Red (€5) for later in the evening. After two to three glasses of wine, most people would never notice when you switch them over to a €5 bottle. Therefore, you could save some cash; there is no need to spend, just for the sake of spending.
Wine should complement the food, rather than dominate it – light food, light wine; heavier food, heavier wine. Soups, salads and light dishes will taste best when accompanied by light, usually white, wines. More robust foods, such as steak and pasta, can handle bigger, full-bodied reds.
Buy several of the same type – you do not want to buy one bottle of something and run out, just as people realize that they like it.
Drink the wine you enjoy – do not conform to what the world says you have to like. In reality, most wines will not ruin a meal, but good choices can raise the level of gastronomic satisfaction from enjoyable to memorable.
Many people struggle with selecting the proper wine to serve at their holiday meal, so remember – when in doubt, sparkling wines and champagne are a safe bet with just about anything. The bubbles and acidity in sparklers have a cleansing effect on the palate to prepare you for another bite, whether you’re eating salty, bitter, spicy or sour food.
Go universal with the glass – there is simply no need to buy all those different glasses. While it may seem eclectic to serve wine in water glasses to you, your guests may look at that as a mark of bad taste. When you go to look at wine glasses, you will quickly find out that there is a wide range of styles and prices available. If this is a rare event in your home, then purchase simple, clear and inexpensive glasses than can complement your table without bleeding your wallet dry. If you buy a decent set of glasses with a tulip shape, it should cover most of your needs.
Most people are about to tackle the difficult task of purchasing wines that can be paired with the special foods of the season. Apart from the universal saying of “drink what you like”, here are a few useful tips to help you select the proper holiday wine.
. Forget about all the traditional reprimands, like pairing red wines with red meat and white wines with seafood.
. Balance the flavour intensity between the wine and the dish. Do not forget to look at the flavours of the sauce too.
. When serving more than one wine at a meal, start with a light wine and work your way through the meal to the fuller-bodied wines, ending with a sweet wine.
. Try pairing full-bodied wines, either red or white, with full-flavoured foods, and lighter wines with lighter food items. Look at how the dish is prepared. Delicate flavoured foods, poached or steamed, are best paired with delicate wines, whereas roasted dishes are often better with full-bodied heavier wines.
. Match “like for like”, for example spicy food with spicy wine, subtly flavoured dishes with delicate light wines, sweet wine with sweet dishes etc.
. Attempt to balance the sweetness, but most importantly, never serve a wine that is drier than the food or you will end with a flat, dull tasting wine.
. Do not forget, that not all red wines complement all cheeses. Blue cheese/Stilton certainly work very well with a sweet enough white wine. Goat’s cheese works much better with aromatic or dry white wine than with reds for example. Soft cheeses like Camembert and Brie should be served with either full flavoured Chardonnays or soft ripe Merlots.
. Foods with sauces generally require a medium to full-bodied wine.
. Boiled, steamed or lightly sautéed food should be matched with dry and light white wines.
. Chicken, pork or veal are best suited with any full-bodied white wine.
. Spicy food items and off-dry white wines make an excellent match.
. Fat rich food items like foie gras and cheese should be paired with sweet wines.
. Sweet dishes and desserts go very well with wines that have high apparent sweet flavours.
. Roast beef or steaks: Merlots go well with roasted meats, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon. For roast beef, lamb and pork, Cabernet Sauvignon is an ideal choice here. Merlot and meaty Syrahs are also great matches. The proteins in the meat will help smooth out the tannins in these big, bold wines.
. Grilled or roast lamb: The most appropriate wine with this is Syrah/Shiraz.
The idea is to create a relationship where the wine and food are equal partners in the match. Foods that are high in saltiness, bitterness, sourness and sweetness limit the possibilities when matching wines with these foods. Traditional holiday foods like turkey, ham and all the trimmings create issues in this regard. Turkey itself can be paired with a number of wines, but things become complicated with the addition of various sauces because it could become sweet, sour and bitter all at once.
Sometimes the best choice is to offer both red and white wines and let the guests choose for themselves. Provide a couple glasses at each guest’s table setting and let him or her try a splash of white here, a sip of red there, comparing and contrasting before settling on a favourite. Offering a few choices can also make for fun dinner conversation. You can also split the difference and go with a sparkling rose.
During the winter holiday season, red wines should be served at room temperature. However, if you keep your reds in the kitchen, and your kitchen is an oven after many hours of dinner preparation, move the bottles to a slightly cooler room, like the basement or an unheated utility room. Typically, most people serve whites too cold and reds too warm. If you keep your wine in the refrigerator (5°C), take them out about 15 minutes before serving, whilst the red wine should be taken out at least one hour beforehand. The palate of the host, of course, always determines the ideal temperature, but a good range to aim at is between about 14°-18°C. And serve lighter reds a little cooler than heavier reds such as Cabernet Sauvignon.
The exact amount of poured glasses to a bottle of wine is pretty well impossible to define. Many standard wine servings suggest four to six glasses of wine per 750ml bottle. Keep this in mind when buying for the group.
Think food friendly and affordable. This is particularly true if you are going to a larger, more casual party. Do not spend a lot here – you never know if it is going to be opened as soon as you walk in or who will be drinking it. Try to pick a food-friendly, versatile wine that will go well with a wide range of foods. While there are certain vintages that are expensive, it is relatively easy to find bottles that are not extremely high priced; with some searching, or asking close friends, you can buy first-rate red and white wines at prices below €10.
The holiday season brings with it the challenge of finding the perfect gift for everyone on your list. Wine accessories are important items that will help the enjoyment of wine – they can be practical gifts for birthday or Christmas presents.
There are many different wine accessories, which wine drinkers purchase in order to make their wine experience complete. The range of products includes wine coolers, wine buckets, champagne bowls, wine decanters, wine glasses, wine bottle stoppers, wine table mats, wine openers, wine foil cutters, wine racks, etc. Whether you are a keen wine enthusiast, a social wine drinker or simply wish to buy a present for a friend, you may find an interesting read in the following tips and advice.
. Wine makes a great holiday gift. It is portable. It is festive. It is timely, with people entertaining more during the holiday season. Wine can be quickly gift-wrapped and tied with a bow or slipped into a decorative paper or cloth wine bag. In addition, wine certainly is easy to find.
. If you end up with several opened but unfinished bottles of wine, there are ways to preserve them. One way is to refrigerate them. The cold climate will slow the chemical changes that are conspiring to turn your wine to vinegar. Another method is to transfer the leftover wine into a smaller bottle. This helps because a smaller bottle will have less wine-trashing air in it. You can also buy fancy vacuum contraptions that suck the air out of the bottle. Alternatively, perhaps best of all, you can gather the crowd around the table the next evening for a feast of leftovers and finish what you started.
Food Pairing with Monolithos wines:
The following constitutes a basic guide for Monolithos wines which could be best suited to some popular Christmas and holiday season foods. Of course, this is not definitive, but if you have trouble choosing, it may help to make up your mind.
First, in terms of white wine selection, choose one with an adequate amount of acidity and fruitiness to match your entrée. Monolithos White and Ayios Stephanos White belong to this category of wines, with Monolithos White having a higher level of acidity. If you are selecting a red wine, choose Monolithos Merlot or Monolithos Red, both of which have a sense of fruitiness and are relatively low in tannin.
Second, always try to match regional food with corresponding local wines. They work because they have developed together over time and so have a natural affinity for each other.
Monolithos White: This is a very good match with lots of seafood. It has a pleasant acidic tang, and makes seafood taste fresh, just like a bright squeeze of lemon! Remember that taste is a funny thing, and the wine that is best alone is not necessarily the best with food. For example, a white wine that seems too acidic on its own is often fabulous with creamy or salty foods, as the acid reduces the oiliness of the cream and the cream tempers the acid, resulting in significantly enhanced flavours for both.
Monolithos Red: This is ideal with tomato-based pasta sauce and pizza, as it does not shy away from the acid in the tomatoes, and is also highly agreeable with local dishes such as meat stew, “moussaka”, “souvlakia” and “shieftalia”.
Ayios Stephanos White: This works so well because of its Malvasia touch of sweetness, which can help take the sting off the heat of spicy dishes.
Santa Monica Rose: A fun holiday wine that is great to serve at a party. Not only is this rose visually appealing, but also the flavours are wonderfully fruity, containing a combination of blackberry, plum and strawberries. It offers a good match with a large number of cheeses, enhancing the contrast of flavours. It is a delicate rose wine, which is superb with turkey, ham or tuna steak and salmon.
Ayios Stephanos Red: This successful blend is sure to satisfy a wide range of wine lovers. It is a medium to full-bodied wine with predominantly fruity and berry flavours, leaving a pleasantly smooth feel. It is food-friendly, affordable, and highly recommended to accompany red meat dishes, poultry, pasta (particularly those dishes with tomato sauce), strong savoury cheeses or salads – this fine blend wine can handle them all well.
Monolithos Merlot: This is one of those wines that have come in fashion over the past decade. This smooth as silk premium red variety is the ideal wine for the committed white wine drinker to sample as an entrée into the rich and exciting world of reds. The taste/aroma is predominantly fruity and peppery with hints of blackberry, blackcurrant, raspberry and plum and a delightfully “silky” feel. It is extremely versatile when it comes to food pairing options, and is perfect to enjoy with Italian and Greek dishes, red meats such as steak and roast lamb, or a good white meat including duck or even a platter of fish if you so desire. Stews are also a good choice, as are hearty pastas that use a tomato sauce base. Other dishes include pasta with vegetables, chicken, turkey, couscous, veal, cheese courses and (hot or cold) spicy entrees.
Monolithos Shiraz: As a Christmas wine, it is highly recommended and top-rated. Its dark red spiciness is perfect for the winter holidays and is particularly good when served with grilled or roast lamb. It is also a perfect match to enjoy with red meat, white meat, and pizza/pasta dishes. Syrah is a very versatile wine that pairs well with a wide variety of foods, including wild game, richly flavoured red meats, beef stew, grilled meats or veggies and meat lover’s pizzas. It is terrific with filet mignon, pork dishes, sausages, BBQ, bacon, spicy Mexican, highly seasoned food and fish dishes, particularly those with shellfish and tuna. The 2008 vintage is a joy to drink and there is plenty of it – try it and you will understand why.
Monolithos Cabernet Sauvignon: Talk about wine royalty! It all began in Bordeaux and is the world’s best-known grape variety, which explains why it is right at the top of the vineyard hierarchy. The taste/aroma is predominantly blackcurrant and peppery, but variations include touches of redcurrant, plum or even blackberry. It is a perfect match with red meat dishes, including steak with rich sauces. The proteins and fats in the steak really soften and mellow out the tannins in the wine and bring forward the fruit flavours. Foods with a slight touch of bitterness (such as the bitterness from a grill) match well with tannic wines, which are slightly bitter. Cabernet Sauvignon is great for this, although you should take care that it does not utterly overwhelm the food. Basic vegetable dishes, vegetarian meals, salads and peppery foods as well as cheeses, particularly goat varieties hard and soft are good complements.
The above are time-tested pairings. All things being equal, we do believe this:
Your Christmas will be merrier, and your holiday season more gratifying as a whole, when you pair them with the best wines for the time of year. Very likely, you will hit on your own great matches as you go about experimenting with food and wine. Remember, even for a wine expert, the pairing process is a hit and a miss. No one can be certain what to expect when he or she opens a bottle of wine. With so much happening in the bottle, there are just too many variables at work to be certain. So just enjoy the experiment – and the experience. You will know when you have hit it just right. The experience will seem seamless: the flavours of the wine will pick up the flavours of the food and extend them out across the palate. That is chemistry for you.
Holiday parties can be hard to plan. However, with the above tips, you should at least have the wine list taken care of, leaving you free to worry about food and decor instead. More than anything, when this time of year is upon us, keep in mind that holidays are a time for camaraderie, family, and love – three entities that not even the most expensive vintage can rival. On the other hand, if you need a break from that hectic schedule of the holiday season, relax and enjoy a glass of wine as you curl up with your favourite book or TV programme while the cold north wind blows outside.
Now with the coming of the winter holidays and traditional feasts with a plentiful menu and many cheerful guests, it is an ideal time to try our multiple wines. Monolithos products cater for a wide range of palates because we believe that the consumer must have a choice. After all, the truth is that:
“If food is the body of good living, wine is its soul.”
Clifton Fadiman
If at any time you are passing near the village of Pachna and wish to visit the winery or purchase any of our products, Martin Wood will be pleased to meet and assist you at his “Fig Tree Villa” in Pachna, so do not hesitate to phone him at 25-816212 or 99-165995.
May the Holiday Season bring only happiness and joy to you and your loved ones! Cheers and seasons greetings from all of us here at Monolithos.
First, do not stress out! This is the holiday period, a time generally rife with enough stress that the choice of what wine to bring to a party should not cause any more. Holidays are supposed to be fun – remember that, if you remember anything.
Some people are under the impression that hosting a party involves purchasing the most expensive wine they can find, wine that would impress even the most seasoned connoisseur. However, when it comes down to it, the price of wine is not nearly as important as the variety.
Holiday parties typically consist of a large variety of refreshments. Therefore, it is important to purchase wines that are “easy” to accompany anything you prepare. The simplest way to do this is to purchase at least one red and one white wine.
First of all, remember to differentiate between the full-bodied and light-bodied wines. These terms apply for reds as well as for whites. For instance, some of the most famous light-bodied white wines are the Muscadet, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Xynisteri, while some of the full-bodied white wines are the Chardonnay or barrel-fermented Sauvignon. On the other hand, some of the light-bodied red wines include Beaujolais , Rioja, Chianti, Sangiovese, and the Cypriot Mavro. Finally, some of the most famous full-bodied red wines include the Syrah/ Shiraz , Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot.
Buy local – yes, you may well spend €1 or €2 more for each bottle of wine you purchase relative to the cheap imported wines. However, by visiting local wineries or specialised wine shops, you will be able to ask questions and get advice on what wines to buy during this season, or even taste and select what appeals to you.
Buy a variety of wines in different price ranges. If you choose some wines in a medium price range – say €8 per bottle (Monolithos Cabernet Sauvignon), consider also purchasing some less expensive wines such as Ayios Stephanos Red (€5) for later in the evening. After two to three glasses of wine, most people would never notice when you switch them over to a €5 bottle. Therefore, you could save some cash; there is no need to spend, just for the sake of spending.
Wine should complement the food, rather than dominate it – light food, light wine; heavier food, heavier wine. Soups, salads and light dishes will taste best when accompanied by light, usually white, wines. More robust foods, such as steak and pasta, can handle bigger, full-bodied reds.
Buy several of the same type – you do not want to buy one bottle of something and run out, just as people realize that they like it.
Drink the wine you enjoy – do not conform to what the world says you have to like. In reality, most wines will not ruin a meal, but good choices can raise the level of gastronomic satisfaction from enjoyable to memorable.
Many people struggle with selecting the proper wine to serve at their holiday meal, so remember – when in doubt, sparkling wines and champagne are a safe bet with just about anything. The bubbles and acidity in sparklers have a cleansing effect on the palate to prepare you for another bite, whether you’re eating salty, bitter, spicy or sour food.
Go universal with the glass – there is simply no need to buy all those different glasses. While it may seem eclectic to serve wine in water glasses to you, your guests may look at that as a mark of bad taste. When you go to look at wine glasses, you will quickly find out that there is a wide range of styles and prices available. If this is a rare event in your home, then purchase simple, clear and inexpensive glasses than can complement your table without bleeding your wallet dry. If you buy a decent set of glasses with a tulip shape, it should cover most of your needs.
Most people are about to tackle the difficult task of purchasing wines that can be paired with the special foods of the season. Apart from the universal saying of “drink what you like”, here are a few useful tips to help you select the proper holiday wine.
. Forget about all the traditional reprimands, like pairing red wines with red meat and white wines with seafood.
. Balance the flavour intensity between the wine and the dish. Do not forget to look at the flavours of the sauce too.
. When serving more than one wine at a meal, start with a light wine and work your way through the meal to the fuller-bodied wines, ending with a sweet wine.
. Try pairing full-bodied wines, either red or white, with full-flavoured foods, and lighter wines with lighter food items. Look at how the dish is prepared. Delicate flavoured foods, poached or steamed, are best paired with delicate wines, whereas roasted dishes are often better with full-bodied heavier wines.
. Match “like for like”, for example spicy food with spicy wine, subtly flavoured dishes with delicate light wines, sweet wine with sweet dishes etc.
. Attempt to balance the sweetness, but most importantly, never serve a wine that is drier than the food or you will end with a flat, dull tasting wine.
. Do not forget, that not all red wines complement all cheeses. Blue cheese/Stilton certainly work very well with a sweet enough white wine. Goat’s cheese works much better with aromatic or dry white wine than with reds for example. Soft cheeses like Camembert and Brie should be served with either full flavoured Chardonnays or soft ripe Merlots.
. Foods with sauces generally require a medium to full-bodied wine.
. Boiled, steamed or lightly sautéed food should be matched with dry and light white wines.
. Chicken, pork or veal are best suited with any full-bodied white wine.
. Spicy food items and off-dry white wines make an excellent match.
. Fat rich food items like foie gras and cheese should be paired with sweet wines.
. Sweet dishes and desserts go very well with wines that have high apparent sweet flavours.
. Roast beef or steaks: Merlots go well with roasted meats, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon. For roast beef, lamb and pork, Cabernet Sauvignon is an ideal choice here. Merlot and meaty Syrahs are also great matches. The proteins in the meat will help smooth out the tannins in these big, bold wines.
. Grilled or roast lamb: The most appropriate wine with this is Syrah/Shiraz.
The idea is to create a relationship where the wine and food are equal partners in the match. Foods that are high in saltiness, bitterness, sourness and sweetness limit the possibilities when matching wines with these foods. Traditional holiday foods like turkey, ham and all the trimmings create issues in this regard. Turkey itself can be paired with a number of wines, but things become complicated with the addition of various sauces because it could become sweet, sour and bitter all at once.
Sometimes the best choice is to offer both red and white wines and let the guests choose for themselves. Provide a couple glasses at each guest’s table setting and let him or her try a splash of white here, a sip of red there, comparing and contrasting before settling on a favourite. Offering a few choices can also make for fun dinner conversation. You can also split the difference and go with a sparkling rose.
During the winter holiday season, red wines should be served at room temperature. However, if you keep your reds in the kitchen, and your kitchen is an oven after many hours of dinner preparation, move the bottles to a slightly cooler room, like the basement or an unheated utility room. Typically, most people serve whites too cold and reds too warm. If you keep your wine in the refrigerator (5°C), take them out about 15 minutes before serving, whilst the red wine should be taken out at least one hour beforehand. The palate of the host, of course, always determines the ideal temperature, but a good range to aim at is between about 14°-18°C. And serve lighter reds a little cooler than heavier reds such as Cabernet Sauvignon.
The exact amount of poured glasses to a bottle of wine is pretty well impossible to define. Many standard wine servings suggest four to six glasses of wine per 750ml bottle. Keep this in mind when buying for the group.
Think food friendly and affordable. This is particularly true if you are going to a larger, more casual party. Do not spend a lot here – you never know if it is going to be opened as soon as you walk in or who will be drinking it. Try to pick a food-friendly, versatile wine that will go well with a wide range of foods. While there are certain vintages that are expensive, it is relatively easy to find bottles that are not extremely high priced; with some searching, or asking close friends, you can buy first-rate red and white wines at prices below €10.
The holiday season brings with it the challenge of finding the perfect gift for everyone on your list. Wine accessories are important items that will help the enjoyment of wine – they can be practical gifts for birthday or Christmas presents.
There are many different wine accessories, which wine drinkers purchase in order to make their wine experience complete. The range of products includes wine coolers, wine buckets, champagne bowls, wine decanters, wine glasses, wine bottle stoppers, wine table mats, wine openers, wine foil cutters, wine racks, etc. Whether you are a keen wine enthusiast, a social wine drinker or simply wish to buy a present for a friend, you may find an interesting read in the following tips and advice.
. Wine makes a great holiday gift. It is portable. It is festive. It is timely, with people entertaining more during the holiday season. Wine can be quickly gift-wrapped and tied with a bow or slipped into a decorative paper or cloth wine bag. In addition, wine certainly is easy to find.
. If you end up with several opened but unfinished bottles of wine, there are ways to preserve them. One way is to refrigerate them. The cold climate will slow the chemical changes that are conspiring to turn your wine to vinegar. Another method is to transfer the leftover wine into a smaller bottle. This helps because a smaller bottle will have less wine-trashing air in it. You can also buy fancy vacuum contraptions that suck the air out of the bottle. Alternatively, perhaps best of all, you can gather the crowd around the table the next evening for a feast of leftovers and finish what you started.
Food Pairing with Monolithos wines:
The following constitutes a basic guide for Monolithos wines which could be best suited to some popular Christmas and holiday season foods. Of course, this is not definitive, but if you have trouble choosing, it may help to make up your mind.
First, in terms of white wine selection, choose one with an adequate amount of acidity and fruitiness to match your entrée. Monolithos White and Ayios Stephanos White belong to this category of wines, with Monolithos White having a higher level of acidity. If you are selecting a red wine, choose Monolithos Merlot or Monolithos Red, both of which have a sense of fruitiness and are relatively low in tannin.
Second, always try to match regional food with corresponding local wines. They work because they have developed together over time and so have a natural affinity for each other.
Monolithos White: This is a very good match with lots of seafood. It has a pleasant acidic tang, and makes seafood taste fresh, just like a bright squeeze of lemon! Remember that taste is a funny thing, and the wine that is best alone is not necessarily the best with food. For example, a white wine that seems too acidic on its own is often fabulous with creamy or salty foods, as the acid reduces the oiliness of the cream and the cream tempers the acid, resulting in significantly enhanced flavours for both.
Monolithos Red: This is ideal with tomato-based pasta sauce and pizza, as it does not shy away from the acid in the tomatoes, and is also highly agreeable with local dishes such as meat stew, “moussaka”, “souvlakia” and “shieftalia”.
Ayios Stephanos White: This works so well because of its Malvasia touch of sweetness, which can help take the sting off the heat of spicy dishes.
Santa Monica Rose: A fun holiday wine that is great to serve at a party. Not only is this rose visually appealing, but also the flavours are wonderfully fruity, containing a combination of blackberry, plum and strawberries. It offers a good match with a large number of cheeses, enhancing the contrast of flavours. It is a delicate rose wine, which is superb with turkey, ham or tuna steak and salmon.
Ayios Stephanos Red: This successful blend is sure to satisfy a wide range of wine lovers. It is a medium to full-bodied wine with predominantly fruity and berry flavours, leaving a pleasantly smooth feel. It is food-friendly, affordable, and highly recommended to accompany red meat dishes, poultry, pasta (particularly those dishes with tomato sauce), strong savoury cheeses or salads – this fine blend wine can handle them all well.
Monolithos Merlot: This is one of those wines that have come in fashion over the past decade. This smooth as silk premium red variety is the ideal wine for the committed white wine drinker to sample as an entrée into the rich and exciting world of reds. The taste/aroma is predominantly fruity and peppery with hints of blackberry, blackcurrant, raspberry and plum and a delightfully “silky” feel. It is extremely versatile when it comes to food pairing options, and is perfect to enjoy with Italian and Greek dishes, red meats such as steak and roast lamb, or a good white meat including duck or even a platter of fish if you so desire. Stews are also a good choice, as are hearty pastas that use a tomato sauce base. Other dishes include pasta with vegetables, chicken, turkey, couscous, veal, cheese courses and (hot or cold) spicy entrees.
Monolithos Shiraz: As a Christmas wine, it is highly recommended and top-rated. Its dark red spiciness is perfect for the winter holidays and is particularly good when served with grilled or roast lamb. It is also a perfect match to enjoy with red meat, white meat, and pizza/pasta dishes. Syrah is a very versatile wine that pairs well with a wide variety of foods, including wild game, richly flavoured red meats, beef stew, grilled meats or veggies and meat lover’s pizzas. It is terrific with filet mignon, pork dishes, sausages, BBQ, bacon, spicy Mexican, highly seasoned food and fish dishes, particularly those with shellfish and tuna. The 2008 vintage is a joy to drink and there is plenty of it – try it and you will understand why.
Monolithos Cabernet Sauvignon: Talk about wine royalty! It all began in Bordeaux and is the world’s best-known grape variety, which explains why it is right at the top of the vineyard hierarchy. The taste/aroma is predominantly blackcurrant and peppery, but variations include touches of redcurrant, plum or even blackberry. It is a perfect match with red meat dishes, including steak with rich sauces. The proteins and fats in the steak really soften and mellow out the tannins in the wine and bring forward the fruit flavours. Foods with a slight touch of bitterness (such as the bitterness from a grill) match well with tannic wines, which are slightly bitter. Cabernet Sauvignon is great for this, although you should take care that it does not utterly overwhelm the food. Basic vegetable dishes, vegetarian meals, salads and peppery foods as well as cheeses, particularly goat varieties hard and soft are good complements.
The above are time-tested pairings. All things being equal, we do believe this:
Your Christmas will be merrier, and your holiday season more gratifying as a whole, when you pair them with the best wines for the time of year. Very likely, you will hit on your own great matches as you go about experimenting with food and wine. Remember, even for a wine expert, the pairing process is a hit and a miss. No one can be certain what to expect when he or she opens a bottle of wine. With so much happening in the bottle, there are just too many variables at work to be certain. So just enjoy the experiment – and the experience. You will know when you have hit it just right. The experience will seem seamless: the flavours of the wine will pick up the flavours of the food and extend them out across the palate. That is chemistry for you.
Holiday parties can be hard to plan. However, with the above tips, you should at least have the wine list taken care of, leaving you free to worry about food and decor instead. More than anything, when this time of year is upon us, keep in mind that holidays are a time for camaraderie, family, and love – three entities that not even the most expensive vintage can rival. On the other hand, if you need a break from that hectic schedule of the holiday season, relax and enjoy a glass of wine as you curl up with your favourite book or TV programme while the cold north wind blows outside.
Now with the coming of the winter holidays and traditional feasts with a plentiful menu and many cheerful guests, it is an ideal time to try our multiple wines. Monolithos products cater for a wide range of palates because we believe that the consumer must have a choice. After all, the truth is that:
“If food is the body of good living, wine is its soul.”
Clifton Fadiman
If at any time you are passing near the village of Pachna and wish to visit the winery or purchase any of our products, Martin Wood will be pleased to meet and assist you at his “Fig Tree Villa” in Pachna, so do not hesitate to phone him at 25-816212 or 99-165995.
May the Holiday Season bring only happiness and joy to you and your loved ones! Cheers and seasons greetings from all of us here at Monolithos.
Friday, 6 November 2009
Cyprus Wine Blog - November 2009
Wine means different things to different people. Whilst wine used to be a treasured commodity enjoyed only by the elite and those of high culture, over the years, as production methods were refined, wine became more and more accessible to the common folk. From ancient to modern times, wine has evolved into a key part of our contemporary lives, playing an important role in festive celebrations as well as a part of religious ceremonies.
The role of wine in our lives has changed over the past 40 years, and even over the past 10 years. As the world becomes knowledgeable, more and more people are enjoying the ?wine lifestyle?. In other words, wine is not just what you drink with dinner ? it is, in fact, a way of life. Wine enriches our lives, mixing perfectly with food, friends, and social occasions. Consumers use wine in very sophisticated ways via purchasing, gifting and consumption. Social interaction with wine varies significantly, dependant upon occasion and environment. Wine is essential for every celebration. Wine gives you a warm feeling and makes you sing when you speak and dance when you walk. A party is as incomplete without wine as it is without music. Wine can ?break the ice? and transform a meeting into a social gathering, thus making it a perfect companion at most business lunches or special occasions. Wines are great to celebrate the joy of birthdays and wedding s, and they multiply the festivities of the holiday season. A glass of wine completes a meal feast and warms up a cold winter?s night. Wine also brings out the romance of Valentine?s Day, and is an ideal anniversary present. Alcohol, when consumed in moderate amounts (such as half bottle of 12% wine a day), stimulates the areas of the brain related to thinking and pleasure-seeking. It also relaxes the body and increases the processing speed of brain areas related to speech and movement, lowering inhibitions. This overall makes you feel more confident, at ease and happier.
As an enduring cultural symbol of European living, the role of wine has evolved over time, changing from an important source of nutrition to a cultural complement to food and conviviality compatible with a healthy lifestyle. Traditionally, most European cultures tend to associate wine with gastronomy, history, local quality products and dignified social settings. As such, the association of wine as a part of a European identity also promotes moderate consumption by adults as an integral part of a balanced diet.
However responsible wine consumption must include a common stakeholder commitment to ensuring that moderate drinking remains the social norm. The benefits of moderate drinking have been recognized for centuries. Traditionally, wine has been enjoyed with meals and has been known to aid the digestive process, stimulate the intake of nutrients, and more recently, assist in lowering cholesterol and contributing to the maintenance of a healthy heart. While the European Mediterranean region accounts for the highest alcohol consumption per capita, drinking patterns that pose fewer health risks have been observed and this is attributed to the lifestyle of these regions, which have wine drinking primarily consumed at home and restaurants with meals ? not in bars, and not without food. The vast majority of people who drink wine do so in moderation and responsibly.
Over the past 30 years, hundreds of scientific studies throughout the world, involving more than one million people, have suggested that moderate wine consumption can extend life expectancy by several years beyond that of non-drinkers, assist in protecting against various types of heart disease and cancers, and delay or reduce the risk of developing a range of other diseases. There are elements in the wine, such as resveratrol, which break down LDL or "bad" cholesterol that sticks to artery walls causing blockages, and turns it into HDL or "good" cholesterol that could be carried away by the blood. This reduction in LDLs lowers the chances for arteriosclerosis and actually reduces the pressure needed for the heart to circulate blood. Several studies have confirmed these findings and all indications are that moderate consumption of wine (one to two glasses a day) can have significant health benefits.
Consequently, there is sufficient evidence from several sources and various public health authorities which supports the health benefits of moderate wine consumption, in particular its:
. Contribution in the reduction of rates of blood clotting/coagulation
. Reduced risk of a second heart attack
. Increase of the amount of ?good? cholesterol (HDL)
. Decrease in the amount of ?bad? cholesterol (LDL)
. Prevention of the production of compounds responsible for the inflammation associated with arthritis and rheumatism
. Reduction of certain kinds of cancers
Interestingly, however, a large section of the population (80%) worldwide still does not drink wine as part of their diet. There appear to be several reasons. Among them:
1. Unfortunately, some ?expert snobs? out there seem to want to make it difficult to the uninvolved consumer to understand what wine is about. They use strange words and phrases that can definitely be off-putting. We have all seen or heard the stereotype ?Wine Expert? with his nose in the air, acting as if he were the only person qualified to speak.
2. Figuring out which wine goes with what food can be a challenge but it can also create all kinds of fears.
3. Consumers are confused by wine complex labels resulting from different regional legal systems, which may include terms that could be perceived as misleading.
4. The number of wine brands that exist can be quite overwhelming, so consumers need assistance to help navigate this universe. They could worry about overpaying for an inferior wine that they might blindly select from the local wine shop, therefore making the purchase an uninviting task.
5. Consumers are also confused by conflicting reports and information given by ?experts? and the media about a number of wine aspects such as Old World, New World, countries of origin, brands, producers, varietals, classifications, organic, natural, vintage, grand cru, wine serving rituals, etc.
French wine philosopher Pierre Boisset once said:
?Wine is at the same time simpler than people say and more complex than they think.?
So what does the reasonable, perfectly balanced person need to know?
First, we need to be at peace with the notion that wine is such a complex, dynamic subject; no one can know it all. The vast majority of wine consumers just want to buy a bottle of wine they will enjoy, unlike the wine lovers who are definitely involved with wine and can discuss terroir, malolactic fermentation, the ageing, the different types of wine, the winemaking process, the grapes, the soil, the weather and food pairings for hours. It is true that wine is not one thing, but many. Wine is a sophisticated, complex drink, but it can nonetheless be enjoyed by anyone. Novice wine consumers have just as good taste buds as wine experts. Wine should be an enjoyable experience. If a wine tastes good and smells good, there is a 98% chance that it IS good.
The most important rule about food and wine matching is that there are no rules. You can drink any wine you wish with any food ? even red wine with fish ? and the world will continue to revolve. However, to be able to select a wine you do not have to swallow an encyclopaedia, but you do need to have some basic knowledge, follow a few clear, simple rules and above all. trust your own palate. The following tips may help you to make the right choice:
1. Not all good wines are expensive, and conversely, all expensive wines are not necessarily good. In each price-range, there are good and bad wines. It is true, however, that expensive good wines will probably be as good as or better than less expensive good wines. You have to remember that wine prices are a factor of the winemaker?s marketing efforts, not always the quality of the wine.
2. A good wine shop or winery will have a bottle open and will allow you to taste a wine, for free, that you probably have never had before. An experienced assistant can tell what you like by your reaction to the wines and can recommend more options.
3. While it is true that specific regions in certain countries have a reputation of producing the best of a particular grape, rarely is one region the only place a grape is grown. Winemaking is a craft. Winemakers are sometimes good at it and sometimes not. The grapes are not always the determining factor in the production of good wine. You should try wines from all over the world to see how for example a Cabernet or a Shiraz tastes from California , Italy , France , Spain , Australia , Chile or Cyprus and, of course, compare value for money.
4. Read articles about wines. Continue searching for new wines. Ask people who drink wine for their recommendations, taste and discuss their merits with your circle of friends, and try to find wines that are widely accepted to be good.
Over the last two decades, the most obvious change worldwide in drinking habits has been the move to wine drinking. This trend is expected to continue over the next few years because wine is increasingly being chosen as an accompaniment to meals in restaurants, and at home when all the family dine together. Drinking like any social activity has some guidelines to help the participant get more enjoyment out of the activity.
Drink slowly, and take the time to savour the wine?s distinctive taste. Regular consumption of small amounts of wine is preferable to binge-drinking large amounts on a single occasion. Remember not to exceed the guidelines for moderate, low-risk consumption of alcoholic beverages.
As with other products that have the potential to be abused, there are health and social costs associated with wine misuse, including the cost of alcohol-related accidents and socially inappropriate behaviours. Repeated heavy drinking with the purpose of getting drunk will not provide more benefits, only more harm. Your health can benefit from the moderate consumption of wine as part of an overall healthy lifestyle, just as it could suffer from its abuse. The complex flavours of wine can be fully appreciated and enjoyed only by drinking wine moderately and slowly. The following are some hints to help you drink responsibly and derive more enjoyment and pleasure from drinking if you choose to consume wine.
1. The consumption of wine by healthy adults should be sensible. Moderate drinking is approximately up to two drink units (two 155 ml (5-ounce) glasses) a day for women, up to three drink units a day for men, and no more than four drink units on any one occasion.
Alcoholic Units = Alc x Litres
125ml 175ml 250ml 750ml
11% Alc Wine 1.4 units 1.9 units 2.8 units 8.3 units
12% Alc Wine 1.5 units 2.1 units 3.0 units 9.0 units
13% Alc Wine 1.6 units 2.3 units 3.3 units 9.8 units
14% Alc Wine 1.8 units 2.5 units 3.5 units 3.5 units
2. Wine should be consumed as a part of social, family, celebratory, or other occasion, but not as the only purpose of the event. However if the occasion is restricted to drinks only, then it is a good idea to eat a decent meal before you go out, or snack while you drink. Food helps absorb alcohol and so limits how quickly it will get into your bloodstream. It will also give you more energy to enjoy yourself! It is particularly good to eat high protein foods such as cheese, which help to slow the absorption of alcohol into the circulatory system. Mediterranean culture consumes alcohol only with food to prevent various problems.
3. When selecting a wine, choose quality rather than quantity. Learn to select fine wines, and pay particular attention to which type of wine matches a particular dish. Learn what to look for ? this makes everyday wine drinking much more enjoyable.
4. Wine drinkers should know the distinction between moderate use and abuse.
5. Wine and alcohol should be avoided in certain circumstances such as during pregnancy, when taking certain medications, when working with machinery or where it puts the individual or others at risk. Use alcohol carefully in connection with other drugs. This includes over-the-counter purchases such as sleeping pills and cold or cough medicines. Alcohol should be avoided while taking certain antibiotics, arthritic drugs, anti-depressants and many other prescriptions. Check with your physician or pharmacy before you drink while on any medication.
6. Know your limit on how much wine and alcohol you can handle without losing control.
Most people know that no more than a drink or two an hour will keep them in control of the situation and avoid drunkenness. The strength of a drink varies dramatically, depending on what you are drinking. So make sure you know how many units are in your drink. A 750ml bottle of table wine (12% vol) has eight to nine units.
7. Make sure that drinking improves social relationships, rather than impairing them through inappropriate behaviours.
8. Wine should be consumed slowly to enhance the taste of food and to add to the enjoyment of everyday living. If you drink quickly a glass of wine for the alcohol effect, you are losing the pleasure of drinking, namely tasting and smelling the various flavours. This is particularly true for fine wine.
9. Society and parents must take a more active role in teaching young people about responsible drinking customs so they are prepared to make informed choices. Parents who drink should drink sensibly, presenting themselves as examples of moderation. Underage people should not be encouraged to drink.
10. Keep yourself hydrated. Drink water regularly whilst you?re out drinking and also when you get home, and try alternating each alcoholic drink with a glass of water. Both are good ways of cutting down your chances of a hangover.
11. When drinking wine, go for a small or medium glass instead of a large. Many people do not realise that there can be over three units in a large glass of wine!
12. Avoid drinking if you drive and ? in any case ? never exceed the Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) limits legally established for drivers. Make sure everyone can get home safely with a driver, who specifically avoided drinking or use reliable public transport or a taxi ? especially if you think someone?s had too much and they are over the drink/drive limit.
As the wine revolution gains even more ground and more studies are performed, the benefits of wine may continue to be increasingly known, pouring good health on all who consume it. Drinking a moderate amount of alcohol will not do you any physical or psychological harm. However, the total picture is complex and both the costs and the benefits are not easy to quantify. It is difficult to lay down strict guidelines as to what constitutes ?moderate consumption?. It will depend on your age, size, sex and health, how and when you consume alcohol, as both the speed of consumption and whether you?re eating will affect how alcohol is absorbed by the body. For some people, social drinking can lead to heavier drinking, which can cause serious health problems. If consumed in excess, alcoholic beverages increase the exposure to a wide range of risk factors whereby the risk rises with the amount of alcohol consumed. Thus, it is crucial to prevent abusive consumption and the wine sector is committed to doing so. Any measures taken to prevent wine abuse should not punish millions of wine lovers who drink sensibly and benefit from moderate drinking. Manufacturers and retailers, governments, local and health authorities, health professionals and interested citizen groups should all work together to find common ground and ways of promoting responsible behaviour, so that you never have to feel sorry for what has happened while you were drinking.
Please note: Nothing in this article should be construed as individual medical advice. For specific recommendations regarding alcohol consumption, consult your physician.
Wine News and Information
. During the 58th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Enology and Viticulture, two of speakers presented the results of their research on electronic nose evaluation of grapes and wine. Ahmad Athamneh, of Virginia Polytechnic Institute, remarked: ?Choosing harvest dates is one of the most critical decisions made by winemakers?. Conventional testing methods for maturity, however, are not always reliable. ?There?s a need for an optimum technique for evaluating maturity,? he said.
Athamneh and his team used an electronic device called the Cyranose 320 ? a polymer-based system small enough to be used in the vineyard ? to compare results with those obtained through traditional testing methods, including Brix and pH measurement.
The Cyranose uses 32 sensors, each with different sensitivity to different aromas, to evaluate maturity with a single measurement. Athamneh tested it in 2005 and 2006 as a tool to quickly evaluate Cabernet Sauvignon grapes for maturity and found that, ?The results demonstrate the superiority of the e-nose over conventional methods?. Among the device?s advantages, he concluded, is the fact that it is faster, more economical and less destructive than conventional testing methods. With partial funding from the Virginia Wine Board, Athamneh plans to continue his research, expanding it to additional cultivars.
. Amalia Berna, of CSIRO Food Futures Flagship in Australia , gave a second e-nose presentation. Her goals were to predict the quality of wine, and to detect contaminants and off-flavours at an early stage. The device used was the AlphaMos Fox 3000, which was tested on samples from five different regions in Australia with varying climates. Berna?s research compared gas chromatography/mass spectrometry with the e-nose, which showed good results in identifying volatile compounds in Cabernet Sauvignon grapes. She found that the e-nose gave ?excellent predictions? for hot climate regions, but misclassified some mild-climate samples.
. As wine consumption in the United States reached an all-time high in 2007, wine producers celebrated the long-awaited arrival of a ?wine culture? in America . However, according to an 18-month study commissioned by Constellation Wines U.S., a large segment of the consumer population is still ?overwhelmed? by wine. The new study examined the purchases of 10,000 premium-wine consumers ? defined as those who purchased wine priced at $5 and higher ? over an 18-month period.
The study measured consumer attitudes and purchase behaviour within multiple purchase channels, including warehouse clubs, supermarkets, mass merchandisers, drug stores, liquor stores and wine shops. The scan data were supplemented with online interviews. Consumers were classified in segments such as: Enthusiasts, Image Seekers, Savvy Shoppers, Traditionalists, Satisfied Sippers and Overwhelmed and the following results were recorded:
Overwhelmed (23% of consumers)
* Overwhelmed by sheer volume of choices on store shelves
* Like to drink wine, but do not know what kind to buy and may select by label
* Looking for wine information in retail settings that?s easy to understand
* Open to advice, but frustrated when there is no one in the wine section to help
* If information is confusing, they will not buy anything at all.
Image Seekers (20% of consumers)
* View wine as a status symbol
* Are just discovering wine and have a basic knowledge of it
* Like to be the first to try a new wine, and are open to innovative packaging
* Prefer Merlot as their No. 1 most-purchased variety
* Use the Internet as key information source, including checking restaurant wine lists before dining out so they can research scores
Traditionalist (16% of consumers)
* Enjoy wines from established wineries
* Think wine makes an occasion more formal, and prefer entertaining friends and family at home to going out
* Like to be offered a wide variety of well-known national brands
* Won?t often try new wine brands
* Shop at retail locations that make it easy to find favourite brands.
Savvy Shoppers (15% of consumers)
* Enjoy shopping for wine and discovering new varietals on their own
* Have a few favourite wines to supplement new discoveries
* Shop in a variety of stores each week to find best deals, and like specials and discounts
* Are heavy coupon users, and know what?s on sale before they walk into a store
* Typically buy a glass of the house wine when dining out, due to the value.
Satisfied Sippers (14% of consumers)
* Don?t know much about wine, just know what they like to drink
* Typically buy the same brand ? usually domestic ? and consider wine an everyday beverage
* Don?t enjoy the wine-buying experience, so buy 1.5L bottles to have more wine on hand
* Second-largest category of warehouse shoppers, buying 16% of their wine in club stores
* Don?t worry about wine and food pairing
* Don?t dine out often, but likely to order the house wine when they do.
Enthusiasts (12% of consumers)
* Entertain at home with friends, and consider themselves knowledgeable about wine
* Live in cosmopolitan centres, affluent suburban spreads or comfortable country settings
* Like to browse the wine publications, and are influenced by wine ratings and reviews
* 47% buy wine in 1.5L size as ?everyday wine? to supplement their ?weekend wine?
* 98% buy wine over $6 per bottle, which accounts for 56% on a volume basis.
With the highest percentage of consumers falling into the ?overwhelmed? category, Leslie Joseph, Constellation?s vice president of consumer research affairs, commented: ?We need to do a better job as an industry of helping these people understand what a wine?s going to taste like?. Joseph also pointed out that the industry also needs to pay more attention to ?traditionalist? consumers, who tend to prefer established wine brands. ?It?s perhaps not the most exciting segment to be talking about for sommeliers or retailers,? she said, ?but it?s very important to keep these consumers in mind.?
Monolithos Winery News
Farming is a seasonal business. Everything you do during wintertime is dependent on what Mother Nature is going to throw your way. All you can do is react, and organise yourself so that all tasks can be performed and the vineyard is ready for revival at spring.
It is in winter that the yearly cycle begins. The vines have two tasks to complete prior to winter. The first is to store nutrients in the roots and trunk for bud break in spring. The second is to complete the transformation of the tender green skin on this year's growth to hard bark to protect the vine and nascent fruit from freezing winter temperatures. Depending on weather, dormancy may settle sometimes in December and the plants? energy will be moved to the roots to wait for spring.
In winter, wine resembles the vines from which it came: it too is dormant, quietly clarifying, pulling to the bottom the yeast and sediment from the fall winemaking. Slow crystallization of the excess acidity occurs in the chill of winter, a process that softens wine for its future consumption. During November, we transfer (rack) wines from one tank to another and remove the unwanted sediments. We also initiate the blending of our reds, tasting the young whites and preparing for bottling. This time of the year we bring out in the market most of last years red wines which have aged for over six months in the bottles and are now mellow and smooth, ready for consumption.
If at any time you are passing near the village of Pachna and wish to visit the winery or sample any of our wines, Martin Wood will be pleased to meet and assist you at his ?Fig Tree Villa? in Pachna, so do not hesitate to phone him at 25816212 or 99165995.
Regards from all of us here at Monolithos and always remember:
"Wine is like music ? you may not know what is good, but you know what you like!"
Justin Meyer
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