Opa! or, Keeping an Open Mind

Some of the best moments for me as a wine professional come when expectations about wine—mine or someone else’s—are shattered (in a good way!). Like when I pour at tastings and consumers tell me that they “don’t really like white wine” but they’ll try this one, ‘cause they’re already here…and then they love it. Or when I serve a wine and someone asks me where they can get it and how much it costs, and they’re shocked that the bottle cost only twelve or fifteen dollars.

My own expectations get shattered, too, and that’s one of the reasons I love working with a dynamic product, an agricultural product that depends on the weather, the land, and the right blend of tradition and innovation in order to be interesting, or any good. I mentioned my pleasant surprise at enjoying a California Syrah a few months ago. I’ve recently tasted some Austrian wine that I’m now dying to build a meal around (who knew?).

Recently, I was put in my place by some outstanding Greek wine. Yes, Greek. Not the kind you get from a mysteriously un-labeled container at your local “blue and white,” (Yanni’s Gyros, or the local Greek-run diner, as good as their breakfasts may be). I’m talking about premium wine, from indigenous Greek grapes, that hold their own against many wines from better known and more popular regions. I certainly tasted wines that made my mouth water for some roasted lamb, or grilled chicken kebabs with a hearty hummus, but the Greek wines I tasted would also pair really well with other foods—seafood, Asian or Indian food, summer backyard barbecues, you name it. I tasted a wine that would cellar just as well as any hearty red Rhone, and I tasted a Greek-made Syrah that, frankly, blew the socks off of anything from Australia in its price range.

I was deftly guided through these wines by a fabulous Greek-American woman who worked for the importer. She gave me a brief but helpful introduction to Greek wine grapes and regions (most of which are so difficult to pronounce that I can’t even remember the names), and walked me through about 8 Greek wines that cost anywhere from $10-$40 retail. I unfortunately do not have my tasting notes with me at the moment, but when I can, I will update this posting with the names, prices, and notes on some of my favorites. I encourage—challenge—you to try them. They should be available at any restaurant that claims to have a broad, global wine list; here in Seattle, you may find some at Earth and Ocean or, I believe, Wild Ginger. Go for it.