Wine ChroniclesDéjà Vu: Fine cuisine and wine in Athens
Posted on October 7, 2017
Vassilenas Restaurant
7 October 2017
By Panos Kakaviatos for Wine-Chronicles
You know you are in a fine Greek restaurant when the Taramosalata rivals – Heaven Forbid – your Greek mother’s prized recipe.
At Vassilenas Restaurant in Athens, I savored just such a smooth texture, purity of salty roe, accentuated by seamlessly blended lemon. Very thin pita slices maximized the taste bud contact of the Taramosalata, much like the finest crystal wine glass enables the greatest possible palate feel for the wine.
Taramosalata that rivals mom’s
It reminded me vaguely of another wonderful Taramosalata experience that I had enjoyed a few years back, with Konstantinos Lazarakis MW, in Piraeus.
Back then, Konstantinos had organized a tremendously useful blind tasting of many Greek white and red wines: a crash course, if you will, which I will never forget as an exceptional educational experience. We then went to a taverna restaurant in Piraeus called 1920, where the food was so savory and delicious that I have always told people to go there, when in Athens/Piraeus.
Flash forward to this year. Dimitra Arida, communications manager for Vassilenas Restaurant – which recently moved from Piraeus to Athens – invited me to dinner in late September.
Dimitra Arida, communications manager for Vassilenas Restaurant, showing off older times!
Over dinner, Dimitra explained how the establishment had enjoyed a great reputation as a high-end Greek taverna since the early 20th century – drawing in celebrity guests from Winston Churchill to Maria Callas. The reputation was built primarily on the quality of the seafood and fish, but also on the general vision of the Vassilenas family to only use the freshest of ingredients.
Current owner and third generation of the family, Thanasis Vassilenas, recently hired chef Manolis Garnelis, Dimitra explained, for the move to Athens: Manolis had cooked at well-known restaurants such as Aleria and at the Michelin-starred Varoulko, where he stayed for four years. His deep knowledge of fish and seafood earned him a rightful place as chef in the Vassilenas kitchen, since the restaurant moved to Athens in December last year. Read More
Pleasing all senses
Posted on June 25, 2017
Lunch at Le Chapon Fin
By Panos Kakaviatos for wine-chronicles.com
25 June 2017
I recently revisited Le Chapon Fin, a legendary restaurant in Bordeaux. A few years back, I had attended a Vinexpo dinner with some fine wines, and loved the food. But during the week of this year’s Vinexpo, I was invited to lunch with a dear friend who works in wine tourism: Diana Verneau, of Secrets de Châteaux in Bordeaux.
Many thanks to Sylvie Cazes of Bordeaux Saveurs for the invitation to lunch.
The overall ambiance is sumptuous, with a unique touch, which I will explain later. The names of some famous former regulars are on medallions in the restaurant, including painter Toulouse-Lautrec and actress Sarah Bernhardt, politicians Georges Clémenceau and Aristide Briand. Read More
Vinexpo 2017 ends, with strong Chinese and US presence
Posted on June 22, 2017
Press Release – 22 June 2017 Read More
“Fine flowering” cause for hope in Bourgogne
Posted on June 20, 2017
News from the BIVB – 20 June 2017
No two years are the same in the Bourgogne winegrowing region. After fast flowering, which was over by mid-June, even in those areas that tend to tardiness, any fears about springtime frosts were soon a “distant memory” according to a press release from the Bourgogne Wine Council today.
Now hopes are high for a fabulous harvest. Even the Chablis region, which suffered the effects of frost at the end of April, is in a much better place than it was at this time in 2016.
Flowering is finished across the Bourgogne region, with only a few days required for the vines to move from first flowers to producing fruit. With favorable weather conditions, sunshine and heat alternating with short spring showers, the vines were left to follow their growth cycle at a good pace, without hindrance.
On average, flowering reached mid-point by the first week in June. Read More
Saint Emilion Multiplex 2016
Posted on June 14, 2017
By Panos Kakaviatos for wine-chronicles.com
14 June 2017
Saint Emilion tends to be rather heterogenous in quality in any vintage. Given its size, variations in terroir and in style. Sure, a recent trend towards high alcohol and high extraction of tannin is (thankfully) dissipating.
Estates like Pavie Macquin and Larcis Ducasse, for example, are being made in somewhat fresher styles, and I liked both as nothing short of excellent in 2016. Seek them out!
It was a superb year for Cabernets – both Franc and Sauvignon. So, naturally, many Right Bank wines with Cabernet Franc tended to do well: see Figeac for example as one of the top wines of the vintage.
But the vintage is not so simply explained. Many Merlot-dominated blends are downright delicious from barrel.
Gorgeous photo of Saint Emilion evening shot as featured photo: by Miguel Lecuona.
Wines I like in bold. When red and bold, even more. When underlined, too? A kind of barrel tasting nirvana.
Favorites for price/quality ratios? Berliquet, Grand Mayne, Sansonnet, Yon-Figeac
Château Berliquet – Lovely cool blueberry and blackberry fruit. The tannins are foreboding, and the finish a bit tight, but this is promising. Give it time in barrel. The price should not be too onerous. 90-93 Read More
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