Dionysos - my kinda guy!

My loyal reader will surely know that I am devoted to wine, its appreciation and responsible consumption; before you rush to write in remind me I will also admit to the occasional irresponsibility in my long love affair with wine. It is, you may also think, natural that I should have an interest in and affinity with the ancient god of wine and winemaking, Dionysos, though his alleged religious ecstasy and ritual madness capers I have so far left to others. Predictably, then, I would have sought to join a wine and food appreciation society with the modest name 'The Friends of Dionysos' if such a thing existed; it did and I did. For many years this has also been the Greek arm of the International Academy of Gastronomy, a bright beacon promoting quality in food and wine locally, and everything to do with Greek food and wine internationally through the auspices of the IAG.

While I am not easily convinced to respect and worship deities of any shape and size, Dionysos comes as close as any in earning my admiration - this was a god who promoted making and drinking wine, for crying out loud - and I regularly worship at his altar, figuratively speaking. My offerings may not always be to Dionysos' high standards - not that he ever had a manifesto along those lines as far as I am aware - but I can only assume that a god isn't a great fan of 'house wines'. So it was a great relief to take part in a dinner as a member of his 'Friends' featuring some quite outstanding wines that I suspect even Zeus would have been grateful to drink. Not only that, but I was asked to present a red wine from one of my favourite grape varieties (Xynomavro=sour black) from the north of Greece (Naoussa area)and a top, if major, producer, Boutari.

Let me also mention here that in recent years I have come to appreciate and support Schumacher's 'Small is Beautiful' mantra in many ways despite having written a paper decrying it at college, though my interest now is not in industrial producers but in food and/or wine and those involved in the production thereof. Usually big producers in this area tend to make industrial, less than distinguished or interesting, products that may be reliable but are often boring and lack passion, though there are rare exceptions. Boutari is one such mainstream beast, with a basic line-up of wines that are decent and even exciting; they also make a few experimental cuvees that can border on the great, even if some do not quite make the grade into regular production for whatever reason.

On a windy September evening then we kicked off with a blanc-des-noirs white wine from the north of Greece, made from the xynomavro grape (Angel's Heart 2014) and a very good producer (Tatsis in Goumenissa). Distinguished and subtle peaches featured with a layered palate, this was a gorgeous mouthful that accompanied our starter of feta, courgette and tomato tart extremely well.

'My' wine was another xynomavro wine, fully red this time, the Boutari Legacy 1879 from the excellent 2007 vintage. An experimental xynomavro wine from their Terroir No.1 - the 1879 refers to the year the Boutari company was founded, incidentally, not the vintage - that was vinified and bottled separately to Terroirs No.2 and 3. A big, tannic wine softened by bottle age, black cherry and strawberry everywhere, complex and long but perhaps lacking a bit of finesse. And I cheated and secretly tried one of the other experimental wines, Terroir 2 perhaps, which had the finesse lacking from the previous one with all the class and even more complexity. These are world-class wines deserving a wider audience and are wonderful with roast meat of almost any kind, including the pork fillet served on the night.

The wine of the evening for me, though, was the Santorini 2008 from Sigalas, served from magnums... wow! The signature Santorini white wine freshness is no longer there, but sedate maturity has given the wine a complexity and depth of taste, including mineral undertones, that is quite extraordinary. As the future of Santorini viticulture and winemaking is becoming more secure through international recognition and the higher prices these gems now command, they are, alas, becoming less affordable for the rest of us. So enjoy them where and when you can and try ageing them a bit if at all possible, even if only to see (and taste!) the difference. The Greek cheeses served with this were decent if not quite up to the majesty of the wine.

The dessert (a peach and caramel mille-feuille) was paired with an aged tsipouro distillate from the Spyropoulos family on the island of Evia (Euboea), described as a grape marc and blending almonds caramel tones with fiery alcohol for a fitting combination and an end to the meal that Dionysos himself I'm sure would have approved of. The lack of religious ecstasy and ritual madness he may have found less agreeable, which goes to show you can't please everyone, including gods of all shapes and sizes; the actual attendees seemed pretty happy, though, at another unique event hosted by his friends.

Dionysos himself must have been quite pleased also, as I had no hangover in the morning despite my extensive devotional attention to the offerings. In grateful thanks I will continue my appreciation of all wine - praise be to Dionysos and all his friends.