Not Yet, But I Will

This is my week to go Greek.

Only tonight that included a road trip to Williamsburg for a Greek wine tasting and seminar at the Blue Talon Bistro.

I love that drive down Route 5 to the 'burg although today's trip was an up-close look at all the tree damage from the recent storms.

Everywhere trees were down, uprooted or already cut up and sitting near the road's edge.

Twice I got stopped by road crews who had taken the road down to one lane and were directing traffic.

But I didn't mind because it gave me a chance to sit on Route 5, a rarity since there are no lights, and just smell the woods on either side of me.

As pleasant as that was, I was the last one to arrive at the tasting so everyone was already seated at their tables when I walked in.

I didn't feel too bad because I'm betting I had the longest commute. Well, except for the wine guy who'd come from Charlotte.

It's not like every town has a Greek wine pusher apparently.

Taking a seat at a table with six others, I soon learned the answer to the perennial song, "One of these things is not like the other..."

One couple had met and married in Greece 48 years ago when he was working at the embassy.

She, the Greek, was still stunning with thick white hair and a classic profile.

One couple had been to Greece seven times in their 38 years of marriage. "We like to get lost there," he bragged.

Next to me sat a woman who was skipping church choir practice to come with her husband, who was of Greek heritage.

She looked very demure and is no doubt a valuable member of her church and choir, but she cracked me up when she said, "I don't bother with white wines. They're boring. Give me a great big red and I'm happy."

They ordered two and a half cases of wine before leaving. Just saying.

The tables had been laid with platters of cheese, meats and compressed watermelon.

One of the men asked me if I'd been to Greece and I said no.

"Not yet," he corrected me.

We jumped right into the first of three whites with  Petros Honas Dry Muscat "Phelonoe," with a big floral nose but dry as a  bone.

Give me a warm day and a porch and that would be a wine that would go down like water.

Next up was Nikiforou Cellars Moschofilero and since I'd had a Moschofilero just last night, I was one of the very few who could raise their hand when asked who'd had the grape before.

From one noble grape to another, our next pour was a 2007 Hatzidakis Santorini "Barrel Fermented," by far the most complex of the whites and no longer being made to boot.

The island of Santorini turned out to be a favorite place of everyone at the table (although not me yet), but no one knew there were ten wineries there.

Most interestingly, our guide said that the vines of this grape are trained in basket shapes and the grapes grown inside them.

I think I'd make a point to see that if  when I get to Santorini.

Finally it was time to make my seatmate happy with the reds and there were five of them.

There were three from Konstantinos Vineyards: a blend of Cab and Greek Temperanillo and two Cabernet Sauvignons.

It was the last Cab, a 2000 "Anny's Animus" that, because it was priced at $56 a bottle, we all expected to blow us away.

It was nicely tannic and well balanced and tastier than the "Ftelia" at $39, but didn't rock anyone's world, at least at my table.

He of Greek heritage, whose parents had been in the restaurant business, said that his Greek relatives would mock (or backhand) him if he told them he'd paid $56 for a bottle of Greek wine.

Jeez, where's the national pride, people?

My favorite red was the 2005 Mitravelas Estate "Agiorgitiko," a true Mediterranean-style wine that tasted of blueberries, so I couldn't help but love it.

We finished with the Dalamara Xinomavro "Paliokalias" which, had I not already gotten my Wine Century Club certification, would have been a great one to add; it's made with the obscure Xinomavro grape.

By the time we finished tasting the leftovers from my phantom date's pourings, my new friends were assuring me that I'd have no problem finding a husband if I'd just spend a month in Greece.

It does sound like there's something in the wine that makes for long-lasting relationships.

Just in case, I'm drinking up.