A Greek Evening at Krasi
This past week we were so inspired by Greek wine after an incredible meal at the new Greek restaurant, Krasi located in Back Bay in Boston. (The insanely amazing and well-curated wine list is a reason to go just in itself.) Seated outside on their cozy patio, we enjoyed warm Tiropita rolls served with a whipped, salty halloumi spread and mixed olives. This was followed by a cheese course including Graviera, a hard sheep’s milk cheese with notes of cashews and honey. We paired these starters with Tatsis Malagousia, a luscious white wine from Macedonia. This organic Malagousia is citrus-forward with herbaceous notes that reminded us of basil.
A favorite small plate of the evening was the Pantzaria, a dish of sea-salted, roasted beets and a decadent black garlic and nut spread called Skordalia. The lively acidity from a table side pour of the Troupis ‘Hoof & Lur’ orange wine further flattered this veggie dish. From Peloponnese, the southernmost region of Greek mainland, ‘Hoof & Lur’ is made from the Moschofilero grape which was soaked on its grape skins for 3 months to impart a vibrant, blood orange hue; it’s currently one of our favorite orange wines that we sell at the shop!
Greek wines can pair to a whole assortment of dishes; the white wines tend to be aromatic and salty, and reds usually lean towards being fuller bodied and hearty with big tannins. A boutique winery that we love is Tetramythos located in north Peloponnese. Brothers and business partners, Aristides and Stathios Panos, opened Tetramythos in 1999, and today manage a 14-hectare mountainous vineyard that grows indigenous and international grape varieties. In 2007 huge forest fires devastated the winery, but they bravely rebuilt and moved forward. All of their wine is made as naturally as possible from organically grown grapes. We carry their easy-drinking Tetramythos Roditis and Tetramythos Agiorgitiko. The white Roditis grape has origins that date back to the 1st century, and Agiorgitiko is one of Greece’s most important red varieties. The Roditis was fermented with indigenous yeasts and went through malolactic fermentation, to add a silkier body to this pretty white. It has vibrant acidity and notes of melon and mandarin orange. Tetramythos Agiorgitiko is a bit spicy and has a dried cherry flavor that pairs superbly to Giouvestsi, lamb osso buco atop ripe tomatoes and buttery orzo, also on the menu at Krasi.
Another Greek red that’s fantastic year after year is the Thymiopoulos ‘Young Vines’ Xinomavro. Xinomavro translates to ‘acid black’ and is found mostly in Naoussa, a prestigious wine region within the northern area of Macedonia in Greece. The Thymiopoulos family has owned vineyards in Naoussa for several generations, and until recently, the family sold their grapes instead of making their own wine until Apostolos Thymiopoulos, a graduate with an oenology degree from the University of Athens, started his family’s own wine label in 2004. Apostolos’ Xinomavro is reminiscent of young Barolo or Nebbiolo with aromas of roses and sweet tobacco, full-tannins like fully steeped black tea, and lingering, bright acidity.
At Krasi, we finished the evening with chilled Barbayanni ‘Aphrodite’ Ouzo paired to fresh-from-the-oven almond cookies, Amygdalot, with tahini and cherry dipping sauces. Thank you to the servers and chefs at Krasi, for such an authentic, delicious Greek experience and blessings to Dionysus, Greek God of grapes, abundance, and harvest!
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