Drinking the layman’s wine

Sept. 26, I was transported to Greece through a wine selection from the store, Mas Vino. The store on Hallandale Beach offered a wine class on Greek wines, hosted by George Spiliadis from Estiatorio Milos Restaurant. Estiatorio Milos is a well-known worldwide restaurant, with its newest location in Miami.

I became familiar with Greece by taking “History of Wine” last fall with William Hebrank, adjunct lecturer for the Chaplin School of Hospitality and Tourism Management. According to Hebrank, the Greeks were the first ones responsible for making wine popular and available to the masses. Prior to that, wine was considered only a beverage of the privileged, such as queens or kings. Previously, ale was the choice for the layman.

 I became enchanted with the tales Hebrank shared of ancient gods and wine. My favorite was of Dionysus, also known as Bacchus, which in modern Roman society is considered the god of wine, harvest and fertility. Dionysus, a woman’s god, let them free by consuming this miracle beverage, wine. It took them out of their daily misery; life was rough in those days and women were slaves to their men. Dionysus was their unique release. Wine then transformed into the layman’s drink, not like in Egypt where it was reserved for religious purposes for the aristocracy.

Wine made civilization more civil and less barbaric when they needed to leave the nomadic life to cultivate crops. The grape vines found the perfect location on the rocky-mountains of Greece, where it was hard to plant anything else besides olives. Having that advantage, as well being surrounded by water, trade came easily as soon as they saw the opportunity of having wine as a commodity – better wines started to be produced and demand increased. Finally, Greece had a product with which to compete in the trade market besides olive oil.

With that, geographical and social expansion accelerated together with the exchange of ideas reaching Italy and France. Wine as we see today is a direct result from Greece, where the democratization of this fermented grape juice passed from a culture monopolized by few to a culture where wine was embraced by many.

The first wine tasting in the course was a 2009 vintage from Malagousia grape variety, the producer is Domain Gerovassiliou from a specific region in Greece called Epanomi. It was a yellow pale gold, with a medium to light body, fresh and floral on the nose with characteristic flavors of melon and pineapple; its finish was medium to light with a very delicate note of minerality and a well balanced acidity. It would match perfectly with a grilled fish and mango salad. The average price is $18 with a 13.5 percent of alcohol.

The second wine tasted was a 2010 Gaia Rose from Agiorgitiko grape variety, from the Driopi and Nemea regions of Greece. This red grape variety usually is used for making both white and red varieties.

To produce this wine, the red skin must stay in contact with the juice to give it a nice pink color; specifically it had an enticing candy-like color. This wine had scents of cherry and gooseberry, light body and a refreshing acidity on its short finish. It would be a lovely pair with cold plates and dips. The average price is $14.

The third wine was a 2007 red wine from the Greek region Nemea and Driopi. This wine was aged in new French oak for 10 months before being bottled; it had the wine tones of toast which added a unique body to the wine. This wine was my favorite due to its different layers of balanced characteristics. An outstanding medium to long finish, with scents of raspberry and plum, it had hints of chocolate and black pepper. This wine was powerful, but extremely well balanced with its acidity and tannin. It would pair lovely with a grilled lamb and the average price is $18.

– Daniela Walter is a Teaching Assistant to professors Chip Cassidy and Bill Hebrank of the Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism Management.