Steven Kolpan has writtten an informative and most useful article on Greek wines at Salon.com
“Greek Wines ditch their tragic past” read it > http://www.salon.com/food/2010/01/28/kolpan_greek_wine_ext2010/print.html
Article in the International Herald Tribune about white wines in Greece:
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/08/08/arts/trwine.php
Open Doors – every year this wine event takes place in the area of a different city
This year, in fact 17-18 May weekend, in the areas around Athens. From 1100 hours in the morning to 1800 (6PM) each evening.
Free visits, tours, special offers and delights at Wineries around Athens.
Most important – the map> http://www.enoaa.gr/xartis_dr1a1.pdf
One of the estates – for information: http://www.semeliwines.com (one of the best of the bunch for visitors). But be sure to look at the winery in Stamata (not Nemea which is further away in the Peloponnese)
For details (in Greek): http://www.enoaa.gr
WINE
Today ( June 22 ) and tomorrow, many will sip wine and taste many varieties at the Rethymna Beach Hotel along Rethymno’s golden stretch of sand.
A wine festival will part the buckets and spades and make way for a tranquil drink or two.
FERRIES
Meanwhile we wait for – or rather some who wish to visit Greece – wait for many of the ferry routes\’ schedules to be confirmed for September.
They will be (published) one day – but as is the rule when you combine our ferry companies with a shipping and tourism bureaucracy which seems to live in (wish they did) another world…..the country that so many in the world wish to visit cannot seem to manage (so far) to help them plan a trip to the magical Greek islands unless they plan (Greek-style) one day ahead…and no more than that!
Apart from http://www.CreteTravel.com/ferries you can always look at ferries.gr or gtp.gr for as much information as is currently available…
But we know everything is improving in Greece, everything and we insist that this continues. You will never stop a good thing!
We await the mass exodus of the “public sector people” to the aforementioned other world – then boy oh boy, will we see a country!
Kalimera Ellada!
Agios Nikolaos is on a beautification binge…smartening the main Eleftherios Venizelos square and approaching roads. Unsightly cables have been committed to below-ground, where they really do belong!
Nykterida – the long-famed restaurant where I would love to be able to say “my great friend and colleague Sir Winston Churchill” (alas we did Not meet ! ) , apparently dined and enjoyed a cigar as usual – still sits aloft Souda bay on the piddly and insufficient road from Chania to the airport.
The restaurant is poised above the water, offering welcome views night and day.
Nykterida’s oven cooked lamb with many supporting ingredients, a rewardingly tasty eggplant dish with hints of bacon, wonderful cold salads, pork rolled with cheese and vegetables, smoked pork, all were healthy, wholesome pleasure. Lubricated with a 2000 Nemea from the boys at Skouras which scores an 8.5 out of ten on my red wines list (rich, without tannin dryness, silky without over suddsiness, fruity without bringing one fruit too much to mind and totally pleasing to mouth and palate) .
Also welcome on a chilly night was that the restaurant had heard of heating and was warm and cosy. Though they need to add this comfort level, I am told, to the ladies toilets which were all about refrigeration !
A simple change that would bring many more welcome visitors and guests to Crete – will be unilateral warmth – cafes and restaurant owners take note – in winter, indoors!
From our view of the snow-coated White Mountains of Crete, to you all over the world with warm wishes and greetings.