Mantineia in February....

Saturday, February 23, 2013

The clouds were low and there was still snow on the mountain tops.
....is hibernating.  The trees, the fields, the vineyards are sleeping, feeling and accepting the rain that falls abundantly.

At 600m above sea level, the Mantineia Plateau is surrounded by mountains. Mainalo on the west, Lirkeon on the northeast and Artemisio on the east.

It was a day-trip organised by my friend and teacher in my Sommelier training course, that brought me and a few others to this fertile plateau in central eastern Peloponnese. 

We were looking for wine. We found plenty and a few more "treats" along the way...


The church of Agia Foteini, Greece's most "unorthodox" Orthodox church.


Agia Foteini was built between 1970 and 1973 by the visionary architect Kostas Papatheodorou. Its architecture is an imposing melange of styles. Ancient Greek stone pillars and pediments resting on Byzantine arches made from marble, stone and tiles. 

Every material used to built Agia Foteini was procured locally. There is not even an ounce of concrete in the whole structure.

Ancient Greek fables and Greek Orthodox icons live together inside the church.



Moschofilero, one of Greece's most famous, indigenous varieties reigns supreme in Mantineia. The whole area has a PDO classification. Lemony yellow, fresh with crisp acidity and laced with intense lemon, lychee and even rose petal aromas it quickly became one of my favourite wines.

High altitude is unforgiving to the vines. Late October harvests give the grapes enough time to mature while keeping their crisp acidity and their characteristic rose petal and citrus aroma.

On this rainy February day we visited the vineyards and winery of Domaine Spiropoulos and were treated to a tour and a generous wine tasting by Mr Ioannis Spiropoulos.
Moschofilero is also vinified in the traditional Champenoise method, yielding delicate sparkling whites and roses with titillating acidity and an exotic, fresh nose.   








Maria against Time and the Quince of Change

Saturday, February 16, 2013



The battle of all battles and I am loosing; big time! I haven't been able to post for more than a month.

Ideas I have, a lot! There has been a lot of wine; events I attended and loved; even food I cooked, ate and enjoyed alone or with friends!

What I'm lacking is TIME and maybe a whole lot of discipline.  The first, I can't fight; I don't think anyone can. The second...no comment... Discipline and I are complete strangers; I could not describe how it feels, tastes or smells even if my life depended on it!

My posts are getting fewer and fewer every month and despite my best intentions  it seems I'm going to have to settle. I hate "settling" as much as I hate change - a bit of a contradiction here, I know. Yet another issue to be discussed by me and an army of licensed professionals!! Come to think of it, though, settling seems to be the devil child of the ever-hating change. Does it make any sense  No? OK! I won't argue any more. Too much precious energy wasted on "could have-beens and-dones". I admit defeat and move on. One to two posts per month until things change .... again...oooof does it ever stop??


To sweeten the pill and make you forget my previous ramblings  I am going to share with you a very special recipe.

I am not sure if it is still Quince season where you live (if not, you can pin it and make it when you get your hands on some nice quinces!!). Here in Athens we seem to have a lot available at the moment. For the past few weeks my M-I-L  has been making this extra special desert for us.

Pay attention please. Quince, cooked long and slow in sugar and spices. It simply does not get better than this... The texture of the fruit is smooth and so comforting! Such a transformation from  its angry, raw, astringent personality. The long and slow cooking appeases it, alleviating its harsh character; the spices, blessed by time, infuse the fruit with sweet, soothing, aromas and flavours. In less than 90 minutes the perfect transformation occurs. 

You gotta love quince; they respond to change admirably


~~~~~~~
Long & Slow Sweet and Spice Quince
Serves 4 - 6
Cooking time 60 - 90 minutes
Ingredients
3 quince, washed, peeled and cut into large pieces *keep the seeds*
1 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 cup water
5 cinnamon sticks
15 - 20 cloves
Procedure
Put the water, sugar, quince seeds (they are the ones that have all the pectin which will give us a nice light syrup), cloves and cinnamon sticks in a large, deep pan or pot (that has a cover) on medium to high heat. Add the quince. Make sure that the pot or pan is large enough so that the majority of the fruit pieces come into some contact with its bottom. 
Turn every piece of fruit two times and then lower the heat! Be careful, when I say low I mean low. It should be just above or the minimum possible depending on your stove!!
Cover then and let them alone for about one (1) hour. Your kitchen is going to smell wonderfully! 
Check to see if they are done by carefully inserting a fork, if they are tender and bright red, then they are ready. If not, don't blame them; they just need some more time and maybe some warm water, if you see that they are struggling in the heat without any liquid left!

After they finish their transformation in the pan they can stand on their own as the dessert du jour or accompanied with a bowl of Greek yoghurt for an even more tantalizing and refreshing flavour experience. 

Enjoy, learn from their transformation and forgive my powerlessness against Time.....