When pairing wine with Mediterranean dishes, knowing the basics of wine pairing and the common Mediterranean varieties will help to enhance your meal. The Basics of Wine Pairing The basic theory behind wine pairing is to select flavors that parallel one another. If you are eating strong, flavorful food, you’ll want a strong, flavorful wine to go with it. Alternatively, mild dishes are typically paired with subtle-flavored wines. Rich and savory beef dishes are typically paired with rich, flavorful red wines like cabernets and zinfandels. Creamy pasta dishes like those from Northern Italy benefit from a chardonnay or a sauvignon blanc. Acidic dishes like pasta marinara pair well with wines that are also high in acidity, like a dry riesling or a chianti. Intensely-acidic wines will overpower subtler dishes like fish or alfredo. Always try to match the acidity level of the wine to the acidity in your meal. Red wines contain natural tannins that serve as a palate cleansing astringent.

With white wines, the acidity achieves the same effect. best london wine shopsPalate cleansing wines are meant to rinse the mouth and prepare it to enjoy the next bite.best place to sell wine uk Italy and Greece produce some of the world’s best wines. good cheap red wine grocery storeAmong the best known native Greek-grape varieties are xinomavro (acid black) and agiorgitiko (Saint George). red wine 30 dollarsPopular wines derived from these powerful grapes are Katogi-Strofilia Fresco Averoff Red and Harlaftis Nemea Red Wine.cool wine lover gifts

Quality Italian Reds are chiantis like Antinori Peppoli Chianti Classico, and amarones like Righetti Amarone. best cheap wine targetPopular whites include Stella Pinot Grigio and Saracco Moscato d’Asti.glass of wine benefits Wine and Traditional Mediterranean Disheswine shop red hill To pair wine with Mediterranean cuisine, follow the wisdom of matching lighter fare with white wines or light reds, and heavier food with stronger red wines.the best red wine kits Light salads like Caprese and Cypriot go well with moscatos, or lighter red wines like sangiovese and gamay. Blush wines like reisling and zinfandel are also appropriate choices as they pair well with popular balsamic and oil-based Mediterranean dressings.

Dishes like lamb, beef or veal would go best with a heavy red wine, such as a pinot noir or a merlot. Lighter seafood dishes, such as grilled salmon and lemon over rice, are best accompanied by wine varieties like chardonnay and pinot grigio, which are lighter on the palette. If you prefer white wines over red, there are many Mediterranean seafood dishes that pair well with these.Kamal Kouiri certainly knows his Greek wine. As wine director and general manager of New York City’s famed Molyvos for over a decade, he has put together a list compiling over 400 bottles from 60 grape varietals, representing over 50 of the country’s wineries. Wine Enthusiast has recognized the restaurant as one of the city’s five best wine bars and bestowed Kamal with an Award of Unique Distinction. You don’t have to be well-versed in Greek wine to enjoy it. By keeping in mind a few simple suggestions to test the waters, you can be on your way to being a full-on Greek-wine enthusiast in no time!

I love turning people on to Greek wine. One of the reasons I travel to Greece so frequently is to “hunt down” and discover the most unique and high-quality wines from all over Greece and serve them to our guests at Molyvos. I like to think of our wine list as a passport to Greece: Each region has its own unique terroir, distinct qualities and Greek soul that shine through each sip. First, a little background. The country has been producing wine since ancient times, and it’s always been a consistent staple at any meal, consumed daily. Greek wines were meant to be enjoyed with food — it’s the Greek way. Over the last 15 years, the Greek wine industry has seen tremendous improvement with the modern techniques of viticulture, a focus on indigenous grape varieties and the management of vineyards. The vinification process has also seen tremendous improvement in new and upcoming young winemakers who chose to study all over the world before bringing their skills back home to Greece.

This has resulted in an increase of great and consistent wines. Although Greek wine is still relatively unknown, we’re noticing a change in how it’s being received by our guests at Molyvos and in its availability, as more and more local wine shops are carrying Greek wines in their stores and non-Greek restaurants are offering small selections from some of the bigger producers. Travelers also help put popular destinations like Santorini and Crete on the map, establishing a familiarity with the old wine regions. In addition, the Mediterranean diet — often named one of the healthiest in the world — has been receiving a lot of praise, in relation not only to the foods consumed but also to the overall stress-free lifestyle, which embraces strong familial ties and friendships, exercise and the enjoyment of food, wine and celebration. Now, when you look at a Greek wine list, it can seem intimidating. We try to offer something for every palate, whether it’s your first time trying Greek wine or you’re into finding something truly unique and obscure.

Here’s what you need to know to order something you’ll like. If you typically drink Sangiovese, then try the red grape varietal Agiorgitiko. Gaia Wines makes a great one. It has a deep red-black color, complex aromatic profile, good structure and great volume, with flavors of sweet cherries, licorice and warm spices. It pairs wonderfully with roasted meats. If you enjoy drinking Nebbiolo, the red Italian-wine grape that grows predominately in the Piedmont region, then I’d say try Xinomavro, grown on 90-year-old vines by Alpha Estate in Amyndeon, Florina. The wine exhibits notes of forest berries, leather and spices, with hints of ripe blackberry and vanilla. It has a full mouth, rounded tannins and balanced acidity. Dishes like the traditional moussaka — which incorporates spiced ground lamb and beef, potato, eggplant, pepper and yogurt béchamel — are the perfect match for the flavor profile of this grape. Is Pinot Noir your go-to glass? Then try a Xinomavro Ramnista by Ktima Kir-Yianni, Naoussa in Imathia.

It has flavors of ripe strawberry, cherry and black pepper, and the process of barrel-aging produces hints of licorice, ginger and undertones of vanilla, with robust tannins offering a firm structure and a lingering, fruity finish, making it an excellent pair for red meat and game. Personally, I love to enjoy this Xinomavro with our clay-pot lamb shank that’s served with orzo, tomatoes and Kefalotyri cheese. If you like to drink Albariño from Spain, look no further than Thalassitis, 100 percent Assyrtiko from the volcanic island of Santorini by Gaia Wines. Thalassitis is a bone-dry wine with strong character and a full body. It is well structured with crispy acidity, distinctive minerality and delicate honeysuckle flavors. This wine is best enjoyed with seafood, grilled sea bass or even heartier dishes like roasted lamb. If you like dry wines such as Muscat, try exotic Moschofilero from Mantinia, Peloponnese by Domaine Spiropoulos. Made from USDA organic grapes, this wine has flavors of rosewater, grapefruit and mandarin, along with limestone finishes and nice, fresh acidity.

Enjoy it as a perfect aperitif or as a complement to a sumptuous array of spicy dishes and sushi. If Chardonnay is your jam, try a Chardonnay from Greece! I recommend Ktima Pavlidis Chardonnay from Drama, one of the coolest areas of Greece. A Chardonnay with Greek soul, it is a very elegant wine with great structure, notes of honey, delicate vanilla and hints of oak. It is balanced and finishes crisp, with fresh acidity. Have it with grilled fish, oysters, pastas with cream sauce and a wide variety of fatty cheeses, like Graviera Kristi and Ladotyri from the island of Lesvos. Now that you have some suggestions in your back pocket, I have a few tips for those of you who would like to be extra-adventurous. Here’s what awaits you should you decide to taste some unknown Greek varietals. Each region in Greece produces its own distinct wines, but there are a few areas in particular that I’m keeping a close eye on. The region of Trynavos of Thessaly, particularly the minuscule production of the Limniona grape by Domaine Zafeirakis on the foothills of Mount Olympus, produces terroir-driven wines.

I’ve grown quite impressed with the work of young winemaker Christos Zafeirakis, who took over the family business after completing his studies in Bordeaux and Piedmont in 2004. In no time at all, he has skyrocketed to domestic fame for his expressive, elegant wines and embraced the organic viticulture. I just tasted his 2011 Limniona, and it’s truly splendid. Another lesser-known grape is Savatiano, a typically misunderstood variety of white grape, which grows predominately in the region of Attica. Domaine Papagiannakos at Markopoulo takes a different approach with this indigenous grape, and produces it from a low yield of 50 year-old vines that grow in non-irrigated limestone soil. This produces great lean, fresh Savatiano that is terroir-driven. Our staff is eagerly awaiting his 2014 vintage! The last region that I’ll mention is Amyndeon in Florina, the northwestern part of Greece. This is an ancient wine region that is flourishing thanks to the efforts of winemakers and owners Angelo Iatridis and Makis Mavridis of Alpha Estate.