July 2004 : Forget Bacchus... all hail Dionysus!

The 9th edition of Oenorama – the Greek National Wine Show – was held from 12 – 14 March earlier this year and attracted over 10,000 visitors. What a turnaround! Just a few short years ago hardly anyone had a good word to say about Greek wines. It’s very different today. Once again, new investment in old traditional wine-making areas has improved the quality of the wines.

When you consider wine was made in Greece before the 6th century BC (actual paintings exist from this period depicting the vine), there can be no doubt about the Greek traditions of wine making.

At the moment exports are low, but are improving rapidly. Greek production is modest – around 3 million hectolitres. Greece produces less than Hungary and Austria, and a mere fraction of France, Italy or Spain each of whose annual output exceeds 40 million!

Whilst consumers prefer the familiar international grapes (Merlot, Cab Sav, Chardonnay etc) – and these are indeed planted in Greece – the growers are very wise in my opinion by promoting and growing their own indigenous grapes, of which there are over 300!

As readers are well aware, I am very much in favour of wines made from non-familiar grape varieties. The range of Greek wines is excellent – well made whites and reds – great variety of tastes and a lovely range of dessert wines too. All made with the accent on reasonable prices. You wouldn’t be surprised therefore that five Gold Medals were awarded at the Oenorama show!

The Academy is off to Greece Whitsun holiday 2005 – for a week of island hopping, visiting wineries, eating and drinking and visiting many cultural sites. If you’re interested in joining us, visit our site.

Happy & Healthy Drinking!
Kenneth Harry Putt

This Month's Recipe : Butterflied leg of Lamb marinated in Oregano and Paprika

'Butterflied' leg of lamb really means 'boned and flattened' in the simplest way. This is an idea dish for a barbecue, although you could griddle the meat as well, but you may end up with a rather smoky kitchen! Your butcher will be able to 'butterfly' the meat for you.

The meat is marinated for a good 12 hours to really soak up the flavours and to also tenderise the meat. Spring lamb is plentiful at the moment, with its lovely light pink meat which is very tender. A whole leg roughly (depending on size) will feed around six people. The cooking only takes around 15-20mins as it is best served still pink and juicy. Delicious with hot roasted new potatoes and salads, this makes quite a nice change to sausages and burgers.

Ingredients:

1 butterflied leg of lamb
6 cloves of garlic crushed
1 bunch (packet) oregano chopped finely
3 tsp paprika
4 sprigs rosemary 2 chopped and 2 broken into half each
Malden salt and pepper
olive oil

Method:

Place the meat into a glass dish, big enough for the meat to spread out. This will make sure that that all the meat will be evenly marinated. Mix together in another bowl, the garlic, oregano, paprika, chopped rosemary, a few turns of the pepper grinder, 2 pinches of salt and enough olive oil to 'moisten ' the meat - a few tablespoons.

Mix well together and the pour over the meat. The best way to rub in the marinate is to get your hands stuck in! Really mix the marinade all over, under and around to make sure that it is really evenly spread. 'Massaging the meat' is a good way to describe it! Once done, place the rosemary pieces over and in-between the meat, wrap in cling film and leave in the fridge for at least 12 hours - overnight is ideal.

When ready to cook, make sure your barbecue is hot. Rub over a little more olive oil to moisten and put it skin-side down first on the barbecue. Do not move or prod the meat for a good 7 mins. Once this time is up, carefully loosen off from the bottom and flip over to cook the other side. You can test with a knife to see how cooked it is getting, but after another 7- 8 mins it should be pink inside with juices running. If the meat is thick it will take longer but just keep on checking. Once cooked, take off the barbecue and leave to rest on a board for 5 minutes.

To serve, carve the meat down lengthwise so that you get 'strips' of meat which are then served to your guests. Delicious - and lovely cold if there is any left over (which quite frankly, I doubt!)

Enjoy!