ISLAND WINE FLIGHTS SAMOS CEPHALONIA LESVOS CRETE PELOPONNESE SANTORINI
Take a break from this chilly winter and immerse yourself in the world of wines from the beautiful Mediterranean islands of Greece. Our Island Flights offer a vast array of wine styles and techniques employed regionally and unique to each island.
Certified sommelier Erica Bernhardt will lead through each offering alongside a suggested food pairing from our meze menu.
WINE REGIONS OF GREECE
Every month we’ll explore new regions and indigenous grapes of the island vineyards of Greece. Discover the history and tradition of Greek vino as you sample your way through our Island Flights. This month we travel south through the islands of the Ionian and Aegean Sea.
MENU
A flight of one cocktail and 4 wines / $40
Suggested food pairing is not included in the flight price.
1
Persephoné cocktail / Samos
Start your evening with this crisp, citrus-focused creation with the added sweetness of Greece’s ancient, golden Samos wine, grown in the mountain terraces above the Aegean sea.
Suggested food pairing; start with our marinated olives – Elies – to open up your appetite, washing them down with the refreshing herbaceous notes of this gin-based cocktail.
2
Sclavos Alchymiste (2oz) / Cephalonia
Like licking an ocean rock! An exciting white blend of native Greek grapes from a biodynamic producer from the largest of the Ionian islands, Cephalonia. Known for intense minerality, due to its rich limestone soils, this is truly the sea in a bottle! There’s a touch of saltiness at the end that will keep you salivating for more.
Suggested food pairing; our creamy Scallop Crudo. Hints of ocean spray capture the scallop’s natural flavour, and the high acidity cuts through its rich texture.
3
Methymnaeos Orange (2oz) / Lesvos
Don’t let this wine fool you! This ‘orange’ wine is not a skin-contact, but quite the opposite: a red grape, Chidiriotiko, with full skin removal, as to not impart any colour – a “blanc de noirs”. Some colour does ultimately ooze out and what’s left is a beautiful golden hue. The Lambrou family produces this wine from the petrified forests in the island of Lesvos, famous for its volcanic soil – giving their wines a distinct minerality and earthy aftertaste.
Suggested food pairing; Balance the richness of our Lamb + Halloumi Kroquettes, served with a feta aioli with this zippy wine, that will cleanse your palate with every sip.
4
Silva Daskalaki Sera (2oz) / Crete
From the sunny island of Crete, this wine is made from one of our favourite winemakers, Ereni Daskalaki, one of few female winemakers in the region. She makes small batch handmade and minimal intervention wines. This vino is a special blend of the local Mandilaria grape, known for its deep richness and colour with Cabernet Sauvignon.
Suggested food pairing; Try this wine with our Grilled Black Angus Steak – bringing out the intense flavours of blackberries and figs, which bounce off the sweet and sourness of the mousto vinegar on your tongue!
5
Silva Daskalaki Emilia (1oz) / Crete
We love this winemaker so much that we’ve added a second glass of hers to our flight! This is a super unique and labour-intensive Greek dessert wine. Liatiko grapes, native to Crete, are sun-dried for a week on straw mats, after which they are vinified for seven years in French barrels, resulting in an inky, near-black colour.
Suggested food pairing; Try this side-by-side with our Double Chocolate Cheesecake, showcasing the wine’s dense aromas of chocolate, dried prunes and currants.
FEATURE VINEYARD
Silva Daskalaki Winery is located in Siva, a small village in the region of Heraklion.
Siva is a picturesque village in a very rural area of asymmetrical hills, a patchwork of numerous plantations of different kinds ranging from vineyards to olive groves. In this area of Crete, horticulture, agriculture and viticulture go hand in hand and have been the traditional form of work for centuries. The local biodynamic strength and biodiversity of the region provides excellent growing conditions for the vineyards of Silva Daskalaki.
For the Daskalaki family, the tradition in viticulture and wine production started in 1920. Today, the winery is run by the third generation of Daskalakis – Ereni Daskalaki and her son and daughter. Since 2003, the winery has undertaken a substantial revitalization programme of the 80 privately owned hectares, using integrated organic farming to cultivate the land’s lime and -claye soils, with harvest periods organized around the celestial calendar. Situated at an altitude of 500m above sea level, this ideal ecosystem can uniquely highlight the richness and the distinctiveness of Cretan wines, with hot summer growing periods combined with cooling circulating winds. The Daskalaki vineyards are located within the wine region of Dafnes, which belongs to the OPAP zone (Appellation of Superior Quality).
The small family team produce small batch handmade wines, and therefore each bottling and vintage is unique and the wines are extremely rare. The family primarily focuses on local indigenous varieties of Liatiko, Mandilari and Plyto, with the aim to produce high quality products with the hope that distinctly Cretan wines gain international acclaim.
Greek and international grape varieties are planted and grown in the vineyards. The varieties of Vidiano, Plyto, Athiri, Thrapsathiri, Muscat of Spina and Malvasia are the Greek white varieties, while Liatiko, Mandilari and Kotsifali are the Greek red varieties. The international white varieties of Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon and the red Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah are also cultivated.
Silva Daskalaki wines are the quaint essential hand-made, minimal intervention wines that everyone should try to taste the essence of Creten lands.
