Please The Palate |

A Journey Through the Peloponnese

The story originally appeared in ATOD Magazine. Indulging in cuisine, wine, history, and a lot of magic There is a region of Greece that is worth exploring; a region neighboring Athens that you may not have considered but most certainly should – the Peloponnese. Known for wine, indulgence, adventure and serenity, the Peloponnese is a journey waiting to be discovered. The three-pronged Peloponnese is considered part of the mainland but is also technically an island. The southernmost part of the mainland in Greece, the Peloponnese is a short drive from Athens, across one stretch of land that connects the two areas. The Peloponnese is home to historical areas of Ancient Olympia, Sparta and Corinth and is a region of mythical stories, ancient sites, wine production, mountains, beaches and more. My adventure began once I was in my rental car. Yes, they drive on the same side of the road as us but I had heard stories of Greek drivers and their ability to create their own rules on the road. What I had forgotten, once I got out of Athens, is that every sign is written in Greek. Remember when you took algebra and were told that you would never need to use it as an adult? That is how I felt when I learned to sing the Greek alphabet during my fraternity days in college. Of course, I had my GPS ready on my phone, hoping that I could trust it. But, little did I know how useful the Greek alphabet song would be as I navigated through my adventure. With some trepidation, and with the song “alpha, beta, gamma, delta….” in my head, I ventured out on the road.

02 November, 2017

Please The Palate October 2017 Newsletter

Summer has passed and here we are in the fall of 2017. Another year is flying by! At Please The Palate we are going nonstop with events and writing. I...

17 October, 2017

The rieslings of the Mosel

This story originally appeared in the Napa Valley Register.

Last week, I wrote about the dry riesling found in Nahe, Germany and the fact that 90 percent of German wine is dry. But fruity, sweet wines do still exist in Germany, specifically produced in the Mosel, Nahe and Rhinegau regions.

When we talk about “sweet” wine in Germany, we are not talking about overly sweet, cloying wines. We are talking about wines of finesse. These are wines with fragrance, fruity acidity and a mineral undertone. We are talking about riesling, considered the king of wine grapes in Germany. Of all the white wine grapes, riesling grapes produce the most intense and flavorful wines.

Unlike the dry riesling which is categorized under the VDP (“Verband deutscher Prädikatsweingüter”) system, the sweeter wines are classified under the traditional Pradikatswein. The levels of sweetness will vary and are dependent on when the grapes are picked. There is trocken (dry), kabinett (off-dry), spatlese (late harvest), auslese (select harvest), beerenauslese (berry select harvest) and trockenbeerenauslese (“dry berry select harvest”).

To differentiate between these different styles, it was best described to me by a winemaker who likened these styles to bananas. Kabinett is described as the perfectly yellow banana whereas spatlese is a banana with brown spots. Auslese is the banana that is almost entirely brown and trockenbeerenauslese is a dehydrated, concentrated banana.

04 October, 2017