Greek hospitality

For the best part of 20 years, since one of my best friends hooked up with and then married Nikos from Athens, I have been at the receiving end of generous Greek hospitality. Our recent visit culminated with a memorable lunch at their weekend house on the coast in Nea Makri near Marathon. As is usually the case in good weather, the food is cooked on the grill in the garden – in this case squid and octopus for starter, followed by a large, family-sized sea bream.

The food is always wonderfully simple, showing off local, seasonal ingredients. My friends are fortunate in benefitting from a family-owned olive and citrus grove and they make their own vinegar and wine (like many Greek households). We made a vinegar and oil dressing for the squid and octopus, whereas the fish was dressed (anointed) with an emulsion of lemon juice and oil. We sipped some ouzo with the starter (octopus and aniseed are a match made in Mediterranean heaven) and salty, mineral Assyrtiko from Santorini was ideal with the fish. Plenty of bread and salad were passed around.

My friends tend to round off a meal with fresh fruit, so we climbed up onto the roof and picked apricots from the tree and ate them gazing across the water to the island of Evia. A distinctive and memorable end to our holiday. Efharisto poli!

Fruit wine and friends

Until recently I had very little experience of home-made wine or wine made from fruits other than grapes. That is until a local mum friend approached me about tasting a selection of fruit wine made by her late mother. The idea was to serve this wine in a fundraising event for our children's school – if I deemed it palatable – along with a selection of equally homely food.

To be honest, I really didn't know what to expect. I have dim memories of sipping some of my grandmother's home-made tea wine which was like a light sweetish sherry – and in a perfectly good way. A nice little late afternoon tipple. However, tasting through Leonie's mother's wines was quite a revelation, particularly as they were made several years ago. It must be said that the contents of a few demi-johns ended up down the drain, but others were unexpectedly good. Here are some notes used to describe the wines at the event and, as expected, the raspberry and redcurrant was fabulous with gooey, chocolate brownies.

Hawthorn blossom
Sweet fragrant fruit and refreshingly balanced used here as a base for a summery punch mixed with soda water, citrus fruit and mint.

Elderflower
This is lovely – lots of perfumed Muscat-like fruit. It’s a really charming example of a home-made wine and surprisingly fresh and fragrant after more than five years. It’s not dissimilar to a southern French vin doux naturel such as Rivesaltes or Beaumes de Venise.

Nettle
This is light, gently fruity, medium-sweet and quite summery. It reminded me of Liebfraumilch or Hock, so quite retro and easy-drinking.

Elderberry 
This reminded me of a light ruby port – pale red in colour with slightly jammy berry fruit. There is some alcoholic warmth, but not the firey kick you’d find in port. One batch was fresher and fruitier, the other more evolved and sherried (so more like tawny port).

Gooseberry
This is tasting quite mature and sherried (oxidised), but has an interesting medium-sweet nutty fruity character like white port (which is deliciously appetising served chilled as an aperitif).

Elderberry (dry)
This is quite a muscular dry red. Rustic, hearty and a contrast to the other wines which are more sweetly fruity. It should be interesting to serve with charcuterie and farmhouse cheeses as, unlike the other wines, it tastes properly suited to food.

Raspberry & redcurrant
Great stuff – lush ripe red berry fruit, smooth and sweet and, to my mind, begging for chocolate. Like the elderflower wine, it demonstrates what successful results you can have with home-made wines.

There were also some unidentified wines served for fun which included plum (I think that's what it was) which turned out to be gorgeous – lush and sweet.

If you fancy having a go at making them yourself, Susy Atkins' book, How To Make Your Own Drinks includes some delicious recipes and useful practical advice. Following the event I am now in possession of a few demi-johns and I'll certainly be using them...