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...

Rosé de Provence: a glamorous taste of summer

I've been waiting too long to write this piece. After an endlessly cold, damp, dreary spring, we are now basking in bright sunshine and temperatures in the high 20s. Back in April, on a cool evening, I braved it through heavy rain to the Bistro du Vin in Soho to taste some Provence rosé. These offer a chic and refreshing contrast to the deep coloured, powerfully flavoured rosés that dominate supermarket shelves. I've always been drawn to delicately hued, restrained Provence rosé, while visualising lavender fields, olive groves and yachts bobbing up and down on glinting water (without a noisy jet-ski in sight). There aren't many wines more perfectly suited to summer.

At the Bistro du Vin we heard about the work of the Provence-based Rosé Research Centre (apparently the only organisation in the world dedicated to this style of wine). The emphasis is on careful, controlled winemaking to produce such pale, clean, fresh wines and to preserve the fresh acidity. Three wines were presented that reflected this approach (and all of which I really liked):

Côtes de Provence Tradition 2011 from Domaine Sainte Marie (Baume les Mimosas, near Saint Tropez): a blend of Cinsault, Grenache, Syrah, Carignan, Cabernet and Mourvèdre. Creamy strawberry fruit, aromatic and fragrant, with a whiff of minerality. Refreshing and stylish. (8 Euros ex cellars. Not available in the UK.)

Coteaux d'Aix-en-Provence, Cuvée Aix Rosé 2011 from Domaine de la Grande Séouve. This Grenache dominated blend (Grenache 60%, Cinsault 20%, Syrah/Counoise 20%) has a tasty savoury complexity and aromatic fragrant fruit – a great food wine. (Majestic Wine £12; also available in magnums.)

Coteaux Varois en Provence, Perle de Margüi Rosé 2011 from Château Margüi. A Cinsault/Grenache blend, very pale (from 90 minutes' skin contact), dry, crisp, aromatic, with a particularly fragrant finish. Subtle and chic. (11.50 Euros ex cellars. Not available in the UK.)

We enjoyed these three wines with canapés and more Provence rosés were served with dinner. Although rosé is a versatile option, I selected lighter dishes at dinner for these subtle wines: firstly Cornish crab with toasted sourdough (although there was a lot of dark meat, so quite an intense flavour to take on), followed by fillet of bream, crab potato (an inspired idea) and parsley velouté.

Crab struck me as an ideal match for Provence rosé and some shone: Château du Galoupet Côtes de Provence Cru Classé 2010 (£13.08 for 50cl from London Wine Shippers) and Domaine Ott, Clos Mireille Coeur de Grain 2010 (£27.95 from Roberson Wine). I've always regarded Ott as a bit blingy, but here it was very dry and deliciously savoury. It tasted serious, as it should for the price. With the cheese, Vignelaure rosé (£11.95 Wine Society) did a good job, especially with the creamy, slightly tangy cabécou. Perhaps demonstrating rosé's versatility, further along the table, it was enjoyed with steak. With dessert we had another smart dry rosé Côtes de Provence (Château d'Esclans 2011 from Sacha Lichine £21.50 Bibendum Wine). This was not flattered by the redberry sorbets, shortbread and cream which made it taste bitter. For me, the fish and seafood and canapés were the best matches.

I attended the event as a guest of Provence Wines.

Top pic: courtesy of Provence Rosé/Hachette.

The friendly face of French wine

Having always dominated the international wine market, France has had a rocky time in recent years. Fierce competition has emerged from all corners of the globe, notably Australasia and the Americas, as well as from European neighbours such as Spain; and the domestic market is in decline.

Rather than risk becoming the preserve of devoted connoisseurs or holidaymakers snapping up bargains to take home, a growing number of French producers are freshening up the presentation and labelling of their wines to entice new consumers. Appellation Contrôlée labelling is about guaranteeing the geographical source of the product, with production methods enshrined in this and very little consumer-friendly information is presented. In most cases, only the name of the producer, vintage date (if there is one), alcohol content and volume; it generally doesn't tell you which grape varieties are used (if you're lucky this information will appear on the back label). You might find you like wines from a particular region or commune, such as Côtes du Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pâpe, Bordeaux and St Emilion. However, as the French wine industry is so fragmented, involving thousands of producers, you need to make a note of the producer of the wines you prefer. Otherwise, it can be a bit of a gamble and an expensive one at that.

With this in mind, I've been taking an interest in entry level French wines appearing on the shelves. Some contemporary French wines can be a bit gimmicky, but here are three examples I've particularly enjoyed this summer (all from Waitrose). All are sealed with screwcaps (perfect for picnics) and are blends from southern France. No mention of the grape varieties (unless you turn around the bottle), but distinctive labels to encourage repeat sales.

The punningly named Chat-en-Oeuf Blanc 2010 (see above), made by Boutinot from Grenache Blanc, Marsanne and Roussanne from the Pays d'Oc, has a citrussy freshness with subtle hints of apricot. It's quite light, but tasty enough as an aperitif or sipped with light summery food, such as simply grilled fish.
Waitrose Wine Direct £5.21 or £62.52 for a case of 12.

Another wine from the Pays d'Oc, Au Bord de la Mer 2010 is a blend of 75 percent Vermentino and 25 percent Chardonnay, with fresh, stylish results. I love the chic presentation of this wine as it conveys itself beautifully and remains respectfully French (particularly nice work by importer and co-producer Richard Speirs). Great for fish and seafood or sipping on its own while watching the sun descend over the horizon.
Waitrose Wine Direct £5.69 or £68.28 for a case of 12.

La Vieille Ferme Blanc 2010 costs about a pound more than the others and tastes more substantial, with some interesting complexity – toothsome citrus and white peach fruit, nutty and gently creamy. You're still getting a lot of a wine for the price. Bourboulenc, Grenache Blanc, Ugni Blanc and Roussanne from the Luberon go into this wine produced by the Perrin family, owners of Château de Beaucastel in Châteauneuf-du-Pâpe. La Vieille Ferme Rouge is also well worth looking out for.
Waitrose Wine Direct £6.64 or £79.68 for a case of 12.

Salty satisfaction

Today I'm having a dry day so, as I write this, I’m sipping some San Pellegrino just ahead of eating my dinner. Normally I’m happy to have a glass of filtered water from the Brita jug but, for me, the San Pell is a treat. I love its subtle salty tang – appetising, satisfying and a much better partner for food.

During the spell of sweltering hot weather earlier in the summer, what I craved more than anything at the end of a long sticky day was some chilled, saline dry sherry. Ideally Manzanilla, but fresh-as-a-daisy Fino was fine. It then struck me that it wasn’t just my love of salt that provoked this desire. I remembered how much I enjoyed drinking margaritas on holiday in Mexico several years ago – the combination of lime and salt is irresistible in the heat. Perhaps it’s a case of the body craving what it needs. Or perhaps it is just that weakness for salt.

In cooler weather I love sipping dry Amontillado sherry – nutty, mellow, but still with that instantly recognisable tangy, salty core. Of course, certain malt whiskies have a briny undercurrent. Talisker, with its peat smoke and iodine complexity, is a particular favourite.

Champagne can have a saline note, especially blanc de blancs; a recent treat was Ulysse Collin Extra Brut served as a seductively tingly apéritif. Safely tucked away for the future, we have some Chinon from Bernard Baudry with an enticing salty minerality that works deliciously with Cabernet Franc’s hard graphite edge. I cannot wait to see how it evolves. And I couldn’t possibly leave out Thalassitis (‘of the sea’) by Gaia, an arresting white wine from the volcanic island of Santorini. All profoundly and hauntingly satisfying.

More salty tales will follow, probably accompanied by something a little less virtuous in my glass...

(The image is of a driftwood tree on Harbour Island in the Bahamas where we spent some of our honeymoon.) 

Summery all-in-one roast

So tasty and almost unspeakably easy, this is ideal for a weekday supper or a more classic Sunday roast dinner. I just love this recipe as you feel as though you literally throw everything together, pop it in the oven, check a couple of times and, low and behold, you have a really satisfying meal.

In this instance I had some free-range chicken thighs and drumsticks, potatoes, red and yellow peppers and celery. Just remember to cut the vegetables into quite large pieces so that everything cooks together happily at the same time. Once you've added the chicken and vegetables to a large roasting pan, pour over olive oil. Using your hands, turn everything around so that it's well coated in the oil. I also included a couple of lemons (quartered), sprigs of thyme, heads of garlic (sliced through) and plenty of salt and pepper to season.

Roast in the oven at 200°C for about 45 minutes to an hour, or until the meat is cooked through. It's best to check a couple of times and give everything a good stir so they don't stick to the bottom of the pan.

Dish up onto warm plates and enjoy (see opening picture). I also cook this dish with onions, carrots, courgettes, pork or lamb cutlets – whatever's handy. We had some gravy with our chicken, but a dab of mustard would be good, too. (By the way, this was the last proper meal we cooked in our old oven, so the colour does look a bit uneven.)


Wine recommendation

A ripe, oaked Mediterranean white would be a lovely choice such as Gran Viña Sol from Torres near Barcelona, or you could cross the border into France for some garrique-scented red from the Languedoc-Roussillon.