Darwin would have tried it. They say that, on his journey aboard the Beagle, Charles Darwin threw every exotic animal he found into the pot. Óscar López-Fonseca invites us to tour the kitchens of the world with culinary experiences that, surely, the father of the theory of evolution would have ventured to try on that trip.
***
Wine has always been considered the drink of the gods. The Greeks had in their pantheon of protective deities Dionysus, son of the almighty Zeus and a mortal woman, who wandered the world with her entourage, spreading the cultivation of the vine and inspiring artistic creation in those who ingested it. In fact, the passion of the ancient Greeks for this alcoholic beverage, to which they also attributed healing properties, has been widely reflected in their literature. In the Iliad and the Odyssey There are dozens of references to him, almost always to link him to the world of heroes. In fact, the famous Ulysses used it to get the terrible Cyclops Polyphemus drunk and defeat him.
However, few like the poet Alcaeus of Mytilene to summarize in a few words the importance of this drink in classical culture: Oinos kai aletheia. Or what is the same, “wine and truth”, a phrase that the Romans later adapted – as they did with the god Dionysus, who became Bacchus in their mythology – to the famous Latin sentence in vino veritas. Of course, how wine was made, preserved and consumed in ancient Greece has little to do with how it is made today. It serves as an example that, given the high alcohol content it had since fermentation could not be controlled due to the rudimentary oenological knowledge of the time, it was common for the ancient Greeks to drink it watered down to soften it. Seawater was even added, in this case to prevent it from spoiling—preventing microorganisms from growing—before reaching the aged condition, already highly valued at that time.
Today the possibility of trying a wine that is slightly similar to those from more than 2,000 years ago has a specific name: retsina, a mainly white wine – although there is also rosé – that is produced in Greece, mainly in the regions from Attica, Boeotia and Euboea, and whose particular flavor has its origin precisely in the peculiar process that was once used to extend the life of the wines. The ancient Greeks kept their wine in large clay amphorae (pithoi) to which, to combat its porosity, they gave a layer of pine resin with which to prevent, on the one hand, it from evaporating and, on the other, from being spoiled by oxygenation. This protection added a resinous flavor to the wine that did not seem to bother its consumers, in the least. The Roman historian Pliny the Elder stated in his Natural History which served to give aroma and a little flavor. And Plutarch attributed to it the property of giving consistency to the wine.
Perhaps for this reason, despite the replacement of amphorae with, first, wooden barrels and, later, containers made of other materials that eliminated the need to continue using the secretion of pine trees to preserve wine, the addition was maintained. of resin precisely for the flavor and aroma. In fact, that particular touch continues to have a loyal audience in the 21st century that demands it. Of course, how it is achieved now has little to do with how the ancient Greeks did it. Even the flavor is quite different from those wines from more than two millennia ago, when the result was a broth with a strong, even spicy flavor. However, the current one is still very peculiar and, therefore, not always to the liking of the neophyte who ventures to try his first drink. Of course – and I can attest – once you get the taste for it, it is practically impossible to sit in a tavern in Greece and not order a cold mug of this drink of the gods to accompany your food and conversation.
Retsina wine—which has a geographical designation protected by the European Union (EU)—is made mainly with grapes of the variety Savatianalthough it is also used rhoditis and assyrtiko. To convert them into retsina, winemakers add during the first fermentation of the must a variable amount of solid resin—the EU sets a maximum limit of one kilo for every hectoliter—from Aleppo pine trees (Pinus halepensis). The quality and quantity of this resin will largely determine the flavor and aroma of the wine. Of course, this substance is not present throughout the entire process, since it is removed during clarification and racking of the wine.
The result is a clean broth, yellow in color sometimes with greenish tones, that is around 11º alcohol and that when approaching the nose already reveals aromas of resin “with light menthol, anise and citrus”, as described by winemakers and sommeliers. . These experts add that in the mouth “it is complex, persistent and very deep. Initially, the flavor is that of resin that later gives way to a light and bitter citrus fruit.” This makes retsina a perfect wine to drink fresh with traditional meze Greek (appetizers), such as olives Kalamatathe dolmades (stuffed grape leaves) or tzatziki (yogurt cream with cucumber and olive oil, among other ingredients), but also to taste main dishes such as moussaka (with eggplant, meat and tomato sauce) or oktapodi sta karvuna (grilled octopus). Ulysses, the Greek gods and the author of these lines agree. The Cyclops Polyphemus, not so much.
#Retsina #wine #Greek #gods #mortals