2022 Troupis Hoof & Lur Moschofilero: A Wild Skin-Contact Greek Wine

I'm a huge fan of Greek wines, loving all of their fascinating and delicious indigenous grapes. Greece produces a vast diversity of wines, from different terroirs, and exploring that diversity is exciting. Last week, I tried another Greek wine which was new to me, the 2022 Troupis Hoof & Lur Moschofilero, and it was a compelling skin-contact wine.

The Troupis Winery is located in the region of Arcadia, in the central Peloponnese. In Arcadia, the winery is within the Mantinea Plateau in the Fteri area, about 2100 feet above sea level. Mantinia was established as a Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) in 1971. Since the 1970s, the family owned about 7 hectares of Moschofilero vineyards, organically farmed, finally deciding to establish a winery in 2010. They have since also planted a hectare of Assyrtiko. 

The 2022 Troupis Hoof & Lur Moschofilero ($20-$25) is made from 100% Moschofilero, an indigenous Greek grape whose history probably extends back to antiquity. It's a pink-skinned, aromatic white grape, and used in White, Rosé and Sparkling wines. It's considered to be one of the major white grapes of Greece. However, it's also a difficult grape to cultivate. 

The winery states that this wine is "an homage to the wines native to the high plateau of Mantinia for millennia." The Moschofilero grapes spent three months on the skins, and then were fermented, with wild yeasts, in terra cotta spheres, with stirring of the lees. The wine wasn't fined or filtered, and also is vegan. This is supposed to be the style of wine that their parents and grandparents once enjoyed. 

The color of this wine is a dark blood orange, the hue from the pink grape skins more than evident. It's much darker than many other amber colored, skin-contact wines. You might almost think it were a light red wine. The aromas are enticing, an intriguing blend of citrus and spice. And on the palate, there's a complex blend of flavors, bright citrus, red berries, spice, and touches of honey. Crisp acidity, moderate tannins, a rich mouthfeel and a lengthy, pleasing finish. Overall, an intriguing and tasty wine which will appeal to adventurous wine lovers.

Rant: DON'T DRINK & DRIVE.....OR ELSE!

It's that time of the year again, the holiday season, from Halloween to New Year's Eve. Nearly all of you will probably attend multiple holiday parties this season. I know that I'll be at a number of different parties, celebrating with family and friends. 

Now, it couldn't be any simpler so please listen carefully. This is one of the most important pieces of advice you'll receive this holiday season. Please, please, please give this your full attention! 

If you've had too much alcohol to drink, if there's any, absolutely any, doubt in your mind, don't drive. Just don't do it! Any questions? 

Once again, as an annual post, I step forward with probably my most important Rant of the Year. It's an absolutely vital issue for everyone who enjoys alcohol of any type, from wine to beer, from Scotch to hard cider. With the imminent advent of the holiday season we reach a potentially dangerous period for those people who over indulge, who drink too much at parties, feasts and gatherings. There is nothing wrong with that, and you can drink as much as you desire, as long as you give up your keys to someone who is sober, and you do not drive. 

As I've said multiple times before, and which I'll repeat year after year, "If there is any question, no matter how small, whether you are too intoxicated to drive, then don't. If your family or friends think you have had too much to drink, don't drive. Just don't. It is not worth the risk by any calculation." Err on the side of caution so that if you have any doubt of your capacity to drive, then please do not drive. Take a taxi or Uber, catch a ride with someone else, walk or sleep it off. Just don't drive! 

Rationally, we all know the dangers of drinking and driving. We endanger our own lives as well as the lives of others. Every year, we hear multiple news reports about terrible auto accidents, some with fatalities, that occur because a driver was intoxicated. Families are torn apart, lives are ruined, and much more. Why don't we learn from all these incidents? Even if you don't get in an accident, you might get arrested for drunk driving, with all the attendant high costs, and not just economic. You might even end up in jail. 

About 17,000 people are arrested for drunk driving in Massachusetts each year. That is a huge figure, showing that far too many people still don't understand that they should not drink and drive. Did you know that if you only had two drinks in a hour, you might still have a blood alcohol level over the legal limit? How difficult is it to understand? DON'T DRINK & DRIVE! I'm sure drunk driving incidents in other states are just as significant. 

As a more sobering statistic, 13,524 people (including over 280 children) in the U.S. were killed in drunk driving accidents in 2022, a slight increase from the prior year's fatalities of 13,384. Such deaths shouldn't increase at all, and it's obviously there are far too many deaths. It needs to be change and change now. Back in 2007, there had been a historical high of 13,041 drunk driving fatalities, and the number of fatalities had been decreasing until 2020. And then, there was a 14% increase in 2021. 

The statistics are going the wrong way! More people are dying because of drunk drivers and that needs to stop. Each time you drink and drive, you endanger yourself, your passengers, pedestrians, cyclists, and people in other vehicles. Let someone else drive you, whether it be a friend or family. Take an Uber or public transportation. Leave your car where it is parked as you can always pick it up the next day. You have plenty of options so there is absolutely no reason to drink and drive. Be responsible. 

I don't want to lose any family or friends this year due to a drunk driving accident. I don't think anyone wants to lose their loved ones either. Your family and friends would rather you didn't drink and drive as they don't you to die in a terrible drunk driving accident. So please just don't! 

Thursday Sips & Nibbles

I'm back again with a new edition of Sips & Nibbles, my regular column where I highlight some interesting, upcoming food and drink events. I hope everyone dines out safely, tips well and are nice to their servers.
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1) Chateau Musar, located in Lebanon, is a superb winery and I've long been a fan of their delicious and exciting wines. A rare opportunity now arises for wine lovers to experience a interesting range of their wines, including multiple vintages of their iconic wines, accompanied by the fine cuisine of Chef Anthony Caturano at Prezza in the North End.

On Wednesday, October 23, starting at 6:30pm, Prezza and Fine Wine Specialist, Dan Michaud of Ruby Wines, invite guests to experience a unique seven-course wine dinner, with 10 offerings from Chateau Musar. It promises to be an epic evening for any wine lover.   

The evening kick-offs with a glass of 2022 Jeune Blanc, paired with Short Rib Hummus with spicy harissa, crispy shallots and warm pita bread. The second course will be Wood Grilled Octopus Skewers with smokey romesco sauce, salsa verde and chermoula, paired with glasses of the 2021 Leventine and 2020 Hochar Pere Et File. The third and fourth courses will be Wood Grilled Swordfish with tahini, lemon parsley and cous cous and Lobster, chickpeas, and harissa spiced tomato sauce, and accompanied by three vintages of the amazing Chateau Musar Blanc (which is made from two grapes indigenous to Lebanon), including 1997, 2012 and 2017.  

The fifth and sixth courses will be Braised Chicken Thigh with mushrooms and dried fig and Grilled Lamb Chop with roasted carrots, honey glaze, feta cheese, watercress and Lebanese rice. These will be paired with three vintages of the Chateau Musar Rouge, including 1997, 2012, and 2017. Finally, the last course will be Olive Oil Pound Cake with crème, anglaise, crème fraiche, strawberries and mint, paired with a glass of Arak Du Musar.

The seven-course dinner, with wine parings, costs $200 per person (which includes tax and gratuity). For tickets, email Brittany@prezza.com or call them at 617-227-1577.

2) Make your holiday plans now to attend the Feast of the Seven Fishes at Row 34 in Burlington or Cambridge. Join Chef Jeremy Sewall and indulge in a multi-course seafood dinner, complete with a welcome beverage and reception. Each course is paired with select wines, ensuring a delightful culinary journey. Gather with friends and family to celebrate the holiday season while savoring the flavors of this festive feast. Row 34 is one of my favorite Seafood restaurants and I'm sure this dinner will be an excellent experience, and definitely worth a splurge for the holidays.

Multiple dates are available, including:

Burlington: December 15 (6pm), December 19 (6pm), & December 22 (6pm)

Cambridge: December 14 (6pm) & December 21 (6pm)

Cost: $175 per person (which includes all taxes, fees, and gratuity).

Rant: We Don't Need Recipe Photos!

I highly recommend you check out Culinary Class Wars on Netflix. It's a South Korean cooking competition series which pits 100 chefs, broken down into 20 celebrity chefs and 80 other chefs, against each other in an intense contest. The contestants are competing for a prize of 300 Million Won, equivalent to about U.S. $222,000. There are two primary judges: Paik Jong-won, a restaurateur and celebrity chef, and Anh Sung-jae, the only Michelin 3-star chef in Korea. The competition is fierce and riveting, especially during the period when the two judges are blindfolded, judging each dish solely by taste, and where they are fed these bites by assistants. It's one of the best cooking competitions I've ever seen.   

One of the celebrity contestants was Chef Edward Lee, who was born in New York to Korean parents and currently lives in Louisville, Kentucky and Washington, D.C. He's the chef/owner of 610 Magnolia in Louisville, and culinary director of Succotash in National Harbor, Maryland, and Penn Quarter, Washington, D.C. Lee is also a nine-time James Beard Award nominee, and the author of three books: Bourbon Land, Buttermilk Graffiti and Smoke & Pickles. On Culinary Class Wars, he showed his innovative culinary skills and impressed me with his many creative dishes. 

Buttermilk Graffiti details Lee's travels across the U.S., from Lowell, Massachusetts to New Orleans, seeking fascinating culinary tales. It's a well written and interesting compilation of food stories, and well worth reading. The book also contains about 40 different recipes, and contrary to almost every other modern cookbook, it doesn't contain any photos of the completed dishes! 

Lee noted, "This was done on purpose. I want you, the reader, to trust your instincts and cook the way I know you are capable of. Having a recipe published with an accompanying photo is a pretty modern invention. We have been following recipes without photos for centuries. When we don’t know what the end result is supposed to look like, the imagination is allowed to roam free and we come up with our own conclusions. Pictures are excellent guides, and can give you a goal to aspire to, but they can also have a negative effect. If you make a dish and it doesn’t look exactly like the photo, you might feel a sense of failure. I don’t want that."

He then continued, "None of these recipes are restaurant-style dishes, so the accuracy of plating is less important than the taste of the food. I want you to pay attention to the aromas, flavors, textures, to the feel of the food in your mouth. Don’t worry if what you make doesn’t look good enough to be on the cover of a magazine. If it tastes good, you’ve succeeded."

It's true that if you consult old recipe books, they rarely had photos of the various dishes, although occasionally there was a drawing of a dish or two. Nowadays though, photos in cookbooks are the norm, and making the dishes look beautiful in those photos is very important. It's true on social media too, where photos of your dishes are so important to many. However, how many times did they have to create that dish to ensure it looked perfect? 

How many times do home cooks prepare a recipe from a cookbook, and the end result doesn't resemble that perfect photo in the cookbook? I suspect that for most home cooks, their dishes rarely emulate those photos. The photos tend to emphasize the superficial aspect of the dish, its look, rather than its taste. And in the end, isn't the taste of the dish the most important aspect of any recipe? 

When you prepare a recipe from an old cookbook, which has no photos, is it really any harder to create? It shouldn't be difficult at all, and maybe is even easier as you have less expectations, as you don't have to make the dish look a certain way. It can be liberating, to make a dish in your own way, and simply ensure it tastes delicious. Stop judging your own dishes by glossy photographs of perfectly prepared food. Just make it your way and enjoy.     

Thursday Sips & Nibbles

I'm back again with a new edition of Sips & Nibbles, my regular column where I highlight some interesting, upcoming food and drink events. I hope everyone dines out safely, tips well and are nice to their servers.
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1) On October 19, from 6pm-9pm, All Hallow’s Eve will arrive early to Joe’s Waterfront with their Haunted Harbor happening. "Set atop an eerily calm Boston Harbor, the evening will have ghouls and dolls dressed to the nines in their costumes of choice – with prizes for the most creepy and creative – while dancing the Monster Mash, snacking on devilishly delicious bites and sipping on libations worthy of the Sanderson Sisters."

Revelers will get the party started noshing on passed “finger” foods (fried mac and cheese balls, deviled eggs, shrimp cocktail, assorted flatbreads), stationed snacks (mini lobster rolls, a supersized deli sandwich, noodle salad cups, a charcuterie spread enhanced with seasonal fruit, spinach dip with veggies and chips, chef’s choice salad cups) and sweets (mini desserts, Halloween-themed cupcakes).

If your costume doesn’t land you a top spot in the zombie pageant, try your luck with the raffle – with proceeds benefitting MassGeneral Hospital for Children – that includes prizes like gift cards, overnight hotel stays, sports tickets, and more.

COST: $49 per person (includes entry and food). Cash bar available.
TICKETS: Advance tickets recommended via EventBrite. Walk-in entry available as space permits.
MORE: A portion of ticket sales and all raffle ticket proceeds will be donated to MassGeneral for Children. This event is reserved for ages 21+.

2) Abe & Louie’s has debuted a revamped menu that embodies the bold flavors of the season. Executive chef Mark Mariano has refreshed some classic dishes while introducing new dishes that feature the best from land and sea to pair with their wine list.

For salad newcomers, there is the Shrimp Louie with arugula, avocado, cucumber, egg and housemade Thousand Island dressing ($26); Abe’s House with baby romaine, cucumber, tomato, olives, red onion and feta in a Dijon vinaigrette ($16); and Roasted Beet & Goat Cheese with pistachio, dill and aged balsamic ($19). There are four appetizer additions: Bacon-Wrapped Squash with grain mustard sauce ($18); Clams Casino with smoked bacon, bell pepper and breadcrumbs ($20); Oysters Rockefeller with spinach, hollandaise and breadcrumbs ($24); and Hand-Cut Beef Tenderloin Tartare with capers, shallot, cornichons, Dijon and baguette ($22).

In addition to their menu of signature à la carte chops, there is now an eight-ounce Ribeye Cap Steak ($75) while the entrees have been refreshed with seasonal accompaniments and also include new creations: Cedar Plank Salmon with green beans and mustard glaze ($36); Blackened-Spiced Tuna with cucumber, ginger and soy glaze ($40); Grilled Atlantic Swordfish with lemon-caper butter and parsley ($34); Diver Sea Scallops with celery root puree and smoked bacon jam ($44); Veal Chop Diane with mushroom, cognac and Dijon ($68); Pan-Roasted Chicken with crispy potatoes, green beans, lemon and jus ($36); a double-cut Kurobuta Bone-In Pork Chop with roasted apples and onions ($37); Rosemary-Crusted Rack of Lamb with natural jus and mint ($60); and Black Truffle & Kabocha Squash Risotto with shallot, thyme and parmesan with an option to top it with lobster ($32/52). For a touch of sweet? Housemade Key Lime Pie in a Graham cracker crust with raspberry sauce ($14).

For weekend brunch, to start, there are Beignets with warm caramelized apple chutney ($14) and an omelet addition is Lobster & “Eggs” with Ossetra caviar and mascarpone ($44). For a heartier order, new entrees include Belgian Waffles with berries, Chantilly cream and Vermont maple syrup ($18); Boston Cream Pie French Toast with vanilla cream, chocolate and brioche ($20); Lobster “Madame” with gruyère, béchamel and a sunny-side up egg ($36); and the Brunch Burger, a nine-ounce prime beef patty topped with Nueske’s bacon, fried egg and cheddar served with hand-cut French fries ($24).

3) Chef Kegan Stritchko is debuting a new early-evening feature menu at XOXO Sushi Bar in Chestnut Hill. Available nightly from 5-6pm, “Appy Hour” showcases a collection of handrolls available at half-price in addition to other wallet-friendly chef creations.

The “Bites” section offers standouts from land and sea like the Island Creek oyster with seasonal garnish ($2.50), a pork belly bao bun with sweet chili miso, yuzu kosho and micro cilantro ($11), spicy tuna crispy rice with charred pineapple, jicama and aji amarillo ($12.50) and himachi aburi with green apple zu, pickled green apple, green apple relish, shiso and basil oil ($13.50). There also is a quartet of handrolls designed with intricate layers of flavors and textures: spicy crunchy with a choice of tuna, yellowtail or salmon with tempura flakes, spicy aioli and crispy shallots ($6); spicy tuna with aji amarillo, charred pineapple and jicama ($8.50), yellowtail jalapeño with soy-marinated jalapeño, mango, cilantro and ponzu ($6) and leche de tigre, a white fish ceviche with cilantro and avocado wrapped in soy paper ($7.50).

For those seeking a more formal dining experience, XOXO Sushi Bar recently unveiled a 16-course omakase menu. The experience is limited to only one seating on Tuesdays and Wednesdays with two options – the 16-course culinary adventure with or without a menu of eight wine, sake and whisky pairings – with a finale of dessert.

Reservations are recommended via Resy or by calling (617) 505-3378.