“Let’s experience some Eastern Mediterranean food and wine flavors right here in SW Florida.” And the challenge was on as a few well-seasoned foodie and winelover friends agreed yet once again to bring together wines from a region less familiar than our usual choice in wines – and even more challenging – to pair them with foods from that region. Some of us have previously enjoyed a glass or two of wine from Lebanon at local wine tastings, and some of us have tried Israeli wines through the years. And this winelover has been enjoying Greek wines for a several years now, especially the Assyrtiko varietal. In fact that even prompted a previous article at www.forkandcorkdivine.com posted September 2016 titled “Assyrtiko”….What is it, and why you should give it a try! However most of us rarely have tasted wines from the Eastern part of the Mediterranean – if ever.
Chuck and I had the pleasure of tasting all six wine offerings from the Massaya Winery of Lebanon when Sami Ghosn, the winery founder and general manager visited Waterside Wine Club in Cape Coral, Florida in early 2017. We enjoyed them sufficiently enough to purchase one of each. It seems that a Lebanese wine dinner was already taking shape somewhere in my subconscious. That idea seemed destined to come to light one day when watching one of my favorite food TV stations, what should appear but a delightful cooking show called “Julie Taboulie’s Lebanese Kitchen”. Julie’s food looked and sounded delicious! I ordered her cookbook and we were officially on our way!! In order to make it a really interesting event, it seemed logical to expand a bit, so I included wines of Israel and Greece. “An Eastern Mediterranean Dining Adventure” was born. Luckily for me, our foodie and winelover friends were willing to humor me and go on the adventure together.
Next I did some research and wrote an article about wines from Lebanon, Israel and Greece. After all learning about the wines is our first objective. You can read about wines from these countries in a previous article at www.forkandcorkdivine.com titled “EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN WINE—rediscovered!” We always strive to make our food pairings as authentic as we SW Florida foodie cooks can make it, so using the cookbook from my new best TV foodie friend Julie Taboulie, a menu was planned complete with recipes. Here is what we prepared for dinner, and the wines that we actually paired it with.
An Eastern Mediterranean Dining Adventure
Amuse Bouche
Cucumber Bites with Sun Dried Tomato Spread
Mezza “small plates”
Hummus b Tahini (classic chickpea and sesame spread)
Baba Ghanouj (roasted eggplant dip)
Assorted Cheeses:
Arabian fresh cheese, Armenia string cheese, Halloumi Cypress cheese and Greek Isle organic feta
Turkish Olives, Peppadew Peppers and Pickled Turnips
Labneh b Zeit (Lebanese yogurt with oil and spices)
Khyar b Laban (Cucumber-mint-yogurt sauce)
Assorted Pita Breads, Pita Chips and Flatbread Crackers
Salata “salads”
Taboulie (chopped herb, tomato and bulgur wheat salad)
Fattoush “Lebanese peasant bread salad”
Asha “the main event”
Karuuf Mishwee
garlic studded leg of lamb marinated in olive oil and fresh herbs oven roasted and served with freekeh and steamed asparagus, carrots, onions and snap peas
Djej b Finden
Shawarma-spiced chicken baked with baby bellas and pearl onions in white wine sauce served with Lebanese couscous
Santorini Shrimp with Feta
Mahshi Silik (Swiss chard leaves stuffed with rice and chickpeas)
Kelwayet “sweet endings”
Knefeh (Lebanese style cheesecake)
Baklawa (Lebanese layered phyllo pastry with walnut filling and orange water syrup)
Turkish Delight and Other Assorted Sweet Treats
The Wines
Lebanese Wines
Massaya Blanc, White blend, Bekaa Valley, 2015
Massaya Rose, Bekaa Valley, 2015
Massaya Le Colombier, Red blend, Bekaa Valley, 2014
Massaya Terrasses del Baalbek, Red blend, Bekaa Valley, 2012
Massaya Gold Reserve, Red blend, Bekaa Valley, 2010
Chateau Musar, Red blend, Bekaa Valley, 2008
Greek Wines
Santo Assyrtiko, Santorini, 2015
Argyros Assyrtiko, Santorini, 2016
Hermes Nemea Agiorgitiko, Nemea, Peloponnese, 2014
Israeli Wines
Ben Ami Chardonnay, Galilee, 2014
Tishbi Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, Judean Hills, 2010
Your winelover hostess, the SOFO Wine Diva. Cheers!
One of my winelover and foodie supporters.
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