Ένα ακόμη
αξιόλογο και πολύ ενδιαφέρον άρθρο για το οινοποιείο και τα κρασιά του κ.
Γαβαλά στο Μεγαλοχώρι φιλοξενεί ο διεθνής Τύπος, σε κείμενο με τίτλο Wine Time: Gavalas Santorini 2012, Greece του Dennis Sodomka.
Σύμφωνα με το κείμενο
η ετικέτα «Gavalas Santorini
2012» είναι ένα από τα καλύτερα κρασιά, που αποτελείται κυρίως από την ποικιλία
«ασύρτικο» που έχει «λαμπερή» δροσιστική, ξηρή και φρουτώδη πλούσια γεύση.
Όσο για το νησί,
αναφέρεται ότι σε συνδυασμό με την ολοένα και αυξανόμενη τουριστική κίνηση
γίνονται προσπάθειες να διατηρηθεί ο σημαντικός και αξιόλογος ποιοτικά
αμπελώνας της που παράγει μερικά από τα καλύτερα κρασιά του κόσμου.
Στην συνέχεια
του καλογραμμένου άρθρου αναφέρεται ο παραδοσιακός τρόπος καλλιέργειας των
αμπελιών, μερικές από τις πιο σημαντικές ποικιλίες, ενώ παρουσιάζεται το
«οινοποιείο Γαβαλά» ένα από τα παλαιότερα αλλά και πιο σύγχρονα πλέον του
νησιού, καθώς και τα κρασιά που παράγει τα οποία συνδυάζονται αναδεικνύοντας το
ένα το άλλο, με μερικά από τα κλασικά πιάτα της διεθνούς κουζίνας.
Σύμφωνα με το κείμενο,
The Gavalas Santorini 2012 certainly is one of the
better ones. Made primarily from the Assyrtiko grape, it is a bright, refreshing,
dry white wine with fruity aromas and a rich full taste. The wine is a
brilliant light yellow in the glass with delicate aromas of citrus and
pineapple.
It has a full, lush mouthfeel, with tastes of lemon
and peach and some minerality. It has balanced acidity with a long, pleasant
aftertaste.
Santorini is one of the Greek islands popular with
tourists, so preserving the 3,000
acres of vineyards has become difficult as more tourists
flock to the island. The vineyard for the Gavalas wine is considered to be one
of the oldest in Greece
The vineyard soil is composed of limestone and is
covered by a mixture of chalk, slate, ash, lava and pumice. Yield is held down
by limited rainfall and strong winds in the summer, pushing quality up. During
the summer months mist rolls in from the sea, cooling the vines and prolonging
hang time for the grapes.
The grape growers of Santorini use a unique
bush-training system, known as koulura. As the vines
grow, they are woven into baskets with the grapes facing toward the inside of
the ring.
The vine and its leaves provide protection for the
grapes from harsh winds and sunlight. The koulara are often grown haphazardly
on small plots of land and can be mistaken for wild bushes by unknowing
passers-by.
After harvest, only about 25 percent of the juice is
extracted and placed in stainless steel tanks for cold fermentation.
Assyrtiko is the main grape grown on Santorini. It’s a
high-acid grape full of citrus and mineral nuances. The grape is often referred
to as a “red grape in white clothing,” because it produces such full-bodied
wines. This wine also contains 5 percent Aidani, another indigenous Greek
grape.
The wine should be served at about 45-50 degrees. The
bottle itself is a beautiful blue color.
WINERY: George Gavalas has about 18 acres of vines on the island of Santorini
Gavalas uses many of the same techniques as his
ancestors but also has brought a modern approach to the business.
The winery, located in Megalohori, focuses mainly on
Assyrtiko, but also been involved in reviving some of the more obscure grapes
on the island like Katsano and Gaidouria. The vineyard also contains Athiri,
Mavrotragano and Voudomato.
Early on most of the wine was consumed on Santorini,
with some shipped to Alexandria ,
Egypt Athens
and Piraeus
In the 1970s the Gavalas family again made its own
wine and established a store in Athens
GOES WITH: This is a great seafood wine, so my wife,
Teri, and I had it with broiled lobster tails, drawn butter, Zatarain’s Caribbean rice mix and a tossed salad. It was a heavenly
meal.
The wine’s acidity and minerality was a nice balance
for the lemon juice and drawn butter served with the lobster. The rich feel of
the lobster blended well with the rich mouthfeel of the wine.
Gavalas Santorini would go well with most seafood
dishes, chicken and light cheeses.
