Beware the Isle of the Minator!

It is an incontrovertible fact that tasting the flavours of any culture can be one of the most rewarding experiences in travel.

There is however, an exception to every incontrovertible fact I have ever uttered. Allow me to ‘controvert’.

I must start by noting that the Greeks make wonderful wine. The reds deserve attention. Xynomavro is a black grape of northern Greece that can yield serious wines, worthy of ageing. Agiorgitiko is a widely planted black Peloponnesian grape with considerable power.

In fact, the Greeks are credited with the invention of fermented grape juice.

There is also a white of the refreshing, vibrant and citrus flavoured Assyrtiko that comes from the island of Santorini. I love it.

Armed with all this information you would think that a man of my peculiar interests would be able to secure a decent glass of oenos (wine) anywhere in Greece. Think again.

Let the traveller beware! Any country that makes wine makes bad wine.

They have been making wine in Crete for about 4000 years. I can only guess that not much of it was white. I certainly hope not, for their sake.

There I was in Heraklion, Crete on a day that must have hit 35 degrees judging by the melting street signs. I looked like a man who has been caught in a downpour without an umbrella, only it hadn’t been raining. Suffice it say, it was hot and I wanted a glass of white.

The bottle would not disclose the grape variety but I forgave that because it is a peculiar trait of most European wines. Besides, I was too busy worrying about the taste. Not having consumed ear-wax, I can’t be entirely sure of my tasting note. It seems the minatory is not the only scary thing about Crete.

So here is my tip, and one I think we might focus on next time. Learn to like the taste of beer. It refreshes the palate and cools the head when these inevitable little pitfalls of travel conspire against the senses.

Yiamas! (Cheers!)

Olive Oil: Not Just for Cooking

As a kid, growing up in Calabria (Southern Italy), olive oil was a main cooking ingredient, but more importantly, it was most often the only medicine in our cabinet. My mom used it for everything; if we had a stomach ache she would give us a tablespoon of olive oil to drink; if we had an ear ache she would warm up a little olive oil to drop into our ears; if our skin was itchy - yup, olive oil rub.

It went beyond medicine; if she suspected that someone gave us the evil eye, she would call the neighbor’s ‘nonna’ to come by and pray to break the spell. I used to hide under the table and listen to the ritual which consisted of dropping some olive oil in a basin full of water and watch to see what patterns the oil formed and only ‘nonna’ knew for sure if the evil eye had been cast. Olive oil was our life really, a bit like Windex in the movie My Big Fat Greek Wedding.
It amazed me when I arrived in Canada - wow, no olive oil anywhere! It was still a luxury in the 70’s in Toronto and the large supermarkets only carried vegetable and canola oils. So we had to go to the local Italian market to get it, because even though we were in Canada, my mom still swore by our old country remedies.

So when the olive oil craze hit Canada, most of us who are of Southern Italian descent were thrilled to finally take the oil out of the closet and share our stories with the rest of society without having them think we were nuts.

Now as I stand in the oil section of the supermarket I see people checking out labels and deciding what brand to buy and what the difference is now that we have an abundance of products. Italy is one of the top olive oil producing countries in the Mediterranean, but what most visitors who travel to the north don’t realize is that one third of all the olive oils produced in Italy comes from the South where the dry terrain produces some of the best qualities. If you are lucky enough to be traveling in Italy, Spain, Greece, Turkey and even Israel during the harvest, it’s a great time to learn a lot about olives and the process of producing the various lines of oils. All of these countries now offer a huge selection of discovery or tasting tours to really learn about this fascinating ingredient. One itinerary I came across that sounds particularly lovely is from Trafalgar Tours and takes you through Italy with stops in Chianti, Tuscany and Florence, where you can sample wines, local cheeses, meets, and, of course, olive oil!

If you have any interesting stories about olive oil of your own, post them to our comments - I'd love to hear about them!