| You are sitting in a restaurant in the US, or round | | | | island of Santorini. One of the most romantic and |
| a dinner table in England. It's cloudy and blowy | | | | beautiful of all Greek islands, Santorini is a great |
| outside. You are waiting for your wine. The | | | | place for retsina. The retsina there has a |
| waiter, or your host, brings you a bottle of | | | | particularly resinous flavor - this could be due to |
| retsina. It's easy to guess what your reaction | | | | the volcanic soil. Find one of the spectacular |
| would be. You would be horrified! And if you were | | | | tavernas by the sea or on the cliffs, and sit and |
| tasting it for the first time, you would no doubt | | | | sip your retsina, preferably at sunset. You will find |
| pull a face. | | | | it is the perfect accompaniment to help you |
| Retsina - from Greece - certainly doesn't taste | | | | enjoy the mind-blowing scenery. |
| like any other wine. And its distinctive taste has | | | | · Don't serve it chilled. Chilling intensifies the |
| made it the subject of jokes - and worse. | | | | resinous flavor and stops you appreciating the |
| Some people complain of its "turpentine-y" taste. | | | | other fruity flavors - which it DOES have! |
| The reason for this lies in its history. The original | | | | · Serve it in a tumbler as the Greeks do, not |
| makers needed to preserve and ship wines in | | | | in a wine glass. The inward curving rim of the |
| pine-pitch sealed vessels. To prevent the wine | | | | wine glass will prevent you enjoying the true |
| from spoiling, the wines were often adulterated | | | | flavor. |
| with all sorts of ingredients as preservatives. | | | | · Drink it with food, not on its own. It goes |
| Retsina had pine oils or pine resin added to it. (The | | | | superbly with meze, the appetizers served at the |
| name Retsina actually comes from "resin".) | | | | beginning of the meal. But it's the perfect |
| Whatever you do, don't take your first taste of | | | | accompaniment for all types of Mediterranean |
| retsina at home, or in a situation where you might | | | | cuisine, especially those with herbal or aromatic |
| expect a more sophisticated wine. Try it where it | | | | flavors. |
| belongs - in Greece! | | | | Yes, retsina is an acquired taste. But try it in the |
| · You need to be in the Greek sunshine and | | | | environment where it belongs, and it won't take |
| absorbing the Greek atmosphere. To many, the | | | | you long to acquire it! |
| best place of all to be introduced to retsina is the | | | | |