Take a Bite Out of Breast Cancer

October is breast cancer awareness month. This year I volunteered to help Pink Jams, a breast cancer charity based right here in DC. They focus on awareness for breast cancer under the age of 40.

This October will mark the 2nd Annual Take a Bite Out of Breast Cancer. A benefit at local restaurants to help raise money by dining out! Plenty of restaurants around town are participating, take a look at the calendar from their site.

I will be participating on Saturday, October 13 at Cafe Soleil! They have graciously signed up to participate EVERY Saturday and Sunday night in the month of October! If you can't join me on the 13th, please try to visit another weekend and show your support for breast cancer awareness!

I have set up a Facebook event to keep everyone in the loop and I really hope to see you there! RSVP here.

Hope to see you out at some of these great events to help raise money for breast cancer!

Cheers

A Visit to Santo Wines in Santorini

While honeymooning in Greece, we consumed quite a bit of Greek wine! Thankfully, when we got to Santorini we were able to squeeze in some visits to local wineries.

Tourists in Santorini have a few options when it comes to transportation around the island. There's the standard cab or bus or moped rentals. We chose the non conventional route of 4 wheelers! Going back to my southern, country roots, we took the 4-wheeler around the southern part of the island, stopping at Santo Wines, Boutari and also the black sand beach.



Santo Wines is a very popular, local winery in Santorini. We even tasted the wine on a boat tour the day before! The view from the tasting room is unparalleled. I must say, Napa, this may have you beat ;)


The vast seaside overlook was filled with chairs, welcoming wine lovers to enjoy a glass with a view.


The tasting was 1 euro per taste, not bad, and you were able to select which wines. The tasting was very impersonal. We were told which wines we could select from, a brief description of each and then we sat ourselves. No tasting notes were provided, just a handwritten list of which wines we were tasting. However, the view of the sea made up for the impersonal staff.

As for the wines I tasted, I chose the Athiri, Aidani, Assyrtiko and Nykteri. All 4 are white wines. The Nykteri is a blend of the 3 previous grapes and also my favorite. It is the most complex of the 4 and also easily drankable on its own, perfect for a sunny afternoon in Santorini. The Athiri and Aidani were a bit acidic and monotone. The assyrtiko was a little more lively and balanced. Blending all 3 produces a great blend.


All in all, it was a great visit. Wine was decent, views were fantastic, I just wish the tasting was more personal so we could gain more from the experience.

Even the hubby enjoyed sipping wine in paradise!

Cheers!

GREECE: Where It's All About the Wine

We traveled to Greece on our honeymoon and words can't describe the ambiance, sights and experiences we had. It was also my first trip to Europe (sad, I know). Getting into the Greek way of life, our meals lasted hours and everything revolved around their local wine.

I fell in love.


Every menu featured popular, as well as not-so-known, wines from all over Greece. Very rarely did you find wine from other countries. They have a sense of national pride when it comes to their local food and wines. Not a meal went by that we didn't order by the glass or the bottle. The prices were great too! Most places offered house white or red for only 2.50 euro and carafes for less than 10. Bottles ranged from 20-30euro.

Carafes were in ceramic pitchers

Popular white  blend

Greece is known for their white wines, mostly Assyrtiko. Also common is a sauvignon blanc, semillion blend which we drank quite often. The crisp, fruit forward flavors was a perfect match to the warm climate and light foods of Greece. However, some of their white wine was a bit too acidic to drink on it's own.

Whether it was by the pool, beach, with a meal or just enjoying a glass on the balcony, I must say we consumed quite a bit of Greek wine!


Every hotel and even the airlines greeted us with wine or sparkling as a congratulations. It was quite the welcome :)

However, Greek wine is hard to come by in the US. This could be for a couple reasons:

A. The market here in the US just isn't open to buying bottles where the words and grapes are foreign. We see this a lot in wine retail when it comes to selling French wine. The variety isn't listed, the labels are in a different language; it's just stubborn Americans not expanding their palate and minds. After being in wine retail, I can speak from experience. Take away here: expand!!

or

B. Greece doesn't export as much as other countries. I don't know the economics and politics behind their exportation but most of the wineries in Greece are smaller. I don't expect a lot of them actually exporting due to cost. Although, more research on the economics could be done here.

Have your own thought? Do let me know!

For a little humor...

Stay tuned for a post of the wineries we visited, Santo Winery and Boutari!

Cheers!