Feasting in Naxos and Last Chance on Wine Club!🥂

Youssou fíloi tou krasioú!

Hi Wine Friends,

I’m still here in Greece, though I am now on the third and final island stop (unless you count our brief final layover in London). I am currently enjoying the turquoise waters and splendid seafood of Paros, after spending four days on Naxos.

It's been fascinating to see the differences of three islands that are sisters in the same Cycladic chain and such quick ferry rides apart. Not only differences in the landscape, but also in the culture, the food and especially the wine.

The differences on these islands seem (in my interpretation) to be an identity thing: Santorini is the wine island, Naxos is the farming island, and Paros is the seafood island. And while you’d think that they’d capitalize on each other’s strengths, there almost seems to be a Cycladic sibling rivalry going on. Because upon arriving in Naxos, I found that there is zero Santorini wine to be found!

All wine served in Naxos seems to come from the Greek mainland or the Peleponnesian peninsula. To be fair, this could have more to do with how scarce and prized Santorini wines are than with any rivalry, but I still found it interesting. Most of what I drank by the glass on Naxos was Peleponnesian Momnemvasia or Malagousia for whites or Nemean Agiorgitiko from reds. 

(Side note: the popular rosé style of Naxos is sweet! Took me a few glass orders to realize this was the running style and, while it’s yummy, it’s not always what I want in the middle of the day…) 

LAST CALL ON WINE CLUB!

Today is the last day to join June’s wine club, focused on the Mediterranean (Greece, Sardinia, Sicily, Corsica and more). So if you’ve enjoyed these musings on Greek wine and want to taste them for yourself - with yours truly - sign up by tonight at midnight. I’ll deliver you two (or more) bottles of wine and we’ll taste them together on Sunday, June 23rd at 2pm in the zoom-a-verse. No long term commitment.

Spotlight: the most unique restaurant in the Cyclades? 

God knows I love Greek food and could live off it forever. It’s what you find served at essentially every restaurant in the Cycladic islands. Except one. Tucked away in the labyrinthine cobbled alleys of Naxos’s old town lies La Vigne. Run by Eli, a French sommelier who used to run big-deal wine programs in Paris as well as make wine herself in the Rhône, and her partner Frederica (Fred), a badass self-designated ‘kitchen witch,’ La Vigne produces some of the most delicious and quixotic food I’ve ever tasted.

Is it Greek? No. French, surely? Again, no. Try Indonesian - Fijian - Northern Thai meets Caribbean with a touch of Provençal sensibility thrown in for good measure. We enjoyed coconut milk snapper ceviche, sambal-stewed cauliflower, Caribbean chicken curry, burrata with the most incredibly unique sundried tomato sorbet (!) and the best ratatouille I’ve ever tasted.

And the catch? It all comes out of a kitchen less than half the size of Arden’s. Which, let me tell you, is hard to do. And it’s just the two of them! Fred and Ellie have run La Vigne on their own, after ditching France for Naxos, for 15 years. They go to the market at 7am every morning, envision the night’s menu, prep all day, then serve their 8 tiny tables through three turns of dinner service (and people dine late here - like sit down for dinner at 10pm).

Needless to say, it’s a labor of love and I wanted to shine a light on their extraordinary operation. We would not have discovered them had it not been recommended by fellow foodie friends (shout out to Noma and Gail!). La Vigne is tucked off the beaten path, away from the stream of tourists and souvenir shops. They don’t serve Greek salad and they don’t boast a view of the Aegean. But if you are in Naxos, you simply must hunt them down. 

And I failed to mention the wine. Ellie, as a sommelier and winemaker, has an excellent palate. She has curated a selection of the best wines Greece has to offer - available by the glass and bottle, as well as to take home from a small retail selection.

I drank an exquisite Vidiano from Crete - full of fresh juicy Bosque pear flavors with just a hint of gardenia and beautiful mineral texture. It was to-die-for with the coconut ceviche. Then I enjoyed a 2015 Mandilaria (also from Crete) with dried red fruit and dusty earth aromas (reminiscent of an excellent Brunello di Montalcino) as well as a 2020 Mavrodafné - Agiorgitiko blend from the Peleponnese, which was robust and full with ripe black fruit, bramble, anise and clove.

The latter carried through nicely to dessert: a decadent chocolate fondant with raspberry coulis. (Nothing wrong with going fully French for dessert…)

Thank you Eli and Fred for an exquisite meal and I hope you’ll all look them up if you ever find yourself in Naxos.

Cheers and I’ll see you next week for one last Greek installment - the Paros Report.

Yiamas,

Kelsey