The
Peloponnese

A long day for sure, but rich in culture, food and wine. Leaving Athens is busy and it will be start and stop for a bit. It will probably take about 30 minutes to reach the outskirts where the road opens up. There are no skyscapers or even tall buildings in Athens, just row after row of low slung buildings, probably not more than 7 stories in the entire city.

Culture – However, once out of Athens, we will make good time to Corinth. Our first stop is to see the canal. Bungee jumpers made it cooler to see while I was there, but, either way, the canal itself is a marvel of engineering.

Next stop, old Corinth. The site itself is amazing looking out over the Bay of Corinth. Some of the pieces are exceptional, plenty that required the use of one’s imagination. We will take our time to look around.

Wine focus – Perhaps it is a given that we will mispronounce most things in Greek on this trip. Yiannis and his wife own Papargyriou. The production is pretty small, around 90,000 bottles per year. It is a bit off the beaten path and at some point, you will ask where are we going? Upon arrival, it all makes sense. His white wine was one of the better whites I tried on my recent trip. His reds are massive.

Food focus – Yannis is quite fortunate. He has a seasonal restaurant and the chef is working for pleasure and not out of necessity. You can taste the result. I can’t tell you what we will eat because the menu changes frequently. The chef is inspired by Italian cuisine as much as Greek cuisine. I can only promise that the end result is very good. Until today, just about 100% of the clientele is Greek.

Finally, we will make our way to our destination in Nafplio. The drive to the hotel is approximately 60 to 70 minutes. The motorway is good, and the scenery is beautiful. We will drive for about 30 minutes off the motorway. Not bad, heading down into the town. The town itself is quite cute, not too small, not too big. Nafplio was the original capital of Greece after independence from the Ottomans. We are going to stay in sister properties within 100 meters of one another. I am certain everyone will like their room.

Culture – We need a guide here to fully comprehend the magnitude of what this site civil meant to civilization. We are talking 1000 BC +. The beehive tomb, the Lions Gate and the view itself are independently worth the journey.

The drive to Mycenae is easy and uphill just about the entire way. The road is lined on either side by groves of orange trees. Perhaps it would remind one of Southern California pre Disney. The smell of orange blossom was everywhere.

Food focus – The Greek taverna really does exist. Lunch will consist of salad, some very good grilled red peppers, grilled feta, which is hard to describe but is sumptuous, along with the house specialty - mixed grilled meats. To finish, a little candied bergamot orange.

It’s a very humble place, totally off the beaten path, but nice authentic people. It is husband Dimitri and wife Margarita in the kitchen.

Wine – I “discovered” this winery during my most recent visit to Napflio. It is polished for sure. But the wines are great. I thought the rose was particularly good.

Culture – We are going to have a full day. First, we will visit the ancient theatre of Epidaurus. The setting and acoustics are as good as advertised. It is incredible to imagine yourself at a performance 2,400 years ago. Someone in our group will have to test the acoustics. I was treated to a group of high schoolers performing a clapping routine on my visit.

Food and wine focus - After, we will have lunch at a taverna a stone’s throw from the hotel. Wow, the eggplant dip was to die for. If you like spicy, remind me to order the peppers.

Keep going - From there, we will head out for a boat ride along the coast for a couple of hours. Just lounge on the catamaran or jump in the water if you like. The Argolic Gulf coastline is pretty dramatic.

Nemea is arguably the most important wine region in Greece. It reminds me a little of Napa Valley before it was commercialized in the 80’s and early 90’s. It is fun that we get to see it now. Wine focus – 60,000 bottles and it seems even smaller. During my visit, Xrostos grabbed me by the hand and led me to the barrel room where we will do the tasting. The wines are traditional Nemea, and awesome.

Food focus – After our tasting, we will head into town and have a good lunch at a place where the generational shift has happened. Of course, we will have some juicy red wine from Nemea to wash it all down.

Culture – The highlight for me is the meandering drive to arrive at the farmhouse. The road is empty and surprisingly better than the roads in Tuscany. The scenery is stunning in every direction. We might need to pause for the sheep crossing the road or wait for the dog lying in the sun to get the picture and get up. We will pass a few small villages, but not many. Just enjoy the view out of either side.

We will finally arrive at our destination. John and Cristanti and a furry friend or two will greet us with a warm welcome. We will have a bite to eat, hopefully outside in the evening. There shouldn’t be any snow at the top of the mountain in the distance, but believe it or not, they ski and snowboard around here.

Fodis will make coffee to your liking for your breakfast this morning. Proper American style filtered coffee as well. The color of the eggs is a rich deep yellow. Having resident free range chickens on site (thankfully, no rooster) certainly helps.

Culture – We are going to visit the oldest monastery in Greece, literally nestled into the mountain. It was here that Luke the Disciple roamed 2,000 years ago. It doesn’t feel old and its not. The structure has been destroyed and rebuilt at least four times in its 1,600
years of existence, most recently from a fire. It is still worth seeing.

Wine and lunch - We are going to head a bit further down the hill, not much, to visit the team at Tetromythos. Assistant winemaker Mellitini is a jewel. The head winemaker was years ahead of his time before the term “natural wine” became trendy. You will receive an interesting lesson in why this entire region is virtually organic. We will have lunch at the winery, hopefully on the patio overlooking the hills and coast. With any luck the owners cousin is the chef today. 

We are going to drive down the valley to take a special train ride up to Kalavryta. The ride is approximately one hour and winds its ways through the canyon and gorge up the mountain. Arguably one of the more spectacular one hour train rides of your life.

This evening, we will have a light meal back at the farmhouse.

Culture – It is all about natural beauty today in the mountains. I had never heard of the plane tree and their special symbolism in Greece mythology until recently. Being in the woods had this Game of Thrones like feeling, in a positive way. As if the trees were talking to one another. Adjacent to the forest is lunch.

Food experience – You probably have some opinion about fresh water fish. Today, we are going to try smoked trout, almost delicate. But beforehand, the red pepper and feta pate is pretty addictive (with some of the better bread you will taste in Greece). We can finish  with either surf or turf, you decide. But the house decides the playlist and the house wine is pretty special. And you will never find it on your own… imagine 3 wrong turns with a functioning gps. A tiny bit more culture – I might be a sucker for a good cave, its true. A half hour visit for a few million years of nature, why not? Plus, it’s on the way home. You won’t spot the bats, but they are there, all 38,000 of them.

More food – Going all in on the smoker at the farmhouse this evening. Our last evening together will be a treat.

We are going to head back to Athens at 9 00 am.