“Because you young Greek, whoever has the chance of sleeping with a woman and does not sleep with her commits a great sin. If a woman calls you to her bed and you do not go, your soul is destroyed! That woman will sigh at the moment of God’s great judgement and that sigh of the woman’s will throw you down to hell no matter who you are and how any good things you have done.”
Nikos Kazantzakis, “Zorba the Greek”, 1952
In Episode 203 of “Yukon Harvest”, “Pay it Forward” Scott Unger from the Métis Nation travels to Mayo in the Canadian Yukon to hunt for caribou with Brian “Wojo” Wojciechowski who runs a substantial guide business for fishers and hunters in the Yukon for some 20 years. Wojo at 65 is ready to retire and hand over his guiding functions to Unger. Yes Unger bags an caribou and gives thanks to the spirit of the dead caribou with its meat being distributed to elders.
The story line is overtaken by the spectacular scenery of summertime Yukon. Although watching a fatally shot caribou take its last twitch may make the viewer uncomfortable remember that none of the animal is wasted and its meat distributed to the elders.
For times of viewing best check the APTN website but episode 203 will be showing after June 10th. This episode concludes season 2 leaving us excited about hopefully a season three.
It is thought by many the top of the Greek Assyrtiko pyramid is the island of Santorini. But the price of Santorini Assyrtiko is beyond the budget of many.
So we scale down the pyramid to an Assyrtiko from the Peloponnese.
Aroma: Citrus, guava with a tiny streak of pineapple.
Palate: Lemon, lemon curd and some jalapeno pepper. Zesty acidity translates for me into wine meant more for food than sipping. At 13.5% there is a burn to the finish.
Food pairing: Crustacean Ravioli with chickpea consommé with Portobello and pennywort ragout. Also grilled sea bass with a lemon, olive oil and oregano sauce.
Cellarbility: Drink in 2023.
Personality: Acidic, dry and not a particularly friendly wine unless seafood is at hand.
Price: $17.95 (Ontario).
RKS 2023 Wine Rating: 83/100.
(Zacharias 2021 Assyrtiko, PGI Peloponnese, Zacharias Winery, Peloponnese, Greece, 13.5%, Liquor Control Board of Ontario # 588814).
Napa this. Sonoma that. Lake District? Mendocino? Caught in the California Cabernet Sauvignon factory or possibly propaganda machine? What about British Columbia? What about Ontario? For that matter what about the rest of the world?
Washington State can produce some top-quality Cabernet Sauvignon. Is this Intrinsic Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon one of them?
Wild label. Would you dance with that woman?
Aroma: Big, brash and towering. A tsunami of a Cabernet Sauvignon that is still developing its curl. A baby in a bottle. A surfer respects the massive wave so should wine drinkers respect this Cabernet Sauvignon? Blueberry, black cherry, blackberry and a bit of Croatian hazelnut wafer cookie.
Palate: Firm, cloistered with a gentle surge but not a monster wave of tannins. Blueberry, blueberry pancakes and all of it bound nicely with no obvious oak.
Personality: Joanna Andrade.
Food match: https://www.mygreekdish.com/recipe/greek-style-octopus/
Cellarbility: Will cruise into 2026 nicely.
Price: $30.95 (Ontario).
RKS 2023 Wine Rating: 91/100. Jamessuckling.com 92.
(Intrinsic 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Columbia Valley, Intrinsic Wine Co, Paterson, Washington, 750 mL, 14.5%, Liquor Control Board of Ontario # 493379).
In Episode 202 of “Yukon Harvest” we continue to follow Ed Jensen a British Columbian aboriginal guide and hunter as he travels to the Yukon in search of bagging a Bull Moose for himself and his young protégé Evan.
The theme of hunting with respect and reverence for the animal and its spirit continues. There is no initial backslapping and cheers shown by Jensen but sadness and respect for the departing animal spirit. I did much fishing in years past and never thought of thanking that fish or its spirit. Very selfish of me.
The other theme of ensuring the younger generation maintains necessary skills to carry on their language and tradition is crucial to Jensen mentoring his young hunters. Nary a part of the animal is wasted.
Instead of sadness and pity engendered by so many documentaries on Canadian aboriginal culture it is a beautiful feeling to experience joy and pride.
You can see the trailer here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6IJqXeBJ2XU&t=26s . Episode 201 begins June 10. For timing on Episodes 202 and 203 check out the APTN website. In addition to watching in the English language viewers may hear it in Northern Tutchone a language which is spoken in various aboriginal communities in the Yukon.
As a Canadian reviewer of documentaries, I will admit I was getting worn down and forlorn over a seemingly endless stream of depressing documentaries on Canadian aboriginal life. Alcoholism, drug abuse, poor housing, officially mismanaged salmon fisheries including a proliferation of salmon farms destroying aboriginal fish stocks and of course residential schools. These stories must be told but is there no room for a celebration of Canadian aboriginal culture? Well then arrived the Canadian documentary “Aitamaako’tamisskapi Natsi: Before the Sun” which showed an optimistic and proud side of Canadian aboriginal culture. You can read my review here https://setthebarlifestyle.wordpress.com/2023/03/29/rks-2023-hot-docs-films-aitamaakotamisskapi-natosi-before-the-sun-i-cant-believe-i-am-saying-this/?fbclid=IwAR1f3HCPEy6DA3_f2j_v8VScfATEQP3QF-2iq11HuS2bm0HDvxTC6Bdd8XM
The APTN network’s first season of “Yukon Harvest” was a big hit so APTN is back with season 2 and from what I have seen the trauma of Canadian residential schools is discussed in Season 2 but there is pride shown in aboriginal culture with its sound ecological traditions and respect for the land as it is the land that nurtures and provides for all of us. A basic truth that escapes the “modern world”.
In Episode 201“Yegwúp (to Grow Strong) Part 1 viewers meet Ed Jensen of the British Columbia Secwepemc Nation a hunting guide that mentors young aboriginal hunters. Jensen has a deep respect for the land that provides for all if taken care of properly. Off he heads to the Canadian Yukon for a series of hunts. Is he a mad dentist in Kenya killing lions for a photo op? No he has reverence for the animals he shoots showing sadness yet gratitude to the animal just killed that will feed so many. He shows respect for the animal spirit in a ceremonial fashion. Jensen fervently believes he has an obligation to pass on traditions of thousands of years to the young hunters he mentors.
Yes there is a mention or two of the trauma caused by residential schools but there is hope and joy of Jensen and his young hunters which I can only hope you can feel and share with friends and family.
The cinematography is second to none.
This episode will show on June 10th on APTN but you should check with APTN on screenings of this episode.
In 2019 I received an invitation from the Italian Trade Commission in Toronto for a June press trip to Naples. It was mostly wine but there was a trip for a few of us to Pompeii and a walking tour of Naples. What a way to fall in love with Naples and then extend my trip to visit Sorrento, Capri and Positano. Oh the food and the nooks and crannies of Naples. It corrupted me to such an extent if its not a Napoli pizza why bother eating pizza at all. And the Vitingo Wine Show at a castle on the waterfront in Naples unearthed some surprisingly good wine.
Well one of the press trips involved passing by the charming mountaintop town of Montefalcione where early in the morning we were met by its mayor and a delegation. We had a short walking tour of the beautiful city and I noted I must try and get back to it but COVID and some Portuguese press trips have kept me busy and a bit diverted from Italy.
This Aglianico is produced and bottled by Donnachiara based in Montefalcione so my Campanian memories have been sparked.
The wine is 100% Aglianico which has been grown in clay soil and has spent 6 months in 225 litre French oak barriques and a further 8 months in the bottle.
Aroma: Blackberry abounds accompanied by blueberry, black cherry with a bit of fading youth on the edges.
Palate: Rich ripe cherry rules the roost held in place by modest but noticeable tannins. Nice little rift of cherry liqueur kicks in just before the long finish.
Personality: I am neither risky or flippant. I am a serious muscular red full of heft and power and like so many Italian wines built for food.
Food Pairing: So much of the turf food in Naples would be more than happy sharing your mouth with this wine. Why not just say go to Umberto’s in Naples or to Tasso in Sorrento and look to the menu and you may find an ideal match. I would find nothing amiss having a Tasso pizza with this wine! Ask Mattia Gargiulo at Tasso for some help. Tell him that Canadian wine writer Robert K. Stephen says hello and wink and ask for the freshly caught fish in the morning but you’ll have to switch to Greco di Tufo white wine for any of those dishes. Where is the better food in Italy…Roma or Napoli? To avoid a fist fight best avoid that debate!
Cellarbility: Enough tannins and heft to conclude this wine is only commencing its ascension to greatness. Will happily strut into 2030.
Price: $30 (Ontario).
RKS 2023 Wine Rating: 93/100. JamesSuckling.com 94.
(Donnachiara 2020 Irpina Aglianico D.O.C., Donnachiara, Montefalcione, Italy, 750 mL, 13.5%, Liquor Control Board of Ontario # 262956).
The second annual Vancouver Greek Film Festival (VGFF) runs from 1-4 June 2023. It presents an eclectic offering of contemporary and classic Greek cinema. This year the Festival kicks off a calendar of events organized by The Hellenic Canadian Congress of British Columbia during Greek Heritage Month which culminates in “Greek Day on Broadway” one of Vancouver’s most famous street festivals on June 25th.
Greek film has made great strides in the last two decades emerging from slapstick comedy to films dealing with contemporary social issues not afraid to take aim at Greek politics, religion and governmental bureaucracy.
Christos Dikeakos a visual artist and co-founder of the VGFF states, “The programme presents a myriad of stories and experiences about the human condition, offering insight into the minds of Greek filmmakers that is at once intimate and universal.”
“Days and Nights of Demetra K” is a documentary filmed over a period of ten years. Demetra K was the proprietor of Athens’s oldest bordello in the suburb of Glyfada.
The days are just like most of our days with shopping, chatting, watching television, arguing with family members, maintaining friendships and worrying about the economy. And as the Greek economy hit the skids so did the bordellos so even the nights of Demetra are no more exciting than her days. So uneventful and lacking in revenue she closes the bordello but continues to advocate for sex workers in her position of head of the Sex Worker’s Union of Greece where she abhors sex trafficking and the Greek macho attitude of sex without condoms. Demetra is a treasure trove of Athenian bordello history remarking that it was the Greek monarchy that licensed her bordello yet in modern times there is no end of trouble with the Greek government. But even in these earlier times there was abuse and murder amongst the bordello girls.
Winner of the Best Documentary at the 2022 Hellenic Film Academy Awards.
Directed by Eva Stefani.
It screens 2June2023.
RKS 2023 Film Rating 76/100.
We have one of those darker pinkies which will reduce the anxiety of red wine drinkers not drinking red wine with this Rosé in their glass! Yet it might cause a fright to white wine drinkers. Is Tavel Rosé the Great Compromise?
Aroma: A very large raspberry assault. And since the blend is Syrah, Clairette and Grenache the latter offers its ripe strawberry influence.
Palate: Full bodied Rosé indeed with excellent and sophisticated tannic grip yet it could be a full-bodied white! A great compromise and everyone should like the raspberry/strawberry combo. A long finish.
Personality: If wine was the corporate world I would be one of these big powerful executives earning 6,047 times more than those lowly thin wimpy pink Rosés!
Food match: Why not a Montreal style bagel with smoked salmon? This wine can certainly handle grilled chicken marinated in beer, cayenne, Merquen, cinnamon and paprika.
Cellarbility: The wine will peak in time for roast turkey or baked ham for 2023 Christmas. It can coast through 2025.
Price: $24.95 (Ontario).
RKS 2023 Wine Rating: 92/100.
(Château D’Aqueria Tavel 2022 Cru des Côtes-du-Rhone, AP Tavel, Château D’Aqueria, Tavel, France, 750 mL, 14%, Liquor Control Board of Ontario # 319368).
Yalumba makes an impeccable organic Viognier. Can they repeat that with their organic Shiraz?
Aroma: Full of rich black fruit particularly blackberries and black plums.
Palate: Initially the tannins present themselves as softies but increase, not greatly, in intensity. Blackberries, blueberries with a licorice twist. Considering the wine is from South Australia one might categorize it as a light Shiraz with character and depth. Moderately long finish.
Personality: South Australian red wine normally has some real heft but I can show you a lighter side if you would let me.
Food Match: Mushroom Picatta.
Cellarbility: Best before 2025.
Price: $17.25 (Ontario).
RKS 2023 Wine Rating: 89/100. Sam Kim 91.
Yalumba 2019 Organic Shiraz, South Australia, Yalumba, Angaston, Australia, 750 mL, 14%, Liquor Control Board of Ontario # 280883.
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