Honey and Wine

By sheer dumb luck while I was confirming the location and size of the archaeological site in Tylissos, I stumbled upon a honey farm.  I couldn't resist, especially since it was 10 min away from the site, so we made a brief unannounced stop.  We've had great success doing this in the past, especially with wineries, and we figured there was no downside.

Tsigenis Honey Farm and Products.  (I'd like to their website at Tsigenis.com but it seems to be under construction.  Still, it was what got me there, and the owner seemed more than a little surprised by my knowledge of his website).  The owner was intrigued as he admitted he had contemplated opening his honey farm to tours, but didn't know what he would show/discuss, and so called us "his first customers".  I will admit that the only bits I know about honey production come from watching "How It's Made,"which is all about mass production, and some YouTube videos about how to relocate bee colonies.  This was so much more detailed and personal.  Tsigenis actually produces queen bees for beekeepers, and tracks the strength and production of their hives to develop the best queens.  Then, they set up their apiaries all over the area, and collect them later for harvesting the honey.  We got to see the frames with and without honey, and taste spring versus fall harvests.  I will confess that I was so fascinated and absorbed by the discussion, that I completely forgot to take photos.  What I have are random images which don't begin to tell the story of this place.  

A queen bee is identifiable because she is the largest bee in the colony.  Of course that distinction is impractical in the abstract, so he took out some queen bee "packs" with a couple of drones that he ships to beekeepers!  

They also incubate queens for colonies which have lost their queen, or want to start a new colony.  The average life of a queen is 3-5 years, which is also the the average good production years for honey from a colony.  

The vibrating tray for the full honey combs, with two full frames in place.  The machinery was cleaned, so I wasn't expecting him to get anything dirty just for us.  The vat to the left is essentially a centrifuge to get the last bits out.  Everything is that cleaned and filtered, and the debris, especially the old wax, is recycled into new wax molds in the frames.  Since I grabbed this shot as an afterthought before leaving, I didn't think about what I needed to document, but barely in the left foreground, you can see a corner of a clean frame.  These also last about 3-5 years before they are too dirty to reuse--the bees will clean the combs, or not, and which is also an indicator of colony/queen strength.  Good drones which clean the combs well are a sign of a strong queen.

There was so much more that we learned, and discussed.  He has contemplated setting up a transparent apiary so visitors can see inside the colony.  I suggested a live video feed of the process from beginning to end, like they have in zoos around pivotal events.  And of course, being a lawyer, I mentioned he'd want a good release (the second statement i made after we asked if they could show us around was that I wasn't allergic to bees--a good thing since they are flying around everywhere, and not just at Tsigenis!) and that he shouldn't let children into the place.  

After that, we drove to Silva Daskalaki Winery.  We had been introduced to this winery while dining at Sense--the Sera white had been paired with a beautiful cod dish.  They couldn't accommodate us that day, but we were invited to a private wine tasting with lunch the next day.  I called it a wine and food pairing.  We got a brief tour of the winery, which included amphorae as part of the aging process, as well as porcelain/concrete, steel and French oak.  Their winery comprises thousands of hectares, and they are still expanding.

This is a biological winery, which is sometimes called organic.  Basically, they use no pesticides or additives.  Their wines are sulfite free, and as a result has a higher ABV than what we have come to expect in the US.  Also, it is one of the few wineries in Greece which bottles their wine.  This has been an uphill battle to convince their colleagues to join them in becoming a respected wine region, and teach the rest of the world about other varietals than retsina, but menus in Crete at least now offer wine (500/1000mL) and bottle wine (750mL), although the latter will be twice the price or more, which makes it not as interesting to the local diner, or the local village, which may also produce its own wine.

I've long had an appreciation for Greek wine, but now I learned some of the local issues about production.  First, the standard Greek palate wants a sweeter wine.  Our sommelier guide described how old Greek men sit around and drink white wine which tastes like moscato, and so they have to appeal to that market by producing that.  Red wine has never tasted "sweet", and so rosé has risen to fill that function in dining.  It is sweet but with more body than mere white.  This has led to the development of other lines which are, as I would describe, a half a step "more" than the conventional product.  Their Grifos series is unfiltered, and the red is halfway to a port.  

 Once we started the wine tasting, it was all over for me.  The food kept coming--more than we could possibly eat in a week!  The wine kept coming, with bottles that they would never sell, but were bottling for a wedding for 3000 the following week.  It was an event, and it was just more dumb luck that we got to participate in this delicious experience.  

Clay amphorae for maturation beside steel tanks (background) and porcelain/concrete octagonal tank (foreground)

Wine tasting counter, with other porcelain/concrete tanks.

Display cabinet.

First course--dolmadakia.  After that, I stopped trying to document the experience, and just enjoyed it!  I think I am going to experiment more with oregano.  You can come taste what I have learned.