Andreas Lagos, The Chef

Is it possible for a lover of Greek cuisine, originating from one of the most emblematic regions of our country, not to have an opinion on retsina? Any answer beyond an emphatic "no" is rejected as unacceptable...

AUTOMATIC CONNECTION.

Is it possible for a chef – and, indeed, originally from Samos, a place legendary for its wine production – to ignore a trademark wine of our country, such as retsina? Probably not... Certainly not, when the specific chef is Andreas Lagos, the cook whose need to get out of the microcosm of his kitchen pushed him to create the "Nomad Chef" concept.

"The truth is that, especially in the past, there were times when retsina was present in my daily life. I consider it a special, a rare product. Over the years, an effort was made in Northern Greece and in Thessaloniki in particular to re-communicate all this extraordinary added value that retsina can provide, in combination with food. I just think that in the last one or two years, after the corona virus, we've lost a little bit of our contact with retsina" says Andreas Lagos. “But now I think we have a golden opportunity to start including retsina again in our going out, in our food, in every nice occasion. It is something really special, which is very much identified with our place".

FLAVOR CATALYST.

And in his kitchen? Does "Nomad Chef" use retsina at all in his preparations?

"Yes, the truth is that I also use a lot of retsina in my cooking" he replies. "As I come from Samos - on the island we had enough retsina, as we are wine producers and we also have the Union of Wine Cooperatives of Samos -, retsina has always been something very familiar to me. Throughout my childhood, retsina was what everyone usually drank at home, but also outside, in traditional coffee shops. So, I know it well and it goes without saying that I have tried it. This knowledge also passed into my food, in many dishes – I remember the chicken with retsina, the oregano rabbit with retsina, the goat with retsina... Both at my father's and later, growing up, with my own culinary discoveries, but also with Chrysanthos Karamolegos, with whom I collaborated for years, we had many recipes in which we used retsina. Cooking is a very good way to communicate these kinds of products – maybe, in fact, it's the best way.”

SUBSTANCE AND IMAGE.

Although one of the most characteristic Greek wines (if not the most characteristic), retsina's image has taken quite a beating over the last few decades, with part of the consumer public snubbing it. How fair and evidence-based was this consideration?

"Unfortunately, I have to agree that retsina used to be a wine of what we would describe as 'secondary'..." he replies. "Certainly, this also has to do with the fact that there were no serious attempts to make a proper vinification for this product - a, I repeat, a very special product, which is inextricably combined with the tradition and culture of Greek cuisine and is made from two basic elements: the Greek vine and the pine tree, two plants which are identified with Mediterranean cuisine, culture, tradition. They identify with everything".

"I believe", continues Andreas Lagos, "that what is needed is to do two things - and they have been done, of course, in recent years: better winemaking, but also better communication. If you notice, in recent years there has been a disaster with natural wines. We have to admit that many attempts to produce natural wines are – in my opinion – super-failed. And there are also shops that – also unfortunately, always in my opinion – only follow this line, of natural wines. That is, they offer only natural wines, which I think is not right – and they lose commercially, but also, at the end of the day, you don't enjoy the food. To go back to retsina: there are wine people, there are winemakers who do really great work. That is why I think that retsina can become a product which, because it is protected and produced in Greece, can really stand out. And not only in Greece, but also abroad – if I'm not mistaken, a country where retsina is doing very well is France, one of the biggest wine-producing countries in the world». "I believe", concludes the beloved chef, "that retsina is a wine that fits perfectly with the logic of the Greek meze, the tavern, the traditional coffee shop, with what we want to enjoy with our food when we go out. It is a wine for company, for sharing, which fits perfectly with our kitchen philosophy: with fried foods, with meatballs, with everything that we all want to enjoy, especially in the summer months".

"THE POOR'S RETINA"? OF COURSE NOT.

And which is this "new retsina" that needs to be communicated? We ask chef Andreas Lagos again.

“At least in the past, retsina was clearly associated with the working class and people who, financially, could not spend more to enjoy a better-quality wine. I think that is now a thing of the past. I believe that, today, it is a matter of proper communication, so that this wine can enter our table again powerfully – whether around this table are sitting students or people of the bourgeoisie or anyone else. In general, however, I have to tell you that I don't like these kinds of labels. I believe that these very special products – and there are, thank God, many such products produced in Greece, among them retsina – are something that the world should share. It needs proper redefinition and communication. And it is certainly the younger generation that is helping to spread this trend. Of course, there are categories and categories – you can find a budget retsina, but also a much more expensive, premium quality retsina. There are many such examples on the market. Retsina, however, is for the whole world. And, because we are also going through a period of good and positive introspection regarding Greece, Greekness and locality, I believe that the present time is the best for this whole thing to come out. Greece sells - and I use 'sells' in the best possible sense - all these products that it has to offer to the local population, but also, obviously, to all those who visit our country from abroad. And, of course, these products should also be exported: half of the production of the Samian wine, Muscat, is exported to France – and it is more than certain that the people there know good wine. I think it's time for retsina to take over".

ELEMENT OF GREEK CULTURE.

We ask Andreas Lagos what role wine plays in our daily lives – in moments of company and solitude, joy and sadness, extroversion, and introversion.

"Wine - and especially in Greek culture - is an element that embraces all our moments, from the ugliest to the most beautiful", he answers. "It is an integral part of food - in general, but also especially in Greece, since ancient times. Personally, I am particularly happy because I see in recent years especially the youth, the young people, turning towards quality Greek wine, consuming it with food, but also beyond food. This is the impression that I have formed due to work, but also from the conversations I have with wine producers and with people who do sales in large wineries. Wine is starting to do extremely well, helped by extroversion and the rise of tourism – people coming to Greece want to drink Greek wine. And this is not surprising: retsina, the Santorini vineyard (is there anything like it in the world?), the Samian vineyard (and I am not saying this because I am from there), the wines of Lemnos, the wines of Northern Greece... We have places which are so special and rare that wines of this quality cannot be produced anywhere else in the world, even if the exact same varieties were grown. And it is certainly also the way of production that is rare... I refer again to Samos, because I am from there, my parents live there and do this work: there are areas in Samos where no car can go, so the grape is carried by hand or on donkey. When you harvest at an altitude of over a thousand meters, on terraces of half a meter where the vine is, well, it is not easy... And it has nothing to do with, for example, Bordeaux or other regions, which are plains and you just harvest. This wine is literally handmade".