Sherry Masterclass, Athens

ReiniYiannis

Yiannis Korovesis and his team from bitterbooze.com, Greece’s biggest and most professional website about alcohol, hosted a comprehensive and highly specialized seminar about Sherry, Andalucia’s unique fortified wine. Inviting Reinhard Pohorec, certified sherry expert from Vienna, to Athens and Fuga Restaurant, located inside the garden of Megaron’s Concert Hall, it was the first suchlike Masterclass to take place in Greece.

Mr. Pohorec is a professional bartender and has excelled in many cocktail competitions but he is working in the drinks and gourmet industry in various ways. Besides teaching and working as bar instructor, he’s contributing author for several magazines specialized on the “finer things in life” (Drinks, Falstaff, Lust & Leben, Diffordsguide, Mixology, Weinwelt). Furthermore he gained recognition as consultant for distilling companies and restaurateurs, was awarded Certified Sake Sommelier and of course the title Sherry Educator by the Consejo Regulador de las DD.O. Jerez, Manzanilla y Vinagre de Jerez, the youngest one up to date.

Sherry is considered undisputedly one of world’s greatest wines and even trend nowadays as more and more bartenders tend to use it in their cocktail lists or to impress their guests and during cocktail competitions. Nevertheless, Sherry is still a hidden treasure.

The event was introduced by the Trade Ambassador of the Spanish Embassy in Athens, Mr. Jorge Andreu, who talked about Sherry’s unique character and its importance for Spain’s heritage and tradition.

jorgeandreauMr. Pohorec presented a six-hour seminar to seventy professionals from the gastronomic industry which included tasting of thirteen different sherries from all categories, basic and advanced information about Sherry production, maturation, styles and serving methods, as well as Sherry cocktails.

During the first part of the event, dry Sherries were tasted and paired with greek Bottarga from Trikalino Co, alongside this year’s olives from ‘’Makri’’, an ancient variety from Thrace that Calypso Co is using to produce its extra olive oil.

In the middle of the seminar the participants enjoyed five course meal, ideally paired with five different Sherries, highlighting the fortified wine’s diversity and ability to accompany a meal from beginning to end.

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The menu was designed by Tasos Mantis, the new head chef of Michelin star awarded Hytra restaurant in Athens in accordance with Reinhard Pohorec and it included the following dishes:

  • Sardine in toast bread with tomato confit and  Greek basil
  • Pickled vegetables with jerusalem artichoke and hazelnut mayonnaise
  • Chicken liver parfait with toasted nuts and grape molasses
  • Braised milk fed lamb with orzo and xigalo cretan cheece ( Giouvetsi)
  • Rice pudding with mandarine sorbet and vanilla

The menu was created to highlight the locality of raw materials, since only greek products were used and of course their saisonality.

The event was concluded with Sherry cocktails along with Bacardi rum, Bombay gin, whisky and vermouth.

yiannis@bitterbooze.com
bitterbooze.com
+306947271923

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