When I think of May, I think of beautiful weather, I think of strawberries, and I think of Mother’s Day. It is very fitting that Mother’s Day falls in the month that kicks off the fruit and vegetable bounty that is summer. I hope many of you will agree that mothers and food are a natural pairing. My mother was Greek. Everything she learned about cooking was from her mother, who lived with us for much of my childhood. My grandmother was an incredible cook. There are very few Greek dishes I’ve eaten in restaurants, including those in Greece, that were better than my grandmother’s. She was always making something delicious in the kitchen, and I loved to watch her cook. We called my grandmother Mama, because that’s what my mom called her. Perhaps the dish I think of 1st when I think of her is Spanakopita. She started by making her own Phyllo dough, which took several days. As a result, there was plenty of time for anticipation to build among her family members. By the time she put the finished pan of Spanakopita on the table, it was kind of like Christmas. Can you guess the best wine pairing with Spanakopita? It’s Riesling.
My family drank a lot of German wine because my father owned a winery in Germany that was most famous for making Blue Nun Liebfraumilch. The Sichel winery also exported the wines of about a dozen small, family-owned German wineries. As a result, I have enjoyed beautiful German Rieslings with just about every classic Greek dish. I don’t think there are many Greek dishes that are as good a pairing with Riesling as Spanakopita: Spinach, onion, delicate flaky pastry – all ingredients that pair beautifully with Riesling – even not so dry Riesling.
Can you guess what I will be (making my kids) serve on Mother’s Day? Of course, even I balk at the idea of making Phyllo dough from scratch. Fortunately, even though Mama would disagree, the frozen Phyllo dough at my local market works great and using frozen Phyllo dough cuts the time to make this dish from 3 days to about 2 hours.
I’m sad to say my grandmother never wrote down her recipe for Spanakopita so I can’t share it with you. But I can share that any Spanakopita recipe you use will taste great with our 2023 Laurel Glen p.s. Riesling.
Thank you for this opportunity to think about my wonderful grandmother who enriched my life in so many ways. I hope my words have caused you to spend a moment thinking about a dish you associate with your mother or grandmother. Maybe (make your kids) serve it for Mother’s Day this year?
Cheers to you and your favorite mom-inspired meal – always made better accompanied by a beautiful bottle of wine.
– Bettina
