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Eastern Europe is re-emerging as a wine region, with offerings from wineries in places including Albania, Croatia, Macedonia, Serbia and Slovenia.
2013 Trapan "Ponente" Istrian Malvasia ($20)
It's been great to see the gradual re-emergence of Eastern Europe as a wine region, following decades of dormancy under Communist rule.
In the past two years, for example, the Montvale-based importer Winebow has developed a regional portfolio dubbed the "Balkan Wine Project," which includes producers from Albania, Croatia, Macedonia, Serbia and Slovenia.
An excellent introduction to the region's vinicultural potential is Trapan, a 10-year-old Croatian property run by a dynamic young winemaker named Bruno Trapan. His vineyard is on the Istrian peninsula, just across the Adriatic Sea from Venice, and his wines are unfailingly dry and crisp -- not so much fruity as minerally.
A fine example is the 2013 "Ponente," named for a western wind that influences the local climate.
COCKTAIL CORNER
THE DRINK
Corpse Reviver No. 2
THE SOURCE
Satis Bistro
212 Washington St.
Jersey City
(201) 435-5151
satisbistro.com
WHY IT WORKS
"It's very likely that the drink's name is derived from the loss of soldiers during the Civil War, given that is the time frame of the original creation of this cocktail," said general manager Teo Orban. "Ours is a variation of a version invented by (London) Savoy Hotel bartender Joe Gilmore in 1954. Customers at Satis find it to be a nice, firm martini, with refreshing notes brought on by the absinthe rinse."
THE RECIPE
1 ounce Plymouth Gin
1 ounce Lillet Blanc
ounce Cointreau
ounce fresh lemon juice
Absinthe rinse
Orange peel, for garnish
Using a small plastic spray bottle, spray the inside of a martini glass with absinthe. (You only want to coat the glass.) Pour other ingredients in a cocktail shaker filled with ice and shake vigorously. Strain into the martini glass. Garnish with orange peel.
— T.J.F.