What’s your name and where do you work?
My name is Maria and I have been operating Oinofilia since 2012. This year I am less present at the Blue Door of the Chapel shop, as I am focusing on b2b sales here and now also in Sweden.

Do you have a favourite Greek wine you cannot live without for the holidays?
If I could narrow it down to one, it is Domaine Karanika's Brut Cuvée Spéciale from Amyntaio, the coldest wine making region of Greece, on Xinomavro and Assyrtiko; grapes best known for complex reds as well as mineral-rich whites.

What’s so special with Brut Cuvée Spéciale?
It is a one of its kind Méthode Traditionnelle and as close as you can get to Champagne in Greece. When you have known the wine - and its wine makers - for 11 years, this wine is also tradition and memories.
On December 29th 2012, I tasted the wine for the first time. I recall it was bone dry with a great acidity. It was so delicate with energetic bubbles. I knew, I just had to bring it to Scandinavia.
I met wine maker duo Laurens Hartman and Annette van Kampen some months after, and many times since, walking their green organic-biodynamic vineyards, witnessing pruning and harvesting; observing the presses, fermentation in tanks and barrels and how the wine is hand bottled, riddled and degorged.

How would you best enjoy the wine, or, what kind of food would you suggest to pair the wine with?
I would include the wine in your Year End tradition as you would with any other Champagne. Serve it as an aperitif, enjoy it with your starters or pop it at midnight with the first 2024 city hall tower chime and "kransekage".
The special charm of Xinomavro blanc de noirs' acidity and notes of lime, bruised apples and citrus cater for endless pairing possibilities.

You can meet Maria and taste Domaine Karanika Brut Cuvée Speciale 2021 in the Chapel, today, December 30th 3-6pm and tomorrow, December 31th 12-2pm.