The Mrs. and I were in Greece in August, 1993. We stayed in a wonderful hotel in the heart of Athens. Since it was out honeymoon, the general manger sent up a gift basket, which included a small bottle of something labled "Elissar." We did not open it, brought it home, and stuck it in the back of our dining room liquor cabinet. I found it the other day.

Any idea what this might be. I've run a web search but came up empty. On one hand I'd like to open it for the curiosity factor, especially with our 10th anniversary coming up soon. On the other hand, if it is something that benefits from aging perhaps I'm best off keeping it for now.

Advice?

Feb15 - To be honest, if it was a free bottle in a gift basket from the hotel, it might be best to drink it as soon as convenient. I doubt it's anything that will age nicely. It's been my experience that gift baskets are made to be consumed when they're given.

Feb15 - is there any other information on the label? Not much to go on with just "Elissar", which is the name of a Tyrian princess who founded Carthage (google is a good thing).

Lilac- I agree. It was probably at its best on the night we received the bottle. However, that was nearly 10 years ago, so we'll never know.

Eric- Great avatar. That blinking eye is creeping me out. Stop!

Quote:

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It's been my experience that gift baskets are made to be consumed when they're given.

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Lilac: It's been my experience that gift baskets are made to be RE-GIFTED as soon as possible after they are given.

JIMMYV,

Even gift baskets with WINE in them???

ESPECIALLY those. Haven't you ever gotten one in a hotel that has been bottled (read: re-labled) "specially" for the hotel?? UGH!!

JimmyV, Budman, Lilac-

This stuff may turn out to be plonk, but it did not come from the standard gift basket.

Nevertheless, on closer inspection, this mystery bottle is vintage 1965. It appears to be a deep yellow/amber color, although the bottle itself is dark. The rest of the label is in Greek, although there is an inscription "Societe Vinicole S.A. CAVIROS Athens, Greece.

Any more thoughts?

All hailGoogle. Sounds like if it wasn't DOA, it certainly is now.


Among the good Greek red wines is Boutari Grande Reserve; for the white, Tsantali, in the distinctive green bottle, is a fine label from Macedonia. For rosé, try Caligas. Among dry-to-medium white wines, Elissar, Cava Kamba, Pallini, St. Helena, Demestica, and Minos are especially favored; Port Carras Blanc de Blanc is fresh. Cava Boutari and Caviros reds (Burgundy-type) are heavy but sound; both are good complements to extra-spicy or garlicky dishes.Mondaytenero is another popular wine. From Rhodes, Chevalier de Rhodesis quite passable. Ilios is a pleasant white from Lindos. Mavrodaphni andSamos are the sweet choices.

Stemor-

Thanks! I ran several Google searches this evening and came across nothing. Wonder what are the odds of a 38 year old white being any good? I guess now that we know what it is we can open it on the anniversary, taste, groan, and spill down the drain.

Feb15,

I know what shape THIS "38-year old white" is in (that would be ME!), and hope your bottle has aged better. Oy!

We went to a tasting of 1947 wines not too long ago (yea, yea, no Cheval Blanc, don't rub it in) and the best wines were all white burgundies. As they say: balance, balance, balance.

Slightly off topic here, but has anyone had one of those 'specially blended just for your company' bottles of wine? You know, with your company's name on the label?

Very early on at the company I worked for before we got bought out, the owner ordered some of this plonk. The company name was DocuPro, so we all nicknamed this awful stuff "DocuWine". Ugh.

Every now and then I get "specially bottled" wines from lawfirms in San Francisco. Most recently, I got one that didn't hide the fact that it was a Ravenswood "Old Vines" Zin. Certainly not plonk. But others have found the drain and/or the stock pot.

There is a place in Windsor that all they do is custom labeled wines for the most part. I think the place is calledWindsor Vineyards. The wine is okay but I haven't had it for awhile.

TJ - I have several from my UUNET days. Two are champagne. One is a "house red". And another is a white. Some the bottle's engraved and others just has the custom label.

I have no idea what to do with them. I'm certainly not going to drink them.