A glass of wine evokes memories

Sunset in Patras over the Gulf of Corinth 

Tonight I wanted something to drink. I pulled a bottle of wine from a drawer. It turned out to be a bottle that I bought when traveling in Greece. It was in the city of Patras. I immediately remembered the beautiful sunset that I photographed in the evening in Patras.

And this wine turned out to be very opportune, that would be with great pleasure to remember in detail that evening and this same wine.

The wine turned out to be Mavrodafni.

Mavrodafni (meaning “black laurel” in Greek) is both an autochthonous variety of Greek grapes from the Achaean region and sweet fortified wine made from it.

When I bought this wine, I didn’t even bother to study what I was buying. I thought this was another bottle of red wine, which is produced in Greece a lot.

But upon returning to Russia, when I began to study the label of wine, I discovered that it was liquor wine.

Mavrodafni is a name protected by origin. The grapes are characterized by a dark skin color, a strong aroma. The wine has a dark red, almost purple-brown color, the bouquet contains notes of caramel, chocolate, coffee, raisins, prunes, marzipan, spices. “Black Laurel” is a very sweet medium-bodied drink of an average price category, it can be found literally in any Peloponnese store. The strength of the wine is 15%.

Mavrodafni wine in its modern form was first made by Gustav Clauss. In 1859, a Bavarian bought land in the Achaea region near the city of Patras. Initially, he was going to grow blackcurrant, but he allocated 60 acres for vineyards. In 1861, Klauss founded his own production of Achaia Clauss and began to produce wine from indigenous varieties. The winery continues to this day, and Mavrodafni has become a real hallmark of Greece, its pride and glory.

This is how German crops produced a very important product for Greece.

I do not really like sweet and fortified wines, although I make an exception for port and madeira. And I must say that for Mavrodafni I am ready to make an exception in the same way.

This is a very rich wine.

But will not get involved in wine.

Let's go back to sunset in the city of Patras and to the city itself. If you remember, I drove to the Peloponnese peninsula across the bridge over the Corinth Canal. At first I was very pleased to visit the town of Nafplion. Clean sea, beach, then a fortress in the waves of the bay. Then there were the beautiful streets of the old city.

It was amazing. But I did not write about that walk yet, but I will definitely do it later. Now, under the influence of Mavrodafni, I would like to return to Patras.

The city of Patras is the capital of the Peloponnese, located at its northernmost point. This is the third largest city in Greece, and one of the busiest ports in the country, which, due to its geographical position, provides maritime communication between Greece and the Ionian Islands and Italian cities. (Bari, Brindisi, Ancona, Venice and Trieste). In fact, the city owes its economic and cultural development to this particular port.

We arrived in Patras by evening. The road from Nafplion led along the shore of the Gulf of Corinth. It is a freeway and it was very easy to drive. All the way we were accompanied by beautiful views of the sea.

Already closer to the city of Patras, I saw the famous bridge over the Gulf of Corinth.

This is the bridge connecting Rion and Andirion. The bridge is relatively new. It was opened in August 2004. The bridge is almost 3 kilometers long.

The bridge looks very beautiful and impresses. Another victory of mankind over the elements. The bridge connects the main Greece and the Peloponnese Peninsula at another point, making the delivery of goods much more convenient than just through the bridges of the Corinth Canal.

When we arrived in Patras, I realized that this is a pretty big city. There was heavy traffic.

Using the Internet, we found a hotel on the beach that provided us with a price and amenities and immediately went there.

When we checked in and went out for dinner, the sunset had just begun. It was so beautiful that instead of dinner we went to the seashore and watched with delight as the sun sets right in the sea.

The sight was fantastic.

Today, I relish the sun from the city of Patra from the waters of the wine and it warms me from the inside. Delicious wine and fond memories - this is an amazing combination that makes me type this text and I'm glad I can share it.

Another interesting fact. I sometimes use some photos from that series as illustrations for this or that work. It turned out that one of these photos was used by me for the travelfeed.io project

It was nice to look at my photos that were used as banners for this project.

I am very pleased to return to these pictures again, this wine and the city of Patras in Greece.

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