Posted On 29 April 2021

Lamb Souvla

There is nothing more embedded in Cypriot culture than a traditional souvla. Souvla in Cyprus is pretty much cooked on any occasion. We usually choose pork for our Sunday lunch but we always go for lamb on a celebration like Easter.  

Lamb has plenty of proteins and fat. Fat is the key ingredient for the perfect souvla, too little makes it boring and chewy but too much makes it heavy and off-putting.  This shouts for a red wine with plenty of tannins that will help us “clean” our mouth for the next bite. Our young 2018 Fikardos Cab. Mataro. Shiraz has plenty of tannins and fruit to cope. 

Find out more about our Cab. Mataro. Shiraz 

Kokoretsi 

Kokoretsi is a Greek traditional dish prepared mostly for Easter and is very popular amongst Cypriots. For those that might not know kokoretsi is made out of the various lamb organs. The main ingredients are  liver, lungs, “sweet breads” (thymus), heart, kidney and intestines. This unusual dish punches a strong savory flavor, delightful to all meat lovers out there. It’s rich in flavor but with a lot of fat. 

We recommend for this year’s kokoretsi our 2016 Fikardos Maratheftiko. The Maratheftiko variety has the flavour intensity to get through the kokoretsi flavours. It’s a well-structured wine with plenty of ripe tannins and high acidity to help you cut through fat. 

Find out more about our Maratheftiko.

Ovelia (Whole lamb on a spit)

Ovelia is associated with the Cypriot easter. The slowly cooked whole lamb is something a lot of people look forward to eating every year. The lamb is usually cooked over a coal pit and the process can take up to 5-8 hours. The result is a beautifully tender meat packed with flavor. Our Fikardos Shiraz 2016 is the ideal wine for this dish. Deep in color with beautiful dark cherry, elderberries and charred wood flavors to much the smokiness of the mean. Its high acidity and rich, soft tannins will help enhance the meat flavours. 

Find out more about our Shiraz.

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