[Sca-cooks] Fw: [EKCooksGuild] wyne greke

[Decker, Terry D.]

Sherry is a wine fortified with brandy, therefore not historically suitable
for the recipes in Curye On English.  I would suggest an unfortified wine
made from malvasian grapes (Malvasia or Malvoisie).  There are some
relatively inexpensive but good Malvasias grown in California these days.

My reasoning on this is, Malvasian wine is period (it is called for
specifically in Sabina Welser).  It is of Greek origin, but the grapes were
transplanted to Italy in Antiquity and have been further transplanted to
Maderia where the grape is used in making the fortified wine malmsey.  This
meets the glossary definition and the "Greek" aspect of "wyne greke" being
an Italian wine of Greek origins.

Bear

> Back on March 8, Brighid ni Chiarain commented:
> > My recollection is that "Greek wine" is a term used in
> English medieval
> > cooking for a sweet wine.
> >
> > Okay, I just checked.  In the glossary to "Curye On
> Inglysch" it says that
> > "wyne greke" was a term for a kind of sweet wine, that
> actually came from
> > Italy, not Greece.  I'd be inclined to use something like a
> sweet sherry.
>
> But would sherry be a good wine to use here? I thought sherry
> was a fortified
> wine. Would it have been available and used for cooking when
> and where "Curye
> On Inglysch" was written?
> --
> THLord Stefan li Rous    Barony of Bryn Gwlad    Kingdom of Ansteorra