“Mezes is more than a restaurant – it is home. Mezes began with a love of good food, was sustained by the love of good people, grows with the love of what we create, every day.” – Mezes website
Opened August 1, 2023 (at least in its current location on Toronto’s Danforth Avenue), Mezes has, over the course of its 20-year history, established itself as one of the city’s go-to destinations for authentic, traditionally crafted Greek dishes. Adhering to an “all Greek, all the time,” philosophy, wine director Drew Innes has curated a continually updated all Greek wine list featuring some 90 labels (including two Greek beers and a handful of Greek spirits).
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Here Innes talks about the challenges inherent in running a restaurant wine program featuring wines that most consumers have never heard of (or can even pronounce):
VineRoutes: Was the wine list at Mezes all Greek from day one, or was this something that it kind of evolved into?
Drew Innes: I think at one point, a very long time ago, it might have included non-Greek wines, but for the past 15 years at least, it’s been exclusively Greek. This was a team decision. Everyone had a stake in deciding what it would look like. It was always the original concept of the owners to establish a proper wine program at Mezes and although it has only recently become so, they were committed to Greek wines only.
VineRoutes: Assuming it was Greek from the start, was this a difficult and/or risky decision or was it essentially a no-brainer?
Drew Innes: No brainer, and Mezes has been at this for 20 years. However, within the goal of offering an authentic Greek dining experience with traditional Greek food, and Greek wines made from indigenous Greek varietals. Mezes was aware that in order to compete in the city’s ethnic market, we needed to lead the renaissance of Greek wine in the Toronto dining scene.
Initially, there wasn’t a lot to choose from as Greek wines were just making their way into our market and quality choices were limited. This isn’t to say that the Greek wine agents weren’t trying to bring in good wine, it was more that the Greek restaurateurs weren’t sure that, due to lack of knowledge of Greek wines, that guests would be willing to pay for premium Greek wines.
Mezes is located on Toronto’s Danforth Avenue.
VR: How have customers reacted – are they open to listening to your recommendations and learning, or was there some pushback?
Drew Innes: Sure there’s been pushback but that’s part of selling wine in a market dominated by the LCBO and what they push. That said, the Destination store on the Danforth has been invaluable in parallel marketing of Greek wines, offering unique indigenous varietals and giving our guests access to the Greek wine experience.
The great news is that Greek wine comes in all styles, so there’s something for everyone and as long as we’re asking the right questions, the guest gets what they like. And Greek wines have better price points than other regions. Guests have become very receptive to recommendations and are starting to see Greek wines as very viable alternatives to their normal tipple.
VR: Your list is extremely detailed – how often does it change? Seems like it would be a lot of work to change it frequently?
Drew Innes: There are new and ancient varietals emerging and new regions to explore. I curate the by-the-glass list regularly offering unique wines to give the guest an opportunity to sample the evolution of the Greek wine industry. I change the bottle list once a month with the same thought in mind.
A somm’s job is to make sure that the list is always live so I re-do it once I get close to running out of something I know I can’t get easily. It’s a lot of work but when you love what you do, it’s not a big deal. It means I have to taste more and that’s the most enjoyable part of the job – obviously.
Mezes Restaurant.
VR: In your opinion, what makes Greek wines difficult for people to understand? Language? Unfamiliar varietals? Combination of things?
Drew Innes: The language and varietals make Greek wine harder to understand. Yes, recognition and pronunciation are certainly issues. Pronouncing Xinmavro is hard enough, but seeing it written in the Greek alphabet is nearly impossible for most non-Greeks. It’s one of the reasons that Greece has relied on international varietals for so long.
I think also the lack of recognizable appellations make it hard. The French and Italian appellation systems have been around for several hundred years even if only as geography rather than codified. Burgundy and Champagne have been associated with French culture and history for ages. And Tuscany and Piedmont are iconic regions in Italy that most wine drinkers recognize. Thessaly, Attica and Macedonia not so much. Most Canadian wine drinkers are just coming around to the idea that red Burgundy is pinot noir and that Sancerre is sauvignon blanc, so tossing Naoussa and Nemea at them is going to make their eyes roll.
VR: Does Mezes offer seminars on Greek wine? If so, how have they gone over?
Drew Innes: At the moment, the only education available is table side. I was a wine teacher for 15 years in the college system so I drag my lectern with me to every table. My style has always been to sprinkle a bit of education at every interaction so that the next one is easier.
VR: What plans do you have for the Mezes wine program in the future?
Drew Innes: We have discussed offering courses in Greek wine, and in fact when we do, it will be the first exclusively Greek wine course available in the city. We hope to make it happen in the near future as there’s already been a lot of interest and many requests to do courses just from a few minutes of educational banter with guests table side.
Additionally, we plan on developing a bottle shop so that our guests can go home with a bottle that they might not be able to get at the LCBO.
Mezes has been serving authentic Greek cuisine with an all Greek wine list for 20 years.
VR: Any additional comments or observations.
Drew Innes: I think the most important things about selling wine to anyone are to discuss it in simple and common terms, to help guests understand the language. When I use terms like dry, fruity, acidic etc., guests sometimes have a different understanding of what they mean so I try to get in the same page.
Additionally, helping guests to understand other beverage preferences by how they relate to wine preferences and how those preferences relate to style has been eye opening for many guests. Asking a simple question about how they might take their coffee or what type of chocolate they like helps them understand what their style preference might be. It also tells me where else they might be willing to go with a wine since most people don’t know what they like, they know what they liked.
Lastly, our approach to selling wine at Mezes is that we like to let the guest drive the final decision on price, but we help them navigate through the list to ensure that they’re getting the right wine. We want you to come back and we feel that this builds confidence in our team and guest loyalty.
Wines to try
“Building this portfolio has been surprising,” remarks Innes referring to the latest wine list at Mezes. “The wines are getting better and better and just as I find one I think is amazing and can’t be exceeded, along comes another. It’s very exciting to be part of this wave of quality and innovation. There’s so little novelty in the wine world, it’s a relief to be exposed to so many re-discovered grapes that a few short years ago were nearly extinct.” We asked him to pick a few of his current favourites:
“For a white, try the Novus Moschofilero from Mantinia in the southern Peloponnese. Medium- bodied, with a sappy, glycerous mouthfeel, dry, and intensely aromatic, with notes of rose petal, lychee, nectarine and hints of cinnamon. A touch of residual sugar sets you up on the palate with the sneaky acidity emerging a few seconds after to wash it away. Very good length both temporally and spatially, finishing with slight bitter almond and peach skin.
“Flexible enough to pair with richer dishes like vegetarian moussaka because of its weight and concentration, but does its best with shrimp dishes, especially the rodou.
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“In reds, I’m going with the Apanta Naoussa from the Xinomavro grape. So much like Nebbiolo that I would love to pair it with rabbit, but it also kills with risotto. I paired it at a dinner where the chef prepared a mushroom risotto with truffle and grated parmigiana. It was spectacular.
“Xinomavro has the highest level of dimethyl sulfide of any grape which gives it black olive, mushroom and truffle aromatics. Aged Nebbiolo and Syrah take on this characteristic but Xinomavro has it right out of the gate.
“I would pair it with our lamb chops or moussaka. It can also be paired with grilled calamari because of the char. It takes on the Maillard effect with the char and diminishes the perception of the omega fatty acids, which usually decompose in the presence of tannins, giving you that very unpleasant metallic/sulfur flavour.”
