Alpeta

This morning we had a leisurely breakfast in the hotel. Being a family establishment, there’s no menu, you just get what you’re given…which turns out to be pretty much what we’ve been having anyway, typical Albanian breakfast of cheese, bread, tomatoes, cucumber, olives and eggs – in this case, omelette, which was entirely acceptable. Also, a plate of cherries, which were delicious.

We had a free morning, so we wandered into town. The picturesqueness soon disappeared, so we turned back, crossed the river, and explored the far side further…along the way bumping into some of our fellow Intrepideers. We continued up the hill to the church of St Thomas, but the old man by the door wanted €1 which we didn’t have, so we took pictures of the bells and left. We’ve pretty much done the Old Town now, so we stopped for a coffee and crossed over to our side of the river. There we bumped into Carrie and decided to get some lunch at The Friendly House, which has a terrace overlooking the street. We had musaka and salad, with local beer.

At 1:30pm we assembled again to be driven to the village of Roshnik, for a wine tasting at Alpeta vineyard. We met our guide Adrian, who told us about the history of wine in Albania. Unlike most countries, it doesn’t go back very far, because there was no private property under the communist regime. Wine production really got going once the regime had collapsed, and Alpeta is one of the oldest, starting with just eight hectares. Nowadays they have vines growing in small blocks all around the area.

 Adrian gave us a run-down on the wines and raki that we would be drinking, then took us indoors to our tasting table. We tried the white wine, mainly made from Pulez, a local varietal. As I provided my critique Adrian was clearly listening and assessed me for later purposes. We also tried their rosé, made from 80% winter (a late-ripening varietal), merlot and moscat, with a short skin exposure; and their red, made from more familiar varietals - 65% merlot and 35% cabernet sauvignon. OK, Albanian wine isn’t going to set the world on fire, but they were all very drinkable.

Adrian explains it all

But really, we were here for the raki. Raki is the distilled spirit made from the fermented grapes. Unlike many similar drinks like grappa, they don’t use the leftover grapes (pomace or marc) but use the same stuff they make wine from. As Adrian explained, they don’t add any sugar or even yeast, relying on the wild yeast on the grape skins. Again, we had three types to drink – first, a regular raki, then one made exclusively from Moscat grapes; the third was one aged in French oak barrels for nine months so took on colour and flavour like a whisky or brandy.

 

But here’s where the twist came in! In order to drink raki, there are rules: the must be a dollibash, a table leader, to give the toasts, and…guess who? Reader, I was that dollibash. Adrian poured the drinks, enjoining us to say “Stop!” when it reached the preferred level in the shot glass. Some of us went for full glasses, others just a splash, as it has to be drunk in one go. My training as a Toastmaster kicked in and I raised a first glass of raki, and toasted Methya, who’d celebrated a birthday yesterday. The second, our glorious leader, Danijela. And the third, our host, Adrian.

Adrian had promised me a surprise as dollibash, and after we’d finished the toasts, he told me what it was: to lead the party in singing a song. Again, rules applied: no national anthems, no Happy Birthday, no Twinkle Twinkle, Little Star. What to sing? I went to the obvious, and led the table in a rousing rendition of a song everyone knows, and can join in:

Mamma, just killed a man, Put a gun against his head, Pulled my trigger, now he’s dead

Ah, you know the one!

After a couple more shots, we tried verse two, and then it all started to fall apart. But you get the idea.

After a quick visit to the shop (I bought a book of Albanian toasts and a small bottle of raki) we reboarded our bus. Up till now, our driver has been playing us his music on the speakers, but this time we connected our bluetooths to the bus and took turns playing songs from our phones. Tim, Carrie and myself were the DJs, and tomorrow we have a two hour drive to Tirana to entertain our fellow passengers! I’ve promised Maureen, our Australian, some Midnight Oil.

Later tonight we’re going up on the balcony for further drinks and nibbles with Danijela and the rest of our group. Should be fun!