Massaya Wine Dinner @ Amali in NYC

Chef Devon Gilroy’s food was paired with the five Massaya wines.

Second generation owner of Massaya, Sami Ghosn, poured and introduced their organic wines from Lebanon. The wines included a white, a rose and three reds. The light and bright Blanc is made from Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Clairette and Obeidi. The easily quaffable rose is made from Cinsault, Syrah, and Cabernet Sauvignon. The three reds range from the “easy-going” Classic which sees no oak and is comprised of Cinsault, Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah. The Silver Selection is more structured, sees some oak, and is made from Grenache Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, Mouvedre and Cinsault. The top of their line Gold Reserve could benefit from cellaring for about 10 years (according to Sami) and is a full bodied Cabernet Sauvignon, Mouvedre and Syrah blend. The evening rounded out with a digestif of Arak “El Massaya” over ice (bottom right), which has an anisette flavor.

The white was paired with hamachi crudo; the rose with Arahova feta (top left picture), the Classic red with roasted beets, oranges and watercress (top right picture); the Silver red with winter squash and sheep’s milk ricotta (bottom left picture); the Gold Reserve with roasted lamb (bottom right picture).

Amali is located in New York at: 115 East 60th Street, New York, NY 10022, T: 212.339.8363, make a reservation.

Massaya’s wines can be found here.