Epitrapezios Oenos (E.O.)

The simplest category of Greek wine, equivalent to VIN DE TABLE, or TABLE WINE, in France.

What wine region is famous for pumpkinseed oil?

A. Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, Canada

B. Basque region, Spain

C. Styria, Austria

D. Tokaj-Hegyalja, Hungary

Pumpkinseed oil is a culinary icon in Austria. The oil comes from the seeds of a small, green-and-yellow striped pumpkin. The prized seeds are removed and washed by hand, then roasted, mashed, and pressed. (Far less valued, the pumpkin flesh is turned into feed for livestock). The oil is striking deep black/emerald green in color and has unctuous texture and an almost hauntingly intense, nutty flavor. Austrians drizzle it over lettuces, vegetables, and breads, and pour spoonfuls into soups including, of course, pumpkin soup.

“Every season is likeable . . . red wine and white; company and solitude. Even sleep, that deplorable curtailment of the joy of life, can be full of dreams; and the most common actions—a walk, a talk, solitude in one’s own orchard—can be enhanced and lit up by the association of the mind. Beauty is everywhere, and beauty is only two finger’s-breadth from goodness.”

—Virginia Woolf, “Montaigne” in The Common Reader.

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