Feature Wine Story
12 Goddesses of Greek Wine
There has been significant development in the last ten year’s with Greece’s wine industry with improvements in winemaking approaches, updated equipment, marketing, and consulting. At the same token this ‘enos’ movement in Greece has also been the vision and inspiration from individuals that believe the potential that this wine culture has internationally. Amongst this group of visionaries and believers are 12 women who are spearheading some of he leading wineries in Greece that are making a tremendous impact in this movement.
They have dedicated the last ten or more years of their lives in developing wine from their properties for worldwide recognition. They have made many sacrifices and commitments to achieve their beliefs. Even though they are starting to see the fruits of their hard work, they still have a challenging road ahead of them. Their confidence and perseverance continues to the pave the road for them. The following twelve women make up this fascinating group.
SOFIA ALEXIOU – Kykli Winery– Fthiodia, Greece
Sofia got involved with wine in 1998 with her husband was immediately draw to the earth of their property. She currently runs operations at the winery from the vineyard to the production. They have been planting international varieties amongst their 180 hectares with carefully planning. They release their fist vintage in 2006 with great results. Sofia’s goal is to continue producing high quality wines along with building a new facility to accommodate visitors and guests.
FLORA VOURVOUKELI – Vourvoukeli Estates – Xanthi, Greece
Winemaking has been in Flora’s family since her grandfather, who is well known in the area. Flora’s inspiration from her grandfather and passion for wine, landed her the position of being in charge of the winery. Flora began planting grapes in 1999 with organic growing methods and has managed to produce some of the healthiest and concentrated grapes in the region from their 200 acres. The estate produces blended wines from international varieties with great depth and aromatics. Flora is fortunate to have her two sons, Giorgios and Odysseus assist her in the day to day operations.
ANNA KOKOTOU – Semelli Winery – Attiki
Born in England, Anna moved to Greece after meeting her husband in 1972 permanently. By 1975, Anna began her wine exploration by acquiring 75 hectares of land to produce wine. Since then, Anna has developed Semelli into one of the leading wineries in Greece with productions from Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Merlot and local varieties. Recently, Semelli Winery has merged with Nasiakos Winery to create a more viable and sustainable operation with a variety of different wines. At the present time, Anna is experimenting with Gewurtztraminer.
ELENI KEHRI – Kehris Winery – Thessaloniki
Winemaking has been in Eleni’s family for generations. She got involved in winemaking by spending time at wineries in Germany in 1995. From there on, she decided to study Oenology in Bordeaux and bring back a sophisticated element to help develop her father’s winery. Eleni spends a lot of time with her father in the production of their wines, but also believes they need to focus on marketing. She believes that wines from Greece have come along way and have reached particular categories of quality, but have a long road ahead them, which feels very promising. Eleni is very excited about a rose wine that they will be releasing this year.
CLAUDIA PAPAYIANNI – Agrotouristiki – Halkidiki
Claudia was constantly being asked by her family to take over their family company that owns and manages hotels, but was leaning toward her passion of wine.
As she made her decision she bought over 200 hectares of land and build a 3.5 million euro winery that is probably one of the most fascinating in the region. Claudia experiments and produces wines from international varieties and focuses on quality and not quantity. The focus is to market their wines internationally as well domestically, but to show other world markets, the quality that Greece can produce from any grape variety.
KALLI PAPANTONI – Papantoni Winery – Argos
Kalli got involved with her brother in 1993 to begin their family winery. Their property is situated close to Nemea about 320 m. on a hillside in Argolida. They only produce two wines, a red called ‘Myden Agan’ and a white called ‘Metron Aritston’, both produced from local varieties. Kalli spends most of her time with managing the winery, public relations, and exports. In her travels, she is very proud to feature her wines in international markets to showcase their wineries unique and outstanding productions.
ELENI RAPTI – Rapti Estates – Nemea
Eleni began experimenting with cultivating grapes in 1998. She spent a lot of time in the vineyards and instantly became a young viticulturist and in 1999 released her first experimental wine. In 2000, she began her winery in Nemea and continues to produce outstanding wines with local varieties such as Agiorgitiko along with international varieties. Eleni is expanding her winery to accommodate guests and visitors which as been an important element to their awareness. She recently visited Boston at one of America’s largest wine exhibitions and was overwhelmed by the enthusiasm from consumers about Greek wines, that solidified her belief about the future and potential for wines from Greece.
ELIANA STEGGOU – Porta Carras Estates – Halkidiki
Eliana left her profession as a political scientist to jump into a seat that has been her passion for many years, chief of operations for the reputable Porto Carras Estates. For Eliana it is an honor to be at the forefront of this massive estate and operation that has been producing wine from the 1960s. At the present time, Eliana’s office sits in the middle of the property that consists of 3,000 acres. Eliana emphasizes that words cannot explain the environment that she surrounded by. Porto Carras is spending close to 11 million euros for the renovation of their estate and winery.
ISMINI SKOURTANIOTI – Jasmin Art in Wines – Halkidiki
Ismini is considered as a ‘new entry’ in the wine world amongst women. She has taken on many positions for different companies and decided to step away from it all and give it all she has for one of her deepest passions, wine. Ismini keeps herself busy with all of the duties and obligations that the winery demands. They currently produce selections from local varieties such as Roditis and Savatiano, but they are also introducing selections with international varieties. The winery currently has about 50 hectares of land, but they are looking to expand to about 150 hectares in the coming years.
HRISI TZIVANI – Tzivani Estates – Avlida
Hrisi has enjoyed traveling all over the world and tasting good wine. After many trips abroad, she decided to begin her wine venture in 1982. She began with about 60 hectares and planted a handful of grape varieties with organic growing methods. In the beginning stages, Hrisi would give away her wines as gifts to friends and family, until the demand for their wines grew tremendously. The winery now has close to 280 hectares of vineyards to supply the demand of their wines.
MARY TRIANTAFILLOPOULOU – Triantafillopoulo Vineyards – Kos
Mary’s personal success began early in her life, as she took over her family business and grew it to 4 major hotels on the island of Kos. After this accomplishment, Mary wanted to follow one of her dreams, wine. Mary decided twelve years ago to build her winery in Kos and emphasized that she wanted to be the one to put Kos on the map of winemaking regions of Greece. In fact, her determination and efforts have created a substantial following of 20,000 visitors a year to their beautiful exclusive property.
MARIA-IRINI TRIANTAFILLOU – Emery Estates – Rodos
Maria-Irini has become for the second term the President of the organization “Greek Women of Wine’. At the same token, she is in charge of the well-known winery, Emery Estates in Rhodes. She is believed to be the youngest woman in her profession that has made tremendous advancements and development for the Estate. Maria-Irini believes strongly that wines from Greece in general have a great future in the international scene and she will make sure she pursues that from the beautiful hills of Rhodes.
This group of inspiring women, are literally at the forefront of today’s wine industry in Greece. You can sense and feel their passion, commitment and dedication that you bring you some of the finest wines that Greece has to offer. On your next sip of Greek wine, lets tip our glasses to these goddesses.
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