NEW YORK – Thirty-nine wineries of Greece participated in the “Grand Testing” event, which was held on May 9, at City Winery in Manhattan and aimed at promoting high quality Greek wine.
The event began at noon and in the first four hours Greek and American oenologists, importers and other people in the industry tried the new varieties presented by winegrowers from their homeland in collaboration with the Greek import companies.
Shortly afterwards, another event open to the public was held for a wider audience and many Greeks participated. The event, as the National Herald reported, was part of the General Program of the Common Market Organization (CMO) in the wine sector, implemented by the National Interbranch Organization of Vine and Wine (EHEAA) for the periods 2017 and 2018, with the support of the European Commission Union and the Greek Government.
Zacharias Morphogenis, who represented Fantis Foods, one of the oldest importing companies, spoke to TNH, welcoming the success of the event, and noted, “We met a lot of oenologists and professionals who were able to taste the fine Greek wines in an excellent place. We are among the first companies to not only promote Greek wines but also have managed to put Greek products on the shelf and teach the American consumer about their quality.”
Leonidas Hatzimichalis, who is assistant manager of Domaine Hatzimichalis, said, “It was a very nice event and more people came from what we expected. This is a world that has knowledge of wine. They tried our wines and wanted to learn more about the varieties and the peculiarities of each variety. Their interest was great and I believe will enable all Greek producers to promote quality Greek wines in America.”
Asked about the newer varieties, he noted that “Domaine Hatzimichalis continues to innovate every year. We have asyrtico, the white that is in the middle, a rose that we produce from our experimental vines and the well-known wines.”
Sofia Perpera from All About Greek Wines said that “we are very satisfied. There were a lot of people and everyone is happy with the wines they tasted. New importers who are interested in adding Greek wines to their portfolio have come and many oenologists also attended.”
Mattheos Dimopoulos, General Manager of Santos Wines, of the Santorini Cooperative Association of Theraic Products, said, “I am very pleased with the participation and interest of professionals in the sector, Greeks and Americans.”
Ioanna Tsilili, who represented Theopetra Estate and Tsilli’s Distillery, pointed out that this is their fourth consecutive year in attendance at the event. “Today, Greek wine lovers taste wine from Meteora, White and Red and do not hide their admiration for the efforts made by winegrowers and winemakers in Greece.”
Fotini Kolaki, who represented the Winery of Monemvasia, said that they promoted the wines Kydonitissa, Agiorgitiko, Mavroudi, Malvasia, Debina, Vlachiko, and Bekari. “We are displaying native varieties of wine and we are very pleased with the interest of winegrowers and the people in the industry,” said Kolaki.
Aris Sultanos, who represented the company “Eklektikon” who exclusively deals with the import of Greek products, said that “they represented the Bayeraktari Winery from Nemea, the largest wine-growing zone in Greece” and that “there is more interest and demand for native varieties.”
Christina Boutari, who represented the Boutari Winery, underlined that they raised the “plateau” and in about a month will introduce the classical Naoussa and classical Santorini known to the Greeks. “We are very pleased with the interest of oenologists, importers, and people in the industry,” she added.
Yota Iglesi from the importing company Athenee Importers based in Hempstead, Long Island, pointed out that “they represented many wineries” and that “they are satisfied with the involvement and interest of professionals in Greek wines.”
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