DESPITE CRISIS GREEK WINES AIM HIGHER

By DANIEL J. BERGER

« In the wine business the situation in Greece is serious but, I believe, ultimately promising » Ted Lelekas wrote in a post last July, posted again on Oct. 4. On the occasion of a Greek wine presentation I went at the OIV* in Paris to check how consistent his say-so was.

Yiannis Paraskevopoulos from Gaia Wines, which he founded together with Leon Karatsalos early in 1994, was in charge of a short Greek wines panorama on this Nov. 29 presentation handled by the Greek embassy in Paris. Both an agronomist graduated from Thessaloniki University and an œnologue from Bordeaux, he is currently one of the top Greek wine experts. Read More »

By TED LELEKAS

Earlier this month, 136 wines of all styles and colours by 33 producers competed for fame and glory at the 4th Cyprus Wine Competition.  The organizers did a very efficient job in creating interest among the local wine community, as well as getting the media and the consumers excited, and the competition not only succeeded in identifying the country’s top wines, but it also put wine in the spotlight.

After three days of intensive tasting and grading, forty wines were awarded with medals ranging from Grand Gold (2) to Gold (11) and Silver (27). The awards were fairly evenly spread between red and white wines, and a good amount of attention and recognition went to the growing category of Cypriot Rosé wines. Once again however the majority of the event’s Gold was awarded to participating labels of Commandaria, the famous sweet fortified wine of Cyprus that has been a major tourist attraction and export champion for decades. Read More »