Most wine drinkers love to find good value wines that deliver just this little bit extra in terms of overall quality and excitement. When it comes to great value wines that are widely available, I find myself buying the same wines again and again. I define "value" as anything up to ? 8,00 shelf price,

By the time you are reading this, I will be gone. I am spending 2 weeks with my family in the Peloponnese. We have arranged for some friends to stay at our home in the meantime, so this takes away the worries of leaving an unoccupied house. I honestly can?t recall when it was the

I find that true wine lovers often make an extra effort to expand their knowledge. One of the most rewarding ways doing so is to meet with winemakers and learn from them. Michael Holzer, who had watched the Greek wine episode on Wine Library TV, contacted me towards the end of May. Michael is a

Three weeks ago Cruvee, a US based company that offers winery solutions for the Social Media Age, made a revolutionary announcement: As part of their YourWineYourWay movement they launched a free application that allows wineries to promote and market their wines directly through their Facebook Fan Page. Participating wineries can add a "Wines" tab ...

The wines of Greece continue to make more and more headlines. A mere two years ago, one had to look hard to find solid info. Thankfully this has changed since, and I am very excited that more wine writers and bloggers discover these treasures and report on them. There are of course writers that have

I am constantly on the lookout for innovative ways to persuade people to try Greek wines. Twitter certainly has seen its share of live wine tasting events. For my personal liking, many are good fun, but offer little additional value. The Germans have found quite a smart way that adds an interesting twist to the

Xinomavro is arguably the most age-worthy Greek red varietal and it can be a treat to taste older vintages. The "Oinosoagapitos" put together a tasting event of mature Xinomavro wines, where participants could either pay a fee, or bring along selected bottles from their own cellars. This was a great idea, and the vintages served

I had the great pleasure of organising a tasting event of Greek wines for 30+ students and their professors in central Athens. The unusual thing was that the students were from the University of Missouri in the U.S. who were visiting Greece for a 4-week summer program. The aim of the program is to immerse

?? Grape varieties from Greece – 100% Negoska Fact File Negoska Area grown: Originated from Naoussa and planted in most regions of Macedonia, its most important presence is in the OPAP of Goumenissa. Goumenissa is one of the four Xinomavro OPAP zones of Greece, but only here is Negoska required to be at least a 20% blend. Vines: Vigorous...

Visiting New York is special ? my recent trip was certainly unforgettable for me. Thanks to social networks, many U.S. contacts welcomed me online, and I received best wishes from my European connections. Arriving at my hotel on a Friday afternoon and reading all the messages on twitter and Facebook was a very touching experience. On

Greeks are people who have a sense of realness and of genuineness about them. As I have mentioned in a previous post, I have in this country the status of "politeknos", i.e. someone with many children. To actually reap the benefits of this status, it is required to possess a "politeknos" ID card, issued by

The financial crisis in Greece continues taking its toll. I interviewed George Skouras from the Domaine Skouras over a couple of days to get an insiders view on how this affects the Greek wine industry. Domaine Skouras is very well known outside of Greece, and was voted as one of the 100 top wineries of

Yesterday was the official launch of the Boutari Social Media Project 2010. Boutari is one of the largest and best-known Greek wine producers, and the decision to engage in social media is a very important milestone for this industry. The Boutari Social Media Project 2010 was set up thanks to a European Union grant to promote

One of the great inventions that make everyday life just that little bit easier in Greece is the tiny kiosk called "periptero". Thousands of them exist in the cities, towns, and a significant number of villages all over the country. The floor plan is regulated by law and is just 1.3 meters times 1.5 meters. The

One Greek wine that is stunningly complex, yet so delicious that most people will be immediately drawn to it, is VinSanto, the naturally sweet wine from the Island of Santorini.? It is made from a blend of the indigenous Assyrtiko and Aidani grapes. The grapes are left on the vine to reach high levels of ripeness.

Dirk Wuertz is in all likelihood German?s most innovative winemaker in terms of marketing. He has been a key player of the social media scene since the early days, building up his brand continuously. He is never resting on his laurels, and is always thinking about new concepts. In January this year, he launched the

Greece is blessed with the sheer number of indigenous and international grape varieties that grow here. It is nearly impossible to become bored with the wines, as there are an abundance of different flavours to be enjoyed. It is a paradise to those who like to expand their palates. It is still not known exactly how

I am being asked on a regular basis what wine to serve at different occasions. Most of the times, people look for general advice, rather than specific food and wine pairing combinations. In Greece, events are usually attended by a large number of people, as socialising is a big part of the Greek culture. I

I just returned from a trip to Northern Greece, where I spent the Easter holiday with my family. We stayed at the Limni (lake) Plastira in the prefecture of Karditsa in Thessaly. The landscape is stunning, snow capped mountain ranges dominate, while the trees were just breaking into full bloom. The artificial lake was constructed

Religion is a very traditional thing in Greece. I would even go as far as saying that religion IS a matter of tradition in Greece. Christenings are full of small procedure details that need to be observed, same when following Christmas holiday traditions, and Easter is undoubtedly the highlight of religious celebration in this country! Easter

The Netherlands might be a small country, but the Dutch certainly impressed me with their open attitude towards Greek wines. Martin Van Der Heiden shares a similar past with me: He spent most of his career in the financial industry before deciding to promote Greek wines full-time. He is now a successful wine merchant in

My visit at ProWein in Duesseldorf was well worth it. The Greek wineries exhibited in Hall 3 and more than 40 estates participated. They were placed quite centrally and for the first time the new slogan ?New wines from Greece? was used. I spent a fair amount of time talking to the vintners, and the

You have worked hard all year:?You attended the vineyards nearly every day, you took care of your vines,?saw the grapes ripen, harvested in perfect conditions and proceeded with the winemaking. It soon becomes clear that this year has yielded an exceptional vintage. You finally?bottle the wine and are now ready to reap?the financial return for...

I was impressed with this year's Oenorama, which is the biggest and most important event of the Greek wine industry. More than 150 Greek wineries and spirit producers exhibited their goods, ranging from small family wineries to the most powerful players. The main reason that sets this event apart is that a significant number of

Greek-German wine network The financial crisis that is currently such a large threat to Greece and to the whole of the European Union has unfortunately seen many ripple effects. These last days and weeks have badly strained the relationship between the people of Greece and Germany. Emotions are running high on both sides, and the friendly

? I tasted a 100% Vertzami by Antonopoulos ? the first thing that struck me was its deep and intense colour, bordering on black. As the last years have seen a lot of research on the association of antioxidants with suppressed rates of degenerative diseases, I?investigated the grape further. Vertzami actually contains appreciable amounts of non-colo...

Wines produced within the EU are divided into two quality categories, Table Wines and Quality Wines. These categories are translated into different national wine classifications for each member state. Greek Quality Wines come from viticultural areas that are characterised ? according to the EU legislation ? as VQPRD. These initials stand for the Fr...

Many experts favour Stelvin screwcaps as the choice of closure for wines. Natural corks do result in an unacceptable high percentage of corked wines. The chief source of cork taint is the presence of 2,4,6-trichloroanisole (TCA) in the wine, which in many cases is transferred from the cork. Often the wine is completely spoiled; sometimes

I just marked my calendar with 3 red X?s for the 3 days 19th until 21st February 2010. On each of these days I presented Greek wines to different audiences in Germany. For the first time since I started promoting Greek wines abroad 13 months ago, there was no need for me to initiate interest,

I continue to be very impressed with the level of engagement from Greek winemakers with wine lovers. Yesterday I attended a Wine and Dine event hosted by the owner of the Gentilini Winery, Petros Markantonatos. He selected Whispers of Wine, a small, personal and modern styled wine restaurant, to show his range of excellent wines.

A couple of years ago a friend of mine had some money to invest, and his thought was to exploit a plot of land that he already owned, build about 8-10 apartments, keep a couple for himself and sell the rest. In a different lifetime, this used to be quite a good way to invest

I am very proud that I have received the support from two Greek wineries to adopt the AVIN for their wines. Gentilini from the island of Cephalonia and Manousakis from the island of Crete will start including the AVIN codes on their wine labels. This makes them the first two Greek wineries to use this

The cultivation of vines in Greece reaches back to antiquity. Some of the earliest references to wine come from the poetry of Homer. Yet, few people are aware of just how young the current Greek wine industry really is. Most of Greece was part of the Ottoman Empire from the 15th century until its declaration of

Gaia Wines is a remarkable wine estate. They have succeeded in becoming one of the true icons in not just one, but two of the finest wine regions in Greece: Nemea in the Peloponnese is home to the Agiorgitiko grape, and the island of Santorini is famous for its Assyrtiko wines. Last week I had the

Tsaoussi is an indigenous Greek grape variety mainly found on the Ionian island of Kefalonia, although it has been suggested to be of Macedonian origin. Kefalonia shot to fame when the best seller ?Captain Corelli?s Mandolin? was?transformed into a movie that was shot on the island. It is located in the heart of an earthquake

Most wine lovers enjoy buying extraordinary wines and cellaring them for long periods of time. The pleasure to try the wines during different stages of maturity is not only very educational, but also extremely rewarding for pure pleasure. In Greece, this is not the common thing to do; most wines are consumed shortly after their

The social networking tools used by the wine industry become more important by the day. Dirk Wuertz, a German vintner from the small village of Gau-Odernheim, sells more than 80% of his production to the US ? you can find more information in English here. Dirk is one of the key players when it comes to

Two days ago I wrote about our experience in obtaining a Greek passport for our daughter. The Greek authorities use the Greek spelling from the birth certificate and then translate this phonetically into Latin characters. In our case this led to a ?new? Latin name ? STOLZ became STOLTS. You can read about it here. Yesterday

Greek authorities can be quite stiff about their regulations. They can also be quite irrational up to the point that it's simply beyond any logical argument to refute them. ? In 1998 my eldest daughter Sophia was born in London. We got her British birth certificate in the ever so efficient British way ? it took all

This last weekend was marked by two memorable occasions: The renowned wine exhibition ?Hamburger Wein Salon? celebrated its 25th anniversary, and I showed a portfolio of selected Greek wines for the first time ever at such a professional event. The Hamburger Wein Salon is organised by Mario Scheuermann, one of the most influential wine critics...

I have noted years ago that every conversation between Greeks will at some point turn to politics. I do not know of another nation where politics plays such a dominant role in everyday life. When I saw that the Prime Minister of Greece, Georgios Papandreou, is using twitter, I followed him. He is not an

I was pointed to an article published in Greek by Ta Nea online that caught my attention. In it, an account is given how some well known Greek wineries have started to establish new operations abroad. The well-known Kir Yianni Estate entered into a joint venture with Mogao in China in the fourth quarter of

I started the undertaking of promoting Greek wines abroad about a year ago in a rather unexciting mainstream way, by knocking on doors of German and British wine merchants, trying to convince them on a one to one basis, of these wines' uniqueness and quality. During these days in early 2009 I happened to read

Just over a year ago I decided to leave behind my professional past in investment banking and get involved with wines on a full-time basis. I took the plunge into this adventure in the first weeks of January 2009. Looking back at this year, I can honestly say that this has been the most fulfilling working

Mark Squires scored 109 Greek wines in the issue #186 of Robert Parker?s wine advocate, which was released just a few hours ago. 15 wines scored between 90 and 94 points, 59 wines between 87 and 89 points, 27 wines between 84 and 86 points, and 8 wines between 79 and 82 points. Three sweet wines

Fiery Greeks under the Magnifying Glass I have analysed the findings of the German wine critics, who earlier reported their scores on over 60 Greek wines, and caused surprise and furore in both Germany and Greece, as well as many other countries. In order to ensure that the results are truly representative, I called Eckhard Supp,

"During similar tasting events to date, the standard of Greek wines turned out ordinary. However, on two separate occasions now, the wines organised by Markus Stolz were a thrust. I was able to award 5 stars out of 5 to several wines, and was likely even too conservative in my judgement." These are the written words

Birthday parties are a non-event for adult Greeks, as name days are far more important. For children however, birthday parties are imperative, which is of course as it should be. When I was a child, I would invite 5 to 10 friends to my house, and lots of games would be played. In today?s world

I have been living in Greece for six years, and even now it sometimes happens to me that I feel bewildered whilst dealing with usually routine situations. Every now and then I fall prey to some of the more deplorable tactics used in this country. The weather is still warm and mild in Athens, but surely

Greek wines deserve a much better image. Sometimes it seems that only the Greek vintners themselves are aware about the stunning and exciting wines that they are able to craft. An image is in many cases created over time by a population of people from different backgrounds who share similar experiences. To change the existing