Greek Wine in the Spotlight – 42nd London Wine Fair

The 42nd London Wine Fair, the largest professional wine exhibition for the UK market, concluded with great success. Over 9,000 professionals attended the three-day exhibition, having the opportunity to discover new innovative trends and products, participate in tastings, and attend lectures, masterclasses, and presentations regarding the latest challenges in the wine industry.

As mentioned by Antonis Sioulis, managing director of Reco Exports, the exclusive representative of the London Wine Fair in Greece and responsible for the Greek participation:

“This year’s organization was excellent, both in terms of the quality of the audience and the thematic sections of the three days. Masterclasses, workshops, awards. This year’s London Wine Fair was a one-stop shop for every industry professional, evidenced by the attendance of nearly 10,000 British buyers, distributors, journalists, and wine experts in general.

Regarding the Greek pavilion, the two Free Wine Tasting & Wine Bar stations operated very efficiently, informing visitors about the varieties and participating wineries. At the same time, the informative booklet we designed acted as a true guide for understanding the wines tasted as well as the indigenous varieties. The total of 1,073 visitors over the three days is proof of the unique momentum of interest in Greek wine among British importers.

On our part, wanting to meet the needs of both the British in choosing the appropriate wine and winery for a potential collaboration and the difficulty of Greek wineries in understanding how the British market operates and responding to its demands, we created the newly established company Orpheus Wine, which aims to support both parties and consequently the optimal penetration of Greek wine in the UK.”

The Greek Participation

The Greek participation in the 2024 event was particularly significant, including 36 wineries. The National Pavilion was, as always, located in an exceptionally privileged space, right in the center of the exhibition. Of the 35 wineries participating in the National Pavilion, 33 were supported by the regions of Eastern Macedonia & Thrace, Central Macedonia, Crete, and Central Greece, with 2 being independent participants. The Greek presence at the exhibition was complemented by the company Achaia Clauss, with its own stand outside the National Pavilion.

Among the more than 1,000 visitors to the National Pavilion were buyers from companies such as Waitrose, Sainsbury’s, Aldi, Hatch Mansfield, Mentzendorff, Friarwood, and others. The Greek participation was visited on behalf of the Greek Embassy in London by the General Consul of O.E.Y. B’, Paraskevi Kampouroglou.

The Greek Wine Bars

Within the National Pavilion, two Wine Bars were organized, where the more than 1,000 visitors to the National Pavilion had the opportunity to find and taste three representative wines from each winery of the Greek participation.

All the wines from the Wine Bars were included in a special guide published by Reco Exports, where visitors could find information about each label and the respective winery. The Wine Bars were managed by two distinguished professionals in the UK wine industry:

• Martyna Pawliczek, former head sommelier at La Dame de Pic London, holds a prominent position in the world of high gastronomy and wine. Now a member of Clark Foyster Wines Ltd, she has extensive experience in the wine industry, having worked in top restaurants worldwide.
• Zigmars Grinbergs, holder of a WSET Diploma and Advanced Sommelier, is also studying to become a Master Sommelier. He has over 25 years of experience in the hospitality industry, having worked as head sommelier, and now works as a wine buyer for Central Europe.

Additionally, the Region of Crete participated independently in the Free Wine Tasting Area, where Klearchos Kanelakis presented visitors with the most famous wine varieties from the entire network of wineries in the region.

Masterclass: Greece – An Authentic Modern Classic

The three-day exhibition concluded with the presentation of 9 labels of Greek wines, selected by Demetri Walters MW, from the wineries participating in the National Pavilion, held in a special masterclass session. The masterclass titled “Greece – An Authentic Modern Classic” took place on Wednesday, May 22, in the specially designed Walk-up Tasting area of the exhibition, in a packed room of buyers, sommeliers, distributors, and wine enthusiasts.

Source: a8inea.com