A huge hug from the Athenian public after three years of absence.

Cretan Wine Exhibition Oinotika in Athens - A huge embrace from the Athenian public after three years of absence.

With great success for the fifth year, 31 wineries from Crete welcomed the wine-loving public and professionals of Athens to the Cretan wine exhibition Oinotika. The exhibition was held with the support of the Region of Crete and over 1,000 visitors tasted 300+ labels.

At the exhibition, an interesting seminar was held by oenologist and wine consultant, Simos Georgopoulos, entitled "A Crete for every dish", on the topic of pairing Cretan wines with international gastronomy dishes. There were also four entertaining interactive quizzes on Cretan wine knowledge with prizes for the winners of Magnum bottles of Cretan wines.

The exhibition was visited by wine professionals, wine lovers, journalists, professors and students of wine and gastronomy schools. The exhibition was also attended by the Minister of Agricultural Development and Food, Mr. Georgios Georgantas, who represented the government. Mr. Georgantas spoke with all the producers and expressed particular interest in the impressive development and promotion of local varieties. Characteristically he mentioned: "It is a great pleasure to return to the exhibition area and to see Cretan wine constantly rising. The Ministry supports such initiatives that strengthen our country's primary sector."

Ms Irini Houdetsanaki-Giakoumaki, Deputy Head of the Primary Sector of Crete said: "The Regional Governor Mr. Stavros Arnaoutakis and the Region of Crete are always on the side and support the producers and winemakers of our island! We respect the hard work and the great efforts made at all stages of the production process in order to highlight this precious divine gift we inherited, wine! We actively support every action of "Wines of Crete", which promotes and promotes this very important product of our Primary Sector and we do everything possible to support their efforts and their remarkable work."

Finally, Nikos Miliarakis, Chairman of the Board of Directors of DONI said "The Athenian public welcomed us with warmth and warmth. We insist on organizing collective actions that promote  and support the island's vintners. We are very grateful to the Region of Crete and all the sponsors who helped in the realization of the exhibition. Cretan wine still has a lot to show at a Greek and international level."

Visitors were informed about the CloSeViVa clonal selection programme, which is carried out under the Research, Create, Innovate action and seeks to achieve the isolation of clones from the most important Greek varieties, which have particular phytosanitary and phenotypic characteristics. This project is co-funded by Greece and the European Union.

Important supporters of the Cretan Vineyard's trip to Athens were the sponsors of the exhibition who presented their products in the main exhibition area and talked to the professional audience and winemakers.

Major Sponsors of the exhibition were Cork Hellas, Coropoulis Packaging and GS Label Print.

Exhibition Sponsors were Astron Chemicals, Fassoulis Nurseries, Packsystems, Halkiadakis Flavours of Crete, D & A Labels, Nera Zaros and Chiotakis Bros. Communication Sponsors: Grape Magazine, Agronews.gr, Wine Trails, Oenology Magazine, The Winevert, Crunchy Grape, WineEventsGreece.Com and 750ml.

Crete's next wine rendezvous in Athens is in March 2023 at Oinorama!