This is THE week for wine lovers in Athens. Oenorama 2017, the world’s largest exhibition of Greek wines, opens its doors in downtown Athens this weekend for three of wine tasting and pleasure. The wine exhibition is followed by the Athens Wine Week with dozens of events organized in the city and special offers by several restaurants, wine bars and bars.
Oinorama 2017: Mar 11-13 2017
More than 250 Greek and foreign wineries taking part, the event starts on Saturday, March 11th and runs until Monday, March 13th 2017.
The exhibition is taking place at the Zappion Megaron, in downtown Athens: Vasilissis Olgas Avenue, next to the National Garden at Syntagma.
Oenorama is setting up the Oenorama Tasting Gallery in which an entire Hall of Zappeion (in the red wing) is arranged in self-pour style for the promotion of Greek wines (Discover Greek Wines ) to Greek and foreign wine professionals. The Tasting Gallery hosts about 250 wines, selected by the show’s winemakers as the most representative of their geographical areas. Wines are placed according to their color, their provenance, their varietal and their vintage, in ideal tasting conditions. Each wine is accompanied by a tasting sheet in both English and Greek..
In this area, there is also an information desk for foreign visitors, the Greek Wine Information Bureau, with a giant map of the wine producing regions of Greece as the backdrop, which enhances the Discover Greek Wines experience
Entry to the Tasting Gallery is controlled and is allowed only to Greek and foreign wine professionals. If you are a consumer and would like to taste the wines presented in the Tasting Gallery, you can buy an extra ticket for 5 euros at the entrance of the exhibition.
Where, When, How?
Saturday 11th, Sunday 12th, Monday 13th March 2017
The weekend is for both professionals and consumers, whereas Monday is strictly for trade.
10:00 to 19:00 (18:00 on Monday)
Access
Underground: Line 1 (blue line), Syntagma stop
Tramway: Line Asklipeion Voulas – Syntagma & Line SEF – Syntagma, Zappeion stop.
Buses: Line 040 Peiraeus – Syntagma and Line 209 Metamorphosis – Syntagma, Zappeion stop.
The entry fee to Oenorama 2017 is 10 euros which includes the entry ticket, the souvenir tasting glass, a detailed catalogue with all the wines featured in the show and a personalized entrance badge which allows you to visit the exhibition as many times as you please. Replacement glasses are available for a fee of 3 euros.
Athens Wine Week: Mar 13-19, 2017
According to a press release by the organizers, the aim of Athens Wine Week is to make the wine protagonist in the Greek capital and hosts several wine related events in various parts of the city for a whole week.
The Athens Wine Week is the innovative proposal by Oenorama exhibition and it is in some way the continuation of the Oenorama exhibition in the city.
Dozens of wine-related events are organized in restaurants, bars, wine bars and other places, a modern and developed version of the Greek traditional “Wine Festival”. Focus is on the brand name Greek wine responsible, conscious consumption.
Among the events are:
“Cooking for Wine”: 30 of the best restaurants in Athens offer a four-course menu with three glasses of wine at a price of €29, €39 and €69, with the value of wine to be much higher. Upscale restaurants that normally do not participate in collective actions have joined the project.
Many bars and wine bars offer three different wines for the price of €15.
Several restaurants have designed special culinary evening events. Among them are:
«Tapas Wine Project» (15 wines and 30 tapas/appetizers in 450 combinations.
“Naked Flavors: Stem Vineyards and Quintessences“, an epic menu in 9 stages with 18 different wines.
More details in Athens Wine Week website – which in unfortunately in Greek only. However, the guide tool is easy if you know the basics in Greek language.
The Athens Wine Week is organized under the auspices of the Greek Wine Federation.
Oenorama 2017 website also in English.
PS I think there is no better option for this rainy weekend than go to Zappeion and enjoy some liquid fruit. You know, if you do not do it like the professionals, -no swallow- you can leave after a glass or two…
In the last few weeks, I had the opportunity to taste a couple of Greek wines by producers I did not know. The majority of them was excellent: a white light smokey from Peloponnese, a red from Drama, I think. Some red had full body but zero flavor. Another red from a Cyclades island had a taste that strongly reminded me of the sweet red wine the Greek Orthodox church uses for the Holy Communion. Desert wine is Ok, but I was really irritated. Having taken regular part in the Holy Communion for several years as a child and a teenager, I was really confused by the idea to drink a whole glass of wine that it is normally drinkable in the volume of a tiny tea spoon. I really did not like it at all.
