Greek wine producers participated for the first time in an organised and coordinated manner, under the brand name of Wine of Greece, in the 39th London Wine Fair 2019 held on May 20-22, aiming to cover the needs of the mature British market that is now seeking quality wine and new indigenous varieties.

The Greek wines were very popular among the sommeliers, importers and journalists, who “fought” for a place in the Greek Masterclass that was hosted for the first time on the sidelines of the London International Exhibition, leaving behind specialised seminars on famous wines from Italy, Spain and France.

The approximately 40 Greek producers, who participated in the exhibition, underlined the delicate flavours of wines from Crete, the Peloponnese, Thessaly, Epirus, but also from small individual vineyards in Greece.

In addition to wine, the Greek kiosk also featured a selection of alcoholic spirits made from vines, such as tsipouro, which is becoming more and more popular.

The coordinated presence was supported by Enterprise Greece, the National Interprofessional Organisation of Vine and Wine, the Greek-British Chamber of Commerce and the Economic and Commercial Department of the Greek Embassy in London.

“Despite the still low figures, wine exports have a positive momentum in the context of a general rise of Greek product exports, which last year for the first time time exceeded 30 billion euros,” said the director for international food and drink exhibitions at Enterprise Greece, Antonis Gravanis, to the Athens-Macedonian News Agency (ANA).

“There is significant margin for wine exports but the long-term goal of all wine producers is to be able to create a good name for Greek wine in order to increase the average sale price. We seek to make Greek wine known to the markets of Europe that interest us, such as Germany, the countries of the former Benelux, where there is high wine consumption and there a large Greek community, as well as in Britain, which wants good wine, is increasing its consumption and also has a large Greek community to promote it. The same applies to America. Wine exports to the US have reached very encouraging numbers. What is needed is the cooperation of all the parties involved and Greece’s participation in the current London Wine Fair is large,” Gravanis added.