The Cinque Journal / The Greek Wine Journey
WINE & PEOPLE · 2018 ARCHIVE
Crete: Wine Destination — Grigoris Prassas at OiNotika 2018
Wine tourism, hospitality and the connection between a city tasting and a vineyard visit.
Published 2018-11-02 · Cinque — The Greek Wine Journey
IN THIS ARTICLE
On Monday 5 November 2018, OiNotika brought Cretan wine to the Athinais Cultural Centre in Athens. Alongside the fair, a conference explored Crete as a wine destination and the relationship between wine, tourism and hospitality.
Cinque’s archive records Grigoris Prassas’s contribution to that conversation, drawing on his experience of introducing international guests to Greek wine in Athens.
Wine tourism can begin in the city
The idea at the heart of our account is straightforward: a visitor’s interest in a wine region may begin before they reach a vineyard. A first tasting, a producer’s story or a helpful conversation can encourage them to explore further.
A city wine bar can be part of that introduction. By giving a wine its context, the team helps connect what is in the glass with the landscape and people behind it.
Crete as a place to discover
The gathering brought together perspectives from wine, tourism and gastronomy. It offered a setting to discuss how tasting, food and encounters with producers can become part of a visitor’s experience of Crete.
For Cinque, the subject connected naturally with our daily work: listening to what interests a guest and helping them discover another part of the Greek vineyard.
A shared conversation
Representatives of Wines of Crete and professionals from the wider tourism and food community contributed to the conference. Their different viewpoints reflected the many people involved in welcoming a traveller to a wine region.
We retain this article and the original photograph as a record of Cinque’s involvement in that 2018 conversation. The Wines of Crete announcement documents the date and venue of the Athens fair.