WOMEN IN WINE

International Women's Day and the time has come to meet dynamic Greek winemakers, who have set the bar of wine creativity very high and have made the wine world even more exciting! After all, the Bee Gees have been declaring it since 1960, singing wine and women!

Ioanna Tsilili: "The hunter of the greatest challenges"

Ioanna Tsilili is one of the most dynamic and pioneering winemakers in Greece, with her creations exuding intense dynamism. Almost hard to find, since she is constantly traveling from country to country, every new idea of hers is in the news. In continuation of the long family tradition, Ioanna Tsilili, as a chemical engineer, continued with a master's degree in wine and spirits. Her talent in spirits led her to do the first thesis on tsipouro in Greece. A period of involvement with wine followed, during which she studied and worked in France. Applying new know-how, its very first venture, it becomes the first Greek rosé wine, awarded gold in Brussels. She then took the title of Master Distiller in Conegliano, Italy and her return to Greece was noticed with the release of the aged Dark Cave tsipouro and its award among the 14 best spirits in the world. Her many years of experience cannot be hidden and she now has canvas, her very own boutique winery, with the new line of Edenia wines, such as Edenia Bella.

Chloe Hatzivarytis: "The woman who reined in the xinomavro"

Chloe Hatzivarytis belongs to the most restless children of winemaking and her wines have an honest and real character. Coming from a family of winemakers, at an early age she felt the weight of her predetermined path unbearable and for a few years, she almost rejected it. But wine did not leave her alone, and after her studies in agriculture, she came across it in her master's degree and decided to deal with it, under her own conditions. With her travels around the world, she came into contact with the principles of great winemaking and set herself the goal of producing authentic wines, as the ultimate expression of terroir. When she returned to the family winery, her experimentation with Xinomavro earned her a spot on Noble Rot magazine's top wine list. Today, the "audacious" Xinomavro variety bows before her and Goumenissa is her synonymous! This was followed by the PetNat project, the natural sparkling wines, which he managed to make part of our everyday life. If you recognize their name, there is Chloe's signature next to it..

Vassiliki Akriotou: "The Rose Mountaineer"

Vasiliki Akriotou, after many business ventures, made her dream come true and has been active in the wine industry for over 20 years. Her first contact was in 1987, as a student of Oenology at the Technical University of Athens. After her studies she worked in large wineries in Central Greece. She gained vast experience in all branches of the production process and immediately recognized the immediate and enormous impact of a small winery, on society and the local economy. With raw materials from Boeotia and Central Evia, in 2015 she decided to capture her vast experience in wine production, with the release of her own series, called Orivatis, to this series belong Orivatis Red, Orivatis Rose and Orivatis Savvatiano Old Vines   This name was not at all accidental, since it indicates the upward and difficult path that one must follow in order to vinify high-level wines. Orivatis Rosé 2017 made a special impression, as many associated it with the corresponding great rosés of Provence!

Lenga Grigoriadou: "The resourceful businesswoman"

A woman who has excelled in the field of wine and has highlighted the multiple forms of wine entrepreneurship. Lenga Grigoriadou had a huge love for classical ballet and dance from a young age. But she never imagined that her other love, knowledge about wine, would completely absorb her. She focused on her education around the industry, studying wine marketing, viticulture and winemaking. A pioneer in the planting of Gewurtztraminer in Evia and an ardent supporter of the variety's compatibility in this area, she justified herself by producing excellent wines such as Lenga Pink and Agios Chronos and obtaining many distinctions. But her restless spirit did not stop there. On the occasion of her pregnancy and the search for natural cosmetics in the market, in 2009 she founded Lenga Grape Spa. The only spa in Greece, which utilizes all the by-products of the winemaking process, from the winery's vineyards. The business recognition came in 2019, with the Innovative Entrepreneurship Award from the Prefecture of Evia, for her involvement in cosmetology.

Roxani Matsa: "The bright lady of the Mediterranean"

Recommendations here are unnecessary! It is the case that the name Roxani is associated with a single person. For the bright lady of the Mediterranean, viticulture and winemaking were written in her DNA. Descendant of Alexandros Kambas, she inherited from her family the vineyards of Kanzas and was destined to continue the family tradition. The road was not paved with rose petals, but with her determination and tireless personality, she became an authentic worker of the vine. Its debut on the market was with the Savvatiano variety, under the wings of Boutari Winery and completely changed the image the world had of the variety until then. Her big bet, however, was the rescue and promotion of the Malagouzia variety, which of course won. In 2001 the association of wine journalists honored her for her work, awarding her the title Wine Personality. The mother of Malagouzia is deservedly crowned, with her wines sweeping the awards every year and the variety now being automatically associated with her name. The path of Roxani Matsa in the wine world has been deeply carved and she is the woman with the most important history in the field of viticulture and winemaking in Greece.