Greek wine industry revived after financial crisis
251 views · Published 10 November 2018 · 6:53 · Indexed 27 September 2026
Channel: AP Archive · 2018 · News & Politics
(5 Nov 2018) LEADIN: The Greek wine industry is banking on international markets to help expand production after being hampered at home by the ongoing financial crisis. Winemakers have been forced to transform their image, changing their grape varieties and branding to meet the demanding tastes of wine connoisseurs worldwide. STORYLINE: Greece is a land with a millenary wine tradition. The country's geographical diversity allows for the production of hundreds of wines of different flavours and bodies. With 110-thousand hectares of vineyards, the Mediterranean nation produces about 2.5 million hectolitres of wine every year, according to the international Organization of vine and wine. The country ranks about 17th amongst the world's wine producing countries. The Greek wine industry faced its reckoning in 2008, when Greece was gripped by financial crisis. Winemakers were forced to turn to foreign markets to survive. Third-generation winemaker Vasilis Papagiannakos has won a number of prestigious national and international wine awards. "With the financial crisis, especially after (the beginning of) the crisis we became much more extroverted and we ran to the foreign markets. And we saw that in the few last years there is momentum for Greek wine, because it has authenticity, unique varieties that have their roots in ancient times," says Papagiannakos. Since expanding into foreign markets, Greek winemakers have increased the production of local grape varieties. The move came with the realisation that to compete on the global market they needed a unique selling point. They could no longer rely on international varieties. "70 percent of our production is exported to 18 countries. Many countries in Europe, most of the known European countries, but also in the US, in Canada with great success, in Asia, (we export) to Japan, Korea and Taiwan," adds Papagiannakos. Nikos Manesis, Regional Chair for Greece at Decanter World Wine Awards, says the financial crisis was a wake up call for the industry. "The best thing that happened to Greek wine was the crisis," says the wine expert. "They improved their packaging, they dropped their prices, they realised that the world competition is ruthless and huge. And they became a lot more cosmopolitan and international by travelling and showing their wines." Producing more distinctly Greek wine has also opened up tourism opportunities. Wineries across the country, from the cooler climates of northern Greece to the warm Aegean islands, now offer wine tasting tours. About 10-thousand visitors from all over the world visit Papagiannakos' winery every year. Siddhant Singh and his wife Shankar from New Delhi, India, are getting a first taste of Greek wines. Greek wine exports have not reached India yet. "We hadn't had an opportunity to taste wines from Greece.. But we are very delighted that we came here and the flavours are really different from the wines we get in those parts of the world," says Singh. Despite the industry transformation, experts says wine exports make little difference to the state of the battered Greek economy. "Boutique products are a great addition to the profitability and the income of the small producer, but they are not something that can be counted in the national economy in any substantial way," says economist Solon Molho. Endless bureaucracy and unstable fiscal policies hinder efforts to grow the export market. "If anything the Greek state has been more of a hindrance to doing business, not just to exports but to doing business generally," Molho observes. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP_Archive Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/APArchives Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/APNews/ You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/0094107c2f330d34c720d8e8b0282350
