This year’s Wine Tourism Conference in the Peloponnese, entitled “Journey Through Wine and Time,” highlighted the significant progress made in the small but rapidly expanding wine tourism sector in Greece.

The three-day event, which took place from April 1 to 3 at the renowned Skouras Estate, was attended by a host of hospitality and wine specialists, regional government officials, and several foreign dignitaries, including the Ambassadors Italy, Israel, and Moldova.

The conference opened with an online address by the Minister of Tourism Vassilis Kikilias, who underscored the Ministry’s commitment to supporting the development of wine tourism as a mainstay of Greek tourism.

On the rise worldwide, Greek wine producers have fully embraced tourism as an effective means of promoting their wines to wider audiences and generating extra revenue through tastings.

In her keynote address at the end of the conference, Deputy Tourism Minister Sofia Zacharakis discussed some of the recent developments in the sector, including the upgraded digital portal for visitable wineries (“Visitable Trademark Application”), the establishment of wine tourism awards based on qualitative and quantitative criteria, and the creation of a series of trekking routes in the country, incorporating wineries in Attica and Crete. She also expressed hope for the future:

“A special moment of this conference was the attitude of the latest generation of winemakers, young people, followers of this great tradition, with fresh ideas, deep scientific knowledge and with a view to the future. This is exactly what we need as a country, to overcome each and every crisis.”

“Wine tourism is a key part of our ongoing efforts to create a quality and holistic tourism product,” she added.

Over the course of the conference, a special workshop was dedicated to the terroir (specific wine growing environment) of Nemea in the northeast Peloponnese, including a tour of several wineries in the area – Ktimas Skoura, Tselepou and Semeli – and a trip to the famous archaeological site of Nemea.

Conference presentations and discussion panels covered a range of topics, including the challenges and opportunities of wine tourism in the post-pandemic era, the development of gastro and wine tourism in the Peloponnese, and production methods by specialist oenologists.     

With information in Greek from moneyreview.gr.