Oenorama. No ambitions – only wine!

Text: Olesya Berseneva

Greece’s largest exhibition, Oenorama, celebrated its 30th anniversary by gathering the most distinctive wines of the bright terroirs of Hellas at the beginning of March 2024 at the “Zappeion Megaron” in the center of Athens.

Among the numerous exhibitors of Oenorama there were nominees of the Wine Travel Awards – we would like to remind you that the voting for the candidates goes on until March 31, it is the time to support the representatives of Greece in this wine tourism community – the well-known wineries from Nemea Semeli Estate and Α. & G. PAPAIOANNOU. And it is also a chance to join the international community that unites winemakers, wine journalists, guides, schools, associations and associations with the aim of promoting regions.

The Athens exhibition was first held in 1994. It was organized by Vinetum, a company specializing in event management, content creation and consulting. Other events organized by Vinetum include: Fine Red Wines, Afros & Nectar (Sparkling & Sweet Wines), Drink Pink (Rosé Wines) Greek Spirits and the Athens Craft Beer Festival. At that period of time it gained the highest ratings and this year it made a grand appearance with more than 250 exhibitors and more than 2,500 wines and spirits. In fact, today it is the only expo in the world that offers the most complete overview of the Greek wine industry. Such a proposition gathered more than 10,000 local and foreign visitors, specialists and oenophiles. Drinks+ correspondents were among them.

What caught the attention of our reviewers?

First of all, the complete absence of usual stand constructions was striking. No ambitions – only wine! As befits the homeland of the world democracy, all exhibitors – from small family wineries to powerful global enterprises – had equal opportunities to showcase their wines at standard tables lined up along the walls. What is remarkable, there were practically no stand workers – behind them were the owners, members of their families or top managers. And you know, as for me, it looks, perhaps, somewhat unusual to the eye of someone who every year attends the world’s leading exhibitions, which in some places turn into vanity fairs, but it is definitely a fair.

And it was an economical solution as well. Thus, the organizers were able to provide the maximum number of exhibition spaces to Greek winemakers with lower costs. And winemakers had equal opportunities to draw attention to their brands. And partners and fans made their choice based solely on the quality and style of the presented wines. Konstantinos Lazarakis MW, director of the WSPC Wine School (Greece), commented on the incredibly soulful atmosphere we experienced: “Oenorama is a gathering of the wine family, so everyone matters. After all, you have to go to family gatherings, even if one of your relatives can get on your nerves. Or if we may think we’ve seen it all before. A sense of belonging is important in any society! Only with this sense of belonging can we move forward, and Oenorama provides that to the wine community.”

And what is interesting, despite such a family-like, somewhat informal atmosphere, thanks to the well-organized navigation system at the exhibition, it was quite easy to move around the area, searching for this or that company.

So, here there was something to think about! By the way, we have long been drawing the attention of the international community to the star of winemaking that rose over the terroirs of Greece. Today, this country has begun to produce bright, diverse wines, both powerful, subtle and refined. In fact, the wines of Greece are a cosmos that can take a lifetime to explore, which is what the nominee of the Author of the Year category, Professor Marianna Sigala, really does – please support her work by voting for her.

New brands and names are added to the wide range of well-known and even great Greek wines every year. At this year’s show, 200+ newly released wines (from January 2021) were presented separately and could be tasted in formats ideal for each visitor: in areas exclusively for traders, during their own impromptu tasting rounds, as well as in areas for self-examination pouring

We also noted an interesting organizers` feature as the wine bar “Wine Revelations”. 60+ wines from rare autochthonous varieties, as well as organic, biodynamic and natural wines were presented here, poured and commented by a team of sommeliers.

The traditional exhibition Oenotechnica presented state-of-the-art oenological equipment and consumables.

 The date of the next exhibition has not been announced yet. Stay tuned for Drinks+ posts!