Vineyards meet Olive Groves in Ilia Prefecture

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A very interesting event about the richness and peculiarities of the Vineyard and the Olive Grove of the Prefecture of Ilia was held in the context of the FOOD EXPO 2023, under the auspices of the Chamber of Ilias, Western Greece.

Greek Olive Oil, like Greek Wine, are famous all over the world for their high quality and the particularity of their organoleptic characteristics. For connoisseurs, however, there are variations from region to region: terroir puts its own touch on the final quality and taste result.

In this context, the Make Noise Event that took place at this year’s FOOD EXPO 2023 cast the spotlight on the Vineyard and the Olive Garden of the Prefecture of Ilia, a fertile and rich area that produces excellent quality olive oil and wine, organizing two tastings in which the participants were olive oil companies and wineries based in the prefecture of Ilia.

The presentation of the wine tasting was undertaken by the well-known oenographer and wine consultant Mr. Simos Georgopoulos. With his help the attendees tested wines from ten wineries of the prefecture of Ilia, wines with an excellent taste and special character, made from important Greek varieties, such as Augustiatis, Mavrodaphni and Tinaktorogos.

Following the wine presentation, Mr. Nikos Koutsoukos, President of the Kalamata Olive Oil School and member of the ELGO DIMITRA Tasting Team, and Mr. Takis Dimitrakopoulos, member of the SEVITEL Tasting Team, guided the participants to an equally interesting tasting of olive oils from the olive oil mills of the Prefecture, olive oils which are either single varietal or blends from local varieties, such as Nemutiana and Kolireiki.

The wineries that took part are: Theofili – Alexandros Stagourakis (Θεοφίλη – Αλέξανδρος Σταγκουράκης), Drouva Estate (Κτήμα Δρούβα), Merkouri Estate (Κτήμα Μερκούρη), Brintziki Estate (Κτήμα Μπριντζίκη), Olympia Ghi Estate (Κτήμα Ολύμπια Γη), Stavropoulos Estate (Κτήμα Σταυρόπουλου), Konstantinopoulos Winery (Οινοποιείο Κωνσταντινόπουλος), Markogiannis Winery (Οινοποιείο Μαρκογιάννη), Skoutas Winery (Οινοποιείο Σκούτας) and ΜΙΚΡΟΒΙΟ / Koutsodimou  Estate (ΜΙΚΡΟΒΙΟ/Κτήμα Κουτσοδήμου).

The olive oil mills that took part are: Iliaki Eleourghia (Ηλειακή Ελαιουργία), Ilias Eleon (Ηλείας Έλαιον), Grammatikou Estate (Κτήμα Γραμματικού), Merkouri Estate (Κτήμα Μερκούρη), Lapithas Eleourgiki (Λαπίθας Ελαιουργική), Monopati (Μονοπάτι), Eleia – Spiliadis (Eleia-Σπηλιάδης), Zagkas Evaggelos (Ζάγκας Ευάγγελος), Eutropia Organic Olive Oil, Mponovolias Agrology, Olympia Green, Oilympian Koufolias, Pure Products Theofil and The Olive Temple – A.M.G. Karabelas Family.

The highly successful event, with the presence of Mr. Thanos Panagoulias, CEO of Forum SA and many executives of the company, was attended by a large number of people. After the end of the event, the president of the Chamber of Ilias, Mr. Konstantinos Nikoloutsos, said: “On the occasion of the exhibition, we met important visitors, Greeks and foreigners, who are interested in wine and olive oil. With events like the one held today, we aspire to not simply promote Ilia wine but to connect gastronomy with tourism. There is currently a great demand for the so-called “experience tourism”. Gastronomy and wine tourism can certainly be an important part of such experiences.

The particularly high quality of the products produced by the Prefecture of Ilia allows us to hope to attract more quality tourism, people who appreciate and seek these experiences, and can create an increase in per capita consumption.

Especially regarding olive oil, we do not stop at the excellent quality of the raw material, but we all make great efforts, a continuous struggle to improve cultivation practices and oil production. The results so far are more than encouraging, but our goal is to get better every year.”

The “Make Noise Event” was organized by Forum SA, owner company of the International FOOD EXPO Fair, and came to life in the context of the program CREATIVE@HUBS: Holistic Networking of Creative Media Through Collaborative Spaces, Interreg Greece-Italy 2014-2020, with the support of the Region of Western Greece, Region of Epirus, Region of Ionian Islands and Regione Puglia (Italy). The project is co-financed by the European Union and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), with the National Participation of Greece and Italy.

Chamber of Ilia
28is Octovriou & Platia Iroon,
27100, Pirgos
Tel: 26210 34154, 32225
Email: info@iliachamber.gr