The Truth is that when you are chosen—for the first time—to be ‘Guest Wine Blogger‘ at a Sunday event organised by www.strofiliawines.gr, it is both a great honour and a great responsibility.
On the one hand, I can’t believe that anyone who meets Maria Maltezou isn’t immediately won over by her spirit and her sense of humour, as well as her infinite passion for the work she and her colleagues do at the company. On the other hand, writing subjectively about what you did or didn’t like about the wines, the event, the way it was organised (?) is certainly a challenge.
For those of you who know me well, as an apprentice #winelover, and a student of Ted Lelekas, I learned to love wine through the people associated with it, and I’m definitely not some expert who will wear you down, telling you how many tannins one wine contained or how many plums, chocolates, bran, oats, freshly cut grass, or aromas of poppy or thyme honey the other wine had or that sort of detail, but I can certainly tell you what happened on the day.
[1st relaxation trick – Calm down and Listen] So I decided to clear my mind of all these weird thoughts and do what I always did. I wanted to learn about Strofilia wine through its creators, without having to pretend to be an expert, which is not what I am, after all.
[2nd relaxation trick – Start early]. So I set off early for Anavyssos, which according to Navigator is only 40 minutes from my house. So close – why had #Winelovers still not paid them a visit, I wondered.
Indeed, after exactly 37 minutes I was outside Strofilia, having passed around a hundred cyclists on the road (this detail is important). I found a very convenient parking place outside the winery, and though I’d arrived in good time it was already half-full (#optimist) with cars carrying special bicycle holders on their roofs. But there was no one to be seen.
I went to the main gate and discovered that the shutters were down. Before I had time to start worrying again, a man came up to me and said: ‘I’m sorry, do you know if I can buy something today for an evening at a friend’s house? There are some great wines from the estate that would be just the ticket, but I wasn’t able to come yesterday ‘.
Before I could answer, the door suddenly opened and a smiling lady (who seemed to have been eavesdropping on our conversation) said, ‘please come in’ and quickly closed the door again, as if 300 people were waiting for her to look after them.
It was then that I decided that everything was going to be OK. Calm down and just enjoy yourself, I said to myself.
After walking a short distance, with the camera open on live teaser broadcast, I reached the front entrance of the Winery, where I found out that I was at the right event!
I approached the tasting table and there a girl approached me with a smile and said: ‘Welcome. I know you, but you probably don’t remember me. I’m Penelope! What can I offer you to taste?’
(# Go_Goenius I thought as I replied) ‘Nice to see you. We must have met at some event or other. As it’s still rather early I would like something… to start with, and then I’ll try the rest’.
[3rd relaxation trick – First of all, smell it] I discovered this recently, and for me it’s particularly effective. You pour some wine in a glass with intense fruity aromas regardless of whether or not you drink it at once. You bring it up to your nose and breathe in deeply, making sure your eyes are closed. As if by magic, every trace of anxiety disappears. The name of the rosé wine also helped. Can you imagine, ‘Crazy Birds’ (?)
I took my wine and started looking for my hostess and friend, Maria Maltezou. When she saw me, she came over, smiling warmly, welcomed me and immediately took me to meet Giannis Maltezos, her father and the Strofilia wine creator, introducing me as a wine journalist. #not !
The extraordinary thing that strikes me every time I meet such people for the first time is that they carry their whole life in their eyes, which is where I like best to look at wine people, because the eyes always convey their truth.
Mr. Giannis, in a very straightforward and warm way, took me step by step through the history of the estate, expressively describing for me a journey made up of moments which might have faded for some and others might know nothing of, but are still very intense and vivid for him.
I started examining one by one the black and white photos around the winery wall, standing there like a small child, hearing the story from his grandfather, although in fact there wasn’t a great age difference between Mr. Giannis and myself.
‘Here we made the first wine in the winepress’, he explained, pointing to a photograph of himself barefoot treading grapes with his friend. ‘And here… the manual press called ‘STROFILIA’; hence the name of the winery. It was in 1981 that my friend Achilles (Lampsidis) and I decided to resume cultivation of the 25 acres of the estate that had been abandoned since 1956 because of its destruction by phylloxera.
The history of the estate is much older. It is estimated that it was first cultivated by our grandparents between 1860 and 1890’.
‘Here is my mother,’ he continues, ‘on the cart carrying the grapes from the harvest. By 1988, with a lot of personal effort, commitment and passion from the Maltezos family, the first winery had been built. To date we have built two wineries, one in Anavyssos and another at Asprokampos in Nemea. We have more than 500 acres of privately owned, rented and collaborating vineyards in the Peloponnese and Attica. Despite the financial crisis and problems it caused, we have managed to see Strofilia listed among the most dynamic and high-profile Greek wine-producing companies, with 40% of our production invested in exports ‘.
Looking at the photos I could make out a familiar individual whom I felt I had first met just outside in the yard, though we had not spoken.
‘Forgive me,’ I asked Giannis, ‘but I think the fellow in the photo is the DJ outside today. Or am I mistaken’?
‘No, you’re not mistaken. Tasos has been with us for 25 years: he always dealt with everything, especially if something went wrong. Today he is an active member of the family and the winery, with an important position in our company. Of course, because of his particular love for music, he is in charge today of choosing the music for your entertainment, as he does at every event‘.
And indeed Tasos delighted us with his musical choices, a great accompaniment for such a gathering.
People had assembled, together with some of my #Winelover friends, in the outside area and in the other parts of the winery.
Vasi, the photographer for the day, came over to me, and as my friend Giannis had arrived [click] he immortalised us together with Penelope and the ‘Crazy Birds’, dragging us off to the Food Truck canteen for an accompanying snack with their beaks. And what could be more suitable than the famous ‘GEZLEMEDES’ waiting for us to enjoy them with our refreshing rosé.
The one-hour guided tour given by the estate oenologist maintained our interest, for we had eaten well and were full of energy and thirst… for learning, as always.
Wine brings people together, whether they know each other or are just there for company. Wine lovers, families with their children, and the group of cyclists led by Mr. Themos Nikoletopoulos—Cycling4Wine—that I had passed when I was arriving, with about 120 cyclists of different ages and genders who had just arrived after a #Winetouring #Cyclingtouring at four local wineries.
Loud music (not deafening); an invitation to lie on the lawn embracing a refreshing Malagouzia under the Anavyssos sun and a cool breeze to dispel any extraneous thoughts and remind us never to grow up.
If I have to pass judgement on the estate wines, I will borrow the words of an Englishwoman working for the company, who loves our country and our sun as well as our wines: ‘Personally I don’t know about wine, but whenever I open a bottle, I make a point of smelling it before I taste it: I close my eyes and wait to hear its story, I wait for the winemaker to speak to me. And in these wines of STROFILIA, I hear one word above all. That word is ‘LOVE’.
As I was leaving I bought the Crazy Birds for myself, with its incredible poppy colour (despite being a rosé); it appealed both for its aromas and for its taste. The 2010 Nemea which I found ideal for the next challenging meat-eating meal with our teacher and the group, and of course the excellent Savatiano which we will definitely be enjoyed with some fish by the sea before too long.
Oh, and a white Strofilia that also won a gold prize from the Berliner competition Wine Trophy. I loved drinking it chilled on the lawn with Giovanna Lykou, as we were having a picnic, discussing our spring interview for the next issue of #Goenius.
How else can you appreciate a good wine, if you don’t try it out in good company? Ask the experts for details – in other words, Giovanna.
What remains from a sunlit Sunday at #StrofiliaWines is the Truth of the people who hosted us with LOVE, which will be the first thing I will smell and taste when I open the next bottle.
This is my TRUTH for an APRIL 1 in STROFILIA. #Yamas #ΣτροΦιλιά σε όλους!
(#Cheers # Strofiliakisses for everyone!)
www.goenius.com
Spyros Georgiadis was born in Athens on 27 January, 1973. His family were originally from Corfu and Alexandria, Egypt.
He studied Economics at the Department of Statistics & Insurance Science at the University of Piraeus, and he grew up practicing martial arts (instead of French) and the piano, which made him romantic as well as disciplined.
For 24 unbroken years he devoted himself to insuring people and property. As he says, ‘my job is half my life ‘.
Recently he and his team at Karavias Underwriting Agency have specialised in Crop & Winery Insurance, designed and created in collaboration with unions from Lloyd’s of London, the 1st Insurance Product for Vineyard and Winery, which was presented for the first time on March 10, 2018 at the Aigli, Zappeion at the meeting of the Hellenic Wine Association. It looks as though he will probably dedicate the rest of his life insuring wine, acre by acre, vineyard by vineyard!
In parallel, being an oenophile and a student of teacher Ted Lelekas, he has created the magazine & blog #Goenius #TravelFoodWineStories which aims to communicate the genius of the Greek wine producer and promote high quality bottled Greek wine, together with desires related to gastronomy and wine tourism of the company of his #Winelovers friends.
#SeeYouInTheVineyard #winelover #ilovegreekwine #yamas
#Enjoy_responsibly !!!
