On November 1st, Florence welcomed a fragment of the Aegean. At Hotel Albani, just steps from Santa Maria Novella, Greek Wine Day returned: the annual event that transforms the city into the capital of Greek wine. The initiative was born from the passion and vision of Haris Papandreou, a profound connoisseur of the Greek wine world and an ideal bridge between Italian and Greek wine culture.
Under the patronage of the Honorary Consulate of Greece in Florence, the fourth edition confirmed the strength of the format: 49 wineries and over 225 labels in tasting, from the maritime whites of the Aegean to the reds of the Peloponnese, passing through the great northern regions of Macedonia and Thessaly. A sensory and cultural journey through a country where wine is history, tradition, and rebirth.
The protagonists were the native varietals: Assyrtiko, Moschofilero, Roditis, and Savatiano among the whites; Agiorgitiko, Xinomavro, Mavrodaphne, and Romeiko among the reds. Grapes that tell the story of the most authentic Greece, with its thousand shades of light, wind, and salt.
Among the many tastings, three wineries stood out for identity, coherence, and quality: Hatzidakis Winery in Santorini, Dourakis Winery in Crete, and Garalis Winery in Lemnos. Three islands, three different ways of narrating contemporary Greek wine.
Santorini and Purity According to Hatzidakis
The Hatzidakis Winery table was among the most anticipated and crowded. Founded in 1997 by Haridimos Hatzidakis and Konstantina Chrysou, today carried forward with passion by their daughter Stella, the winery is a symbol of coherence and authenticity. The approach has remained faithful to the founder’s vision: certified organic viticulture, spontaneous fermentations, no filtration, and maximum expression of Santorini’s volcanic terroir.
The Santorini Familia DOP 2024 (100% Assyrtiko) embodies the island’s spirit. Vibrant straw in color, on the nose it alternates citrus and white flowers with mineral and saline notes. On the palate, it is taut, precise, vertical: the acidity leads into deep sapidity recalling ash and sea, closing on a long, citrus-driven finish.
More textured and complex, Nychteri DOP shines in the glass like Santorini’s sun: golden, luminous, profound. It comes from Assyrtiko grapes sourced from vines around 150 years old, hand-harvested late in the season and given brief cold maceration before spontaneous fermentation. After twelve months aging in oak, the wine reveals an enveloping bouquet of honey, dried apricot, and candied orange peel. The palate is silky yet powerful, its constant mineral vibration shaping the structure and balancing its richness. The finish is long and saline, glowing with volcanic light.
Closing the tasting, Louros 2021, a meditative white that represents Santorini’s deepest soul.
It comes from a single vineyard with vines over three centuries old, rooted directly in volcanic stone. Late-harvested grapes are chilled for 12 hours before destemming and a 48-hour cold maceration. Fermentation with indigenous yeasts takes place at 18°C in oak barrels, where the wine then matures on the lees for 24 months. Bottled unfiltered to preserve its integrity.
In the glass, it shows deep gold, almost amber, opening slowly to dried apricot, beeswax, honey, sweet spices, and gunpowder. The palate is dense and enveloping, yet constantly lifted by mineral tension. The finish is extremely long, saline, almost umami, filled with the depth and radiance that only Santorini can give.
Dourakis Winery: Crete’s New Breath Between Tradition and Sustainability
From Santorini’s mineral force to the full light of Crete. Here in Alikampos, in the Chania district, Dourakis Winery represents another face of Greek wine: sustainable, sunlit, ever-evolving. Founded in 1988 by Andreas Dourakis, today the winery is led by his children Antonis and Evie, who have guided it into modernity with organic vineyards, solar energy, and an environmentally respectful approach.
Romeiko, an ancient red-skinned variety once dominant across Crete, finds in Dourakis Winery a refined and contemporary interpretation.
Cassiopeia Brut, a blanc de noirs made from 100% Romeiko using the traditional method, appears bright straw with fine, persistent bubbles. The nose offers flint, Mediterranean scrub, helichrysum, and white flowers. The palate is taut and mineral, balanced by sapidity and freshness, leading to an elegant finish of ripe yellow fruit and a saline echo of the Cretan sea.
Pavo Romeiko, vinified as a white, expresses the essential territorial nature of the variety: vibrant gold color, aromas of lime, helichrysum, and Mediterranean herbs; a dry, brisk palate with vivid acidity and citrus persistence. Two wines that narrate Crete’s vitality and its ability to innovate while honoring tradition.
Lemnos and the Dual Soul of Garalis Winery
The final stop is Lemnos, where sea meets volcanic rock and wind shapes the vines. Here arises Garalis Winery, a young estate that has given voice to the island’s symbolic grape, Muscat of Alexandria, with a personal and contemporary style.
The winery manages 105 acres of vineyards, all organically farmed. Production is split into two lines: a traditional one, clean and classic, and a natural one, Terra Ambera, where Muscat is interpreted in multiple expressions, each with its own identity.
The traditional line represents technical precision and the aromatic clarity of Lemnos Muscat. Moscato d’Alessandria Garalis 2024 is fragrant and radiant, with peach, jasmine, and citrus. The palate is balanced and smooth, lively in acidity and sustained by pleasant sapidity. Immediate yet elegant, it is a perfect emblem of the island’s identity.
In the natural Terra Ambera line, Garalis explores new languages while preserving fruit integrity and avoiding invasive interventions.
Terra Ambera 2024, 100% Muscat with short skin contact, is an orange wine of golden hue and volcanic soul: apricot, dried flowers, and wild mint anticipate a rich yet fresh palate, marked by mineral tension and a saline finish.
Terra Ambera Deep Skin 2024, with four months skin contact and stems included, is denser and more vibrant: citrus meets Mediterranean herbs and earthy depth.
Terra Ambera Amphora 2024, fermented and aged in buried clay amphorae, is the most evocative: luminous gold, aromas of orange peel, honey, sage, and grey tea, with an ample, enveloping palate that closes on apricot nectar and salt.
The range ends with Terra Roza 2024, a rosé from Moscato and Limnio: bright salmon color, strawberry and cherry on the nose, juicy citrusy palate, and a long pleasantly bitter finish.
Garalis Winery is a perfect symbol of the new Greek wine scene: young, technically skilled, aware of its roots, yet able to narrate them with contemporary sincerity.
A Bridge Between Past and Future
Greek Wine Day 2025 was not just a grand tasting event, but a collective narrative. Each producer, each glass, each accent contributed to depicting a Greece capable of emotion and surprise, strong in identity yet open to the world.
From the sharp energy of Santorini’s Assyrtiko to the Mediterranean brightness of Crete’s Romeiko, to the pure and natural aromatics of Lemnos’ Muscat, Greek wines revealed a perfect synthesis of tradition and innovation.
With Greek Wine Day 2025, Florence reaffirms its role as a cultural and oenological crossroads between Italy and Greece. An event that does not merely celebrate Greek wine, but reveals its strength, modernity, and vision: an ancient heritage speaking to the future with a new voice.
