Athens, one of the world's top travel destinations, is perfect for #winelovers. I suspect that most visitors to Athens might not think of it as a place to explore wine. Whether you are newbie to Greek wines, or already a seasoned Greek #winelover, Athens is perfect for wine explorations. Recently our #winelover community met for its 4th anniversary celebrations in Athens, Greece. Athens is typically a
place where visitors come to explore archaeological ruins. Our #winelover group
however, had come to explore the wines. For travelers who are curious about Greek wines this article showcases some places in and around Athens that you should put on your list.
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| #Winelovers, Museum of Wine © Spaswinefood |
Since I have returned from Greece friends keep asking "Which island did you visit?". My typical
response is “I was in Athens exploring Greek wines”, then most ask a few questions about Greek wines. Hence this #winelover post is an overview for a series of posts on Athens wine explorations that this Spaswinefood enthusiast will write. For now here are some places that any visitor to Athens should include in their itinerary:
Day 1: Scala Vinoteca
On the first evening we met
for a BYOB Celebration Dinner at Scala Vinoteca Restaurant.
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| #Winelovers, Scala Vinoteca © Spaswinefood |
It is always special when we come together.
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| #Winelover Smiles, Scala Vinoteca © Spaswinefood |
The wines and the food were delightful; however, what was even more exciting was seeing #winelover friends and meeting new #winelover friends. I would love to return to Scala Vinoteca.
Day 2: Walking Tour, Typical Greek Lunch, Wine & Cheese Tasting and Dinner
Our day began with a walking tour of Athens.
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| #Winelovers on a Walking Tour of Athens © Spaswinefood |
After the walking tour we
enjoyed a typical Greek meze lunch at a popular local meze tavern, “To
Kafeneio”
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| Lunch, To Kafeneio © Spaswinefood |
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| Begin with Yamas, To Kafeneio © Spaswinefood |
It was a fabulous lunch with wines.
With a group like ours, the
planned time for a free afternoon for rest, or sightseeing/shopping downtown was somewhat
shortened. No problem, because we needed to do a wine and cheese tasting at the Vintage Wine Bar & Bistro. All was good.
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| Vintage Wine Bar & Bistro © Spaswinefood |
Yes, we even stopped for a tour of a coffee shop on our walk back to the hotel.
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| Coffee Explorations, Athens © Spaswinefood |
Soon we returned to the Vintage Wine Bar & Bistro for dinner with wines from various Greek wine regions.
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| #Winelover #Pepper, Vintage Wine Bar & Bistro © Spaswinefood |
Wherever #winelovers dine the staff can not help but get involved in the discussions. It was a great day in Athens.
Day 3: Mycenae Archaeological Site and Domaine Skouras
Next morning we took a guided tour of the archaeological site of Mycenae, 90 km. southeast of Athens in Peloponnese.
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| Mycenae Archaeological Ruins © Spaswinefood |
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| Through the Gate, Mycenae © Spaswinefood |
We did a very quick tour of the ruins, pausing briefly at Lions Gate.
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Lions Gate, Mycenae © Spaswinefood
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Just outside the main archaeological site we visited a burial site. This site is well preserved because it was well hidden underground.
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| #Winelovers Checkout Mycenae © Spaswinefood |
Next it was onto Nemea where we toured
Domaine Skouras.
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| Domaine Skouras © Spaswinefood |
George Skouras greeted us when we arrived at the winery. He introduced us to Nemea region grape varieties, such as Moscofilero (white) and Agrigitiko (red) grape varieties (checkout this video of him discussing Agrigitiko).
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| George Skouras Welcomes #Winelovers to Domaine Skouras © Spaswinefood |
While at Domaine SKouras we did a delightful wine tasting, and ate a very tasty lunch.
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| Aromas, Domaine Skouras © Spaswinefood |
After returning to Athens we
had a free evening to explore on our own.
Day 4: Wine Museum, Wine Tasting and Gala Dinner
Athens Wine Bars
Of course Athens has many wine bars. Two more wine bars that I
visited while in Athens were Cinque and Fabrica de Vino.
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| Fabrica de Vino, Athens © Spaswinefood |
Fabrica de Vino is wine bar that gets good reviews and is certainly worth a visit. Cinque Wine Bar however, which also gets good reviews was
extra special for me.
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| Cinque Wine Bar, Athens © Spaswinefood |
Maybe it was the #winelover connection, a sense of community,
which made Cinque more special for me. One thing I have learnt is
that it is important to be part of a community. Magnus Reuterdahl recently described the
#winelover community this way:
#winelover is a good example of a participatory online culture.
A community that allows us to get together, where we actively create
information and meetings together instead of passively receiving information.
The network forms the body and like Hydra, it has a lot of heads that gives
voices to our community.
The importance of community
cannot be under estimated. The #Winelover Community is not just good for professional engagement it is
good for the soul. #Winelover activities in Greece were organized by Ted Lelekas. Special thanks to Ted for organizing the #winelover celebrations. The wine places we visited, with a little culture thrown into the mix, provided amazing opportunities to explore Greek Wines.
Yes,
you too can discover that special #winelover magic in Greece. Sure, while you are in Athens checkout the ruins but also while you are doing so, do not forget to also make it a wine and food adventure. I look forward to writing
about other Greek #winelover experiences at Spaswinefood, or you can visit
my travel
column at the Examiner.
Sharon
Athens,
Greece
February
2016
©
Spaswinefood
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| Sharon © Spaswinefood |
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| Athens, Greece © Spaswinefood |
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