Athenee
Importers, established in 1975, is the largest importer and distributor
of fine wine, spirits and beer from Greece and Cyprus in the United
States. We believe that the future of Greek wines lie in the hands
of the small producers. In the past 20 years, the Greek wine industry
has undergone tremendous change. Initially, the Greek wine market
was controlled by large wineries that produced wines for the mass
market with very little attention paid to quality. As a result,
Greek wines were not a strong presence in the marketplace and earned
a bad reputation. As a result, the trade suffered greatly. In order
to rectify the situation, industry leaders recognized the need for
change. The next generation of Greek wines would lie in the hands
of small producers who keep an eye to quality while closely guarding
quantity.
As
a result of Greece's membership in the European Union (EU), money
was available to revamp existing wineries and build new ones. EU
funds coupled with private investment have lead to a silent yet
dramatic change in the modern Greek wine market. Today, the majority
of oenologists are trained at the finest schools around the world.
After completing their training, they have returned to their homeland
to implement their skills. These specialists have begun extensively
working with the indigenous grape varieties to produce exciting
new wines that reflect the new style of Greece.
Athenee's
mission is to represent producers that believe in the new philosophy
of winemaking. We believe that wineries that are their owner's passion
produce the best products regardless of the number of bottles produced
annually. In turn, many of the companies we represent do not produce
wines on a large scale and can be hard to find. However, once found,
these wines won't disappoint.
The
intention of our website is to educate and promote Greek wines in
the United States. A majority of the products you see are distributed
nationally. If you cannot locate a particular product in your area,
please contact us and we will put you in touch with someone who
can.
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