The Greeks might not have invented wine, but they’ve been making it, pretty damn well we might add, for a helluva long time. The Greek word for wine, oinos, forms part of the term oinofilia which actually means “a love of wine”. If you’re an oenophile, you’re someone who loves wine.
(Incidentally, the word symposium stems from drinking wine, too. In ancient Greece, academic minds of the time (i.e. Plato and Aristotle) would get together and talk shop over kraters (giant jugs) of the stuff, and so symposium came to mean “to drink together”.)
We have the largest Greek population in Melbourne outside of Greece itself, and they’ve brought us gyros and souvlaki, dolmades, saganaki, fetta and haloumi, and more. They’ve also brought us Assyrtiko, Moschofilero and Xinomavro, and Vidiano, Savatiano and Kotsifali. We bet you’re not as familiar with this lot as you are with the former. But that’s where we come in.
Oinofilia is a one-day festival celebrating the wines and food of Greece. We have over 30 producers from Greece showing off over 60 different Greek wines, giving you a chance to taste and learn and discover what this wonderful country has to offer.
Our favourite Cretan restaurant, Elyros, is on board with its sister Epocha, putting on a serious spread to soak up all that delicious wine. On the menu will be dishes like Greek roast lamb shoulder, kalitsounia (Cretan pies), a mezze bar, oysters and so much more. Kathy Tsaples from Sweet Greek will be there, bringing her incredible food (including the best spanakopita and galaktoboureko you’ll ever eat) to the table. And that’s just the tip… there will be more. Kali orexi!
Come on down for this incredible, one-day Greek fest, celebrating the absolute best of this wonderful country.
The details
Date: Sat June 24, 11am till 5pm
Venue: Meat Market, 5 Blackwood St, Melbourne
Tickets: $55 (includes Plumm Wine glass and ALL wine tastes. NO TOKENS!)