Authentic Wine E.E. is a wholesale distribution company based in Athens, Greece. We import / distribute / represent, on an exclusivity basis for the Greek market, wineries that employ biodynamic principles in the vineyards and exercise solely natural winemaking practices.
We strongly believe that the Mediterranean countries, especially the regions that touch the waves of this ancient sea, are blessed with wines that are much neglected in the Greek hospitality industry. Consequently, the vast majority of our portfolio has its origins in Catalonia, South of France, Italy, and Greece.
Nevertheless, during our journey there are some pirates from the steep hill mountains of Jura in France that intruded our selection due to their unique wines and remarkable philosophy.
Our aim is to import products of added value and unique elegance to cover the needs of the Greek hospitality industry.
Authentic wine
in its purest artisanal form
About us
Our story
My name is Ilias Georgopoulos. For more than 20 years, I worked as an executive in the brokerage and banking sector. Although my career was full of excitement and substantial financial progress, I had a continuous “regret” in my mind. The lack of tangible progress, the lack of human interaction, and definitely the lack of added value for the society. As a consequence, I stubbornly wanted to get involved with a business that human interaction, and production of tangible assets is in the center of its philosophy, such as the “magical world” of wine.
During the WSET Diploma course wine tastings, I tasted some wines from the Mediterranean region, especially Cotes Catalanes and Priorat which were the only ones among more than 250 wines that excited my heart and resurfaced emotions, songs, and images to my mind that no other wines ever managed to do. Based on this experience, I decided in 2016 to start a distribution company that imports small to medium size artisanal wineries which produce “natural” wines mainly from the shores of the Mediterranean sea.
"Natural" wine
Since the ancient times, wine was a medium of exchange of culture among different civilizations, ways of living, even religions.
Unfortunately, due to the mass consumer needs of the modern societies after World War II, humans massively intervened in the vineyards (pesticides, insesticides,...) as well as the wineries (filtering, fining, commercial yeasts...) resulting to wines that do not express anymore their terroir, are just mere products of “industrial intervention.”
Concerning the vineyard
Minimum organic viticulture. Usually biodynamic viticulture, permaculture or other non-interventionist approaches.
Concerning the cellar
No use of commercial yeasts, only indigenous yeasts.
No chemicals…
No filtration…
No / Minimal use of sulphites.
It is a wine that results from all the “natural” prerequisites, but at the same time:
It is more than a “natural” wine:
It’s : smell of the place – personal relationships – bare hands and a lot of anxieties – unique flavours & raw taste – SUM: “a fine painting” of the moment.
“For us one of the noblest gestures of mankind is to cultivate the land with respect: working together with nature and letting her pay us back.”
Our values
Practice
either strict organic or biodynamic viticulture
Do not use
any chemicals in their vineyards
Do not buy grapes
from other wineries; use only the grapes that they cultivate with their own bare hands
View their vineyards
as part of an ecosystem that needs to be in balance in order to provide grapes of high quality
Cultivate
quite old vines that result to minimum yields and as a consequence grapes of maximum concentration
During alcoholic fermentation
they depend only on indigenous yeasts; in no way they use commercial yeasts
No use
of modern vinification techniques, such as centrifugation….etc
No / Minimal use
of filtration; let nature and time do their “magic”
No / Minimal use
of sulphur (SO2) only before the bottling process
Rarely use new barrels;
expect maximum expression of fruit flavors
Our friends
During the Autumn/Winter period, our client base is composed of:
a) boutique hotels situated in Greece,
b) specialized wine bars & restaurants as well as
c) quality catering companies.
Additionally, a separate clientelle during the winter months are corporate gift packages that include wines from all the aforementioned regions.
“Spread the word”
During the Spring/Summer period, millions of tourists from around the world are visiting the Mediterranean countries, and are more than willing to taste its foods and beverages. As a consequence, the creation of a Mediterranean wine list that will include wines from all these regions is more than necessary in order for the tourists to accumulate a complete sense of the Mediterranean way of life, diet, and tastes. Therefore, our client base for these months is enlarged with: a) luxury yachts, b) villa rental agencies.