April 2018: a press release announcing that SMOE (l’ association hellenique des vignerons artisans) had been formed sent shockwaves across the world of Greek wine. Some background. In 1995 there were 220 wineries. By 2017 the wineries had reached 700. The majority of the winery growth came from small land owning boutique sized wineries. They also were the most educated and switched on of how competitive the real world out there is. More importantly this young blood tapped deeper than trends. One of SMOE’s first steps ticking off on their action list was to become affiliated with their European brethren (confedération européene des vignerons independent) CEVI reaching 12.000.00 members in 11 countries.
Though still early days membership has reached 38 with more requests pending. It appears there a real momentum behind this timely emergence. As SMOE’s president Thanos Dougos says ” We have an agenda which is different to the larger concerns. We are making different wines for not the same audience or price point” . Further to their action plan SMOE now has to shoulder responsibly it’s stewardship while moving it’s members issues forward equitably.
For further information please visit http://smoe.com.gr/