Akis Papadopoulos: From University to Head Winemaker in One Step

As you grow grapes and achieve your desired outcome, you get to test your patience as well. Risk is involved, and those brave enough to take that risk succeed.

Take a look at Akis Papadopoulos’ foray into winemaking. At first, he didn’t think winemaking was for him. At the back of his mind, he wanted to give it a try so that’s exactly what he did. Then he started studying in France and honing his knowledge in the wine industry, specifically winemaking.

Having gained experience and knowledge abroad, he returned to Greece to become a winemaker. Even though things were never easy, he rose above them, and now he can only look back with a smile on his face. The wines he produces have won numerous awards and the world gets to taste and enjoy them.

What you will learn from this episode:

• Find out how one can produce quality wine even from those not among your country’s indigenous varieties.
• Hear about different grape varieties [both local and international] that Art Wine Estate cultivates and which produce high quality wines.
• Know the important factors that go into the winemaking process.
• Discover ways to plant and grow vines that can withstand global climate change.
• Learn about the key virtue that will help you attain desired results in the winemaking business.

Akis Papadopoulos is a second-generation winemaker. His initial introduction to winemaking came from watching his father Yannis, a civil engineer by profession, making his own wine. He soon realized that winemaking is both an art and a science and decided to equip himself with the academic tools and knowledge to support his natural love for wine.

To that end he first studied at the University of Thessaloniki in Greece and after acquiring his diploma in Chemistry he moved to France to attend Faculté d’Oenologie, the prestigious University in Bordeaux. While staying in Bordeaux he gained valuable experience working in Chateaux like Haut-Bergey and Grand Mouëys.

After graduating from the University of Bordeaux he returned to Greece to take over the winemaking process at the “Wine Art” Estate. Being “Wine Art” Estate’s head winemaker since 2010 his wines have been awarded more than 250 medals and received high scores from the most important international wine magazines.

Connect with Akis Papadopoulos:

• Website: https://wineartestate.com/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ak.papadopoulos

Topics Covered:

00:54 – How his journey in the wine industry started, and where his education took him to
02:45 – Living the magic of Bordeaux and not being bothered by the language barrier
04:39 – Going back to Greece and becoming the winemaker
06:36 – One particular job closest to his heart that he would choose among the many aspects of winemaking
08:00 – Producing quality wines from other vine varieties apart from Greece’s indigenous kinds
09:46 – Cultivating non-native grape varieties at the start and now focusing on the indigenous kind
14:21 – Factors that contribute to making the wine [plus the type of soil that Art Wine Estate grow their vines on]
15:55 – Planting vines with a globally challenged climate
19:00 – Art Wine Estate’s estimated annual wine production and where do they sell it to
22:49 – Producing award-receiving wines [and sharing which distinction comes close to his heart]
24:47 – Talking about his daughter, who’s likely to follow in his footsteps, and the number of women winemakers in Greece
27:00 – Sharing about Drama region’s temperature and weather conditions, and the effects of climate change on the grapes
28:36 – What he loves to do apart from making wine

Quotes from Aki Papadopoulos:

“At the time that I was finishing high school, the winery was already established.”

“Once I finished my studies in Thessaloniki, I went to Bordeaux for two years.”

“I was able to also to gain in terms of working experience, as I have done two harvests at two different chateaus in Bordeaux.”

“When I came back and took over winemaking in 2009, 2010 actually, it was kind of a heavy burden.”

“At the same time, I was very motivated and intrigued by the responsibility of being the one making the wines at the estate.”

“There’s no room for mistakes.”

“I’m mostly involved in making wine and the marketing part as well, which is very intriguing for me to promote the wines to people not only in Greece, but also abroad.”

“Over the last, let’s say three decades, there was a huge progress done in terms of quality of Greek wines.”

“Over the last 20 years, we made a turn and we’ve now been focusing on indigenous Greek varieties.”

“We have added more and more indigenous varieties to our portfolio like Malagousia, which is quite floral but quite complex at the same time.”

“The grapes need a minimum of 10 years in order to show you a glimpse of their potential.”

“We have a vineyard that was planted last year at 1,100 meters above sea level.”

“When we first started harvesting 30 years ago, we started around early September while the last, let’s say five years, the harvest begins in early August, which is a month prior to what it used to be.”

“Our total production is 400,000 bottles a year of red, white, and rose wines.”

“Our wines have received more than 300 awards over the last 25 years.”