OinoKritika is the first Organized Exhibition of Cretan Wine, in which Cretan wineries participated (since 2007). It also served as the first contact point and foundation for their participation in other organized wine exhibitions that followed. OinoKritika became an annual institution from its very first year of organization in Chania in 2007, always held at the Grand Arsenal – CAM (Center of Mediterranean Architecture).
After dozens of wine tasting events that we organized at C.A.M. (Center of Mediterranean Architecture) since 2002, we had cultivated a wine-oriented trend that was missing from our city. Thus, in 2007, the idea was born for a brand name for wine, a wine event that would be called “OinoKritika” and would concern the Cretan vineyard of the entire island, with Chania as its center, since the Chania region had missed all opportunities to obtain a PDO wine zone (= a globally recognized area of wine quality).
We choose a springtime date for OinoKritika, at the beginning or early phase of the tourist season, in order to establish a wine meeting point in our city during this time of year for visitors from abroad as well as Greeks from the mainland and beyond.
All wineries of Crete, small, family-owned or larger, participate in OinoKritika, as long as they operate within quality standards consistent with the philosophy of authentic, high-quality Cretan wine and the land of Crete.
Both for the primary sector and for the processing stage of production and development of Cretan wine.
Among producers, wineries, and all those involved in the promotion and sale of Cretan wine, with a shared focus on quality and authenticity, so that Crete can move forward in the field of wine.
“Wine is not a simple food product, meaning a product of merely commercial value, but also a cultural product.”
Wine itself is culture.
This view has been incorporated, promoted, and communicated through every written or digital medium used for presenting quality wine, as well as through every event we have organized since we began showcasing wine.
For this reason, OinoKritika events have never been limited to the commercial character that most wine exhibitions in Greece and worldwide have.
They also include the Arts (cinema, painting, music, photography), a practice implemented since 2007, aiming to awaken and engage the city of Chania—and subsequently the whole of Crete—so as to highlight the culture of our place through a cultural product: Cretan wine, which originates from some of the oldest vineyards on Earth.
Collaborations with local artists over the years have been and remain essential in the experience of wine tasting. The outcome of a wine tasting is significantly influenced by the psychological state of the taster. The parallel presence of art “softens” or “strengthens” the soul, leading to doubly positive results.
Thus, alongside Exhibition, Wine Tasting, Research, Development, and Promotion of the Cretan Vineyard, OinoKritika also carries the character of reconnection and renewal.
A unique advantage and opportunity for the region, and the starting point for a new wine exploration of the entire island.
Introducing visitors to the island’s diverse Cretan terroir and authentic local grape varieties, so they can become ambassadors of Cretan wine in their home countries.
Strengthening the connection of local residents with the ever-evolving cultural product of their land—wine—especially with native Cretan grape varieties, which have endured all climatic changes on the island, producing wines with unique global characteristics thanks to the Cretan terroir (soil, air, sun, temperature, humidity, flora, fauna, and human intervention).
In every OinoKritika event, profits are allocated to charitable structures and for public benefit purposes.
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