Vassilis Kourtakis passed away in the early hours of Sunday. Leading and diverse personality of Greek Wine, Kourtakis made a decisive contribution to pave the way for bottled wine in Greece in the 60’s, returning from France where he studied oenology and taking over the family winery of Attica, which today became “Greek Wine Wines” in one of the largest wineries in our country.

Intelligent and creative, with a deep knowledge of the geography of the Greek and the world wine business, he was one of the main founders of the Hellenic Wine Association, its president for twelve years and then honorary president. Armed with his training in wine legislation, he led the institutional shielding of Greek wine and equipped the Association with organizational structures that brought great results and promoted new executives. At the same time he participated in the founding Board of Directors of the National Interprofessional Organization of Vine and Wine (E.D.O.A.O.).

In addition, his constant monitoring of European wine developments has led him to make a decisive contribution to the establishment of the European Commission of Wine (C.E.E.V.), a prestigious organization and therefore a key interlocutor of EU institutions. He was even president of the C.E.E.V. for eight years, before becoming its honorary president.

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