Angeliki Sapika, The Fundraiser

A memento of moments of carefree and rest, a symbol of the stereotypical Greek summer, but also a delight present in happy personal moments – for the development coordinator of Anatolia College, retsina is no stranger. Perhaps that is why she is happy that the emblematic Greek wine has been reinvented in recent years - always special, but clearly more refined.

PART OF THE URBANPROCESS

A drink for leisure and company, retsina often leads us to wrong conclusions. We tend to think that for busy people, for urbanites in the classic sense of the term, it would not be the drink of choice. We would be wrong – in fact, retsina is much more of an "urban" wine than anything else.

Angeliki Sapika, development coordinator of Anatolia College, is such a person – but also one of the most well-known faces of the Thessaloniki microcosm. We wanted to ask her how present and in what way retsina is in her daily life, if she has associated the consumption of this particular wine with a moment or a period of her life – say with her student years, with an outing with friends, with a trip, even with a moment she spent with herself: "I have combined retsina with food and, because I rarely go out to eat anymore, I very rarely happen to order it," she replies. "Of course, I have connected it to a specific period of my life: when I had the time and it was fun to enjoy fish in seaside tavernas, with improvised groups, without mobile phones and without the stress of obligations weighing on the 'big' Greek summer afternoons".

Does this mean she is knowledgeable about retsina's history? "The truth is that, because I was never an expert in the area of wines, I never paid much attention to labels, varieties and production methods", she confesses. "The only thing that concerns me is the taste - and the 'earthy' taste of retsina, as I have been calling it for so many years, proving my incomplete knowledge of the 'slang' of wine connoisseurship, I have always liked. In recent years I have tasted some excellent retsinas and I can only be glad that a wine I have loved has found a way to reinvent itself. In many cases, the taste of retsina, as it is now produced, seems more refined, but its distinctiveness is, fortunately, the same. So, my memories come back instantly!'

RETSINA AND LANDSCAPE.

In the course of the last decades, retsina became identified with Thessaloniki, which evolved into a center not only for the production of quality retsina, but also for its consumption. With which region, with which population, perhaps even with which hangout in the city has Angeliki Sapika associated this particular wine? "The obvious thing is that, for me, ithas been connected with the student community of Thessaloniki" she answers. "However, because I did not live the student life of the city, I have only associated it with personal - always positive - moments".

Could this connection with personal, positive moments mean that the development coordinator of Anatolia College recognizes in retsina and, in general, in wine, a special, probably beneficial role in our daily life – in the moments of company and loneliness, joy and sadness, extroversion and introversion? "In my opinion, this is a question that can only be answered personally," says Mrs. Sapika. "I couldn't speak in general about what role it plays in people’severyday life. So personally, I only enjoy wine when I'm happy and relaxed – if I'm carefree, even better! What I can say is that I'm glad to see the young people (over 18, of course) drinking wine too instead of 'hard' drinks. I hope that all of us who are lucky enough to live in Greece understand how important it is to support Greek winemakers, who have been producing excellent wines for years".