Dimitris Koparanis, the Journalist

Exciting memories of secret meetings in closed restaurants by candlelight, with the windows covered and retsina emerging as an ideal sushi pairing.

"Let's define 'retsina'. There is so much variety to choose from: you can get a simple retsina for the everyday table, a sparkling rosé for the Easter table, an aged one from Assyrtiko for a fatty fish with greens fricassee... The wine definitely has a class character, I feel but that retsina surpasses it".

THE "MASTER" OF BRANDING.

Today he works as a journalist, but most people know him as the creator of bougatsan, a Thessalonican hybrid that, cleverly (and successfully) combining the all-time favorite croissant with the wonderful cream of the sweet bougatsa, managed to shake up the country's culinary waters, proving that the cuisine here, in the north, retains its ability to reinvent itself and surprise.

What perhaps few people know about Dimitris Koparanis (besides, perhaps, a few lucky ones who happened to taste his famous burger on a winter evening, paired by one of the new generation retsina, who managed to take the "retsinia" out of the beloved Greek wine) is that he himself is a retsina-lover: "Retsina is one of my most favorite wines, for many reasons - mainly, of course, for its special taste" he explains. "In the early years of the internet, in 2007, I organized 'secret' tasting meetings in various places. The first meeting was about retsina. It took place in a closed restaurant, by candlelight. The windows were covered. The guests attended a tasting by the estate's oenologist and then we served sushi, which goes perfectly with retsina".

His preference is neither random nor automatic – the well-known journalist has researched it and has an opinion on it: "Retsina is a food meme, with many symbolisms and stories," he claims. “Memes survive this way; they dominate our brains – I write about this in detail in my book '#foodporn: Food in the Age of Instagram'. A key element of any successful meme is precisely this polarization. The producers who work with retsina are brilliant, they have a product recognizable by everyone. Retsina is a part of life".

WHO IS RETSINA-LOVER?

At the end of the day, what is the phenotype of the one who "votes" retsina? What is his social, educational, or economic profile – if indeed a rule can be derived that covers all cases? The well-known journalist replies: "Let's define 'retsina'." There is so much variety to choose from: you can get a simple retsina for the everyday table, a sparkling rosé for the Easter table, an aged Assyrtiko for an oily fish with greens fricassee... The wine definitely has a class character, I feel but that retsina surpasses it".

WINE ENHANCES… DAILY.

Practically, what does this mean for retsina and wine, in general, as a drink of choice in our daily lives? How easy is it to drink, how much is it about us and how could we connect it as a companion to our desires, longings, and moods? "It's definitely a pleasure that we can incorporate into our daily lives," Dimitris Koparanis affirms with certainty. "Wine is a good occasion and an interesting topic for conversation at a table. I'm not the kind of person to drink wine while staring, but a glass of wine at lunchtime is definitely a very good idea".

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