Evi Kallini, The Communication Consultant

Can anyone who doesn't prefer retsina in their glass and table discern its powerful weapons? Certainly yes – the well-known media & communications specialist proves it.

RETSINA, TO EACH THEIR OWN.

"Confessed sin is no sin" says the wisepeople. Somehow, as much as it is certain that retsina has sworn followers, it is equally certain that it also has people who do not put it in their mouths - for their own reasons. To which of the two categories does the well-known media & communications specialist Evi Kallini belong? We ask her how present retsina is in her daily life: "I would say that it is probably... absent" she confesses. "The truth is that at no time in my life have I been a fan of retsina, perhaps because I lived it in its bad times. I remember it flowing abundantly in small, low, glass glasses, at the family parties of my adolescence, but also at university nights out, as an economical option, always paired with Coca Cola - the trend of the time - so that the sweetness covers the harsh aftertaste of the resin. Our paths quickly parted and never met again".

Retsina is one of the most characteristic Greek wines - if not the most characteristic, as it is exclusively produced in our country. However, in the course of recent years its image has been distorted, with some preferring it for its quintessentially Greek character and others snubbing it – a situation that, fortunately, thanks to some charismatic Greek winemakers, is changing in recent years. We ask Evi Kalliniwhat image she has of this very special Greek wine: "First of all, a wine produced since ancient times, known to the general public and identified with Greece, no matter how misunderstood it is, has many aces up its sleeve" she tells us with a smile. "In recent years, I have noticed the effort being made - mainly by the creators themselves - for retsina to rebrand and make a dynamic comeback - and, apparently, things are on the right track. And, of course, they are on the right track, because primarily the product itself and its quality have improved, with refined versions that try to gain the lost ground, reintroducing retsina inside and outside the Greek borders."

THE PHOTOGRAPHY WAS TAKEN AT THE YAHUDI HAMMAM, IN THESSALONIKI'S FLOWER SHOPS ARE.

THE WINE OF EXTRAVERSION.

Retsina is a wine – so speaking of wine, what role does it play in our daily lives? In the moments of company and loneliness, joy and sadness, extroversion, and introversion? "Indispensable", admits the Thessaloniki-based media & communications specialist. "I don't know a person who doesn't love wine and doesn't have a particular preference for certain varieties, with the personal wine knowledge map of each one of us being enriched and growing with our new travel and culinary experiences. For me, wine is extroversion, a necessary 'companion' to a nice meal with friends or going out to relax after work, at the end of a difficult week. Of course, there are also those Saturday nights when we will stay at home and open a nice red with a full, velvety, round taste or, when it's summer, good time, a cool robola from our favorite island, Kefalonia".