PROGRAMME OF EVENTS 2025
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 24
Church of Saint Nicholas, Castle of Monemvasia
18:00 | Event | “Joining the Myth”
Event dedicated to the expansion of the Malvasia Myth Network (MMN) and the inscription of new members from various regions of the Mediterranean.
Signing of the MMN Declaration of Principles. Awarding of the Malvasia Myth Member label for the areas included in the Network.
The event is attended by representatives of the Regions of Peloponnese and Crete, representatives of Greek ministries, cultural institutions and production regions around the Mediterranean.
Elkomenos Christos Square, Castle of Monemvasia
20:30 | Concert | Sakis Papadimitriou, “Wine and Melody”
“From antiquity to Byzantium and from the Municipal tradition to modern poetry”.
With reference points of “wine and love”, ancient and modern poetry set to music by composer Sakis Papadimitriou is melodically intertwined with Byzantine melodies as well as folk songs from many regions of Greece, where wine and the fruits of the earth acquire special symbolism, in an atmospheric presentation of speech and music.
The ancient symphonic-love songs of Anacreon, Alcaeus, Sappho and other lyric poets find their continuation in the West, in the Tarantella and the Carmina (Potoria) Burana. In Byzantium, the vine and wine take on a special symbolism, while in the Renaissance and more recent times the thread continues with Erotokritos and folk poetry in songs about wine, the gifts of the earth and the miracle of life. A high poetry that significantly influenced the work of the great modern Greek poets, from Kostis Palamas to Kiki Dimoula.
The performance will feature Byzantine hymns, traditional songs and selections from the composer’s works “Of Wine & Love” (ancient lyric poetry), “The Muses I Loved” (Kostís Palamas), “My Last Body” (Kiki Dimoula) and “Rhapsodies of Water”.
Participating:
Sakis Papadimitriou (composition, musical arrangement, guitar, lute, oud, tambourine, kaval), Dora Petridi (singing), Manolis Kottoros (violin, singing), Eleftheria Daoultzi (canon), Maria Panagiotakopoulou (text arrangement, narration).
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 25
15:30 | Historical walk
Guided tour with a professional guide through the cobblestone streets and buildings of the Castle, through the eyes and history of Malvasia. Start: Entrance of Monemvasia Castle. Guide: Efi Anagnopoulou Duration: approximately 90 minutes. The tour will be in English.
16:00 | Creative writing workshop | “Libations of speech”
Afrodite Leolei and Maria Baka are implementing a participatory creative writing workshop that draws inspiration from Malvasia wine, the history and the place of Monemvasia. Participants will ferment words, images and emotions, creating personal texts that highlight memory, taste and tradition, discovering the creative “dizziness” of the written word. Church of Saint Nicholas, Castle of Monemvasia
17:00 | Event | “The cultural heritage of Malvasia”
Presentations and discussion on the cultural heritage of Malvasia in Greece and the Mediterranean countries. Presentation of the upcoming inscription of the element “Sun-dried Malvasia wine” in the National List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Greece.
Participating:
- Dr Elias Anagnostakis, Historian, Researcher, National Research Foundation.
- Alba Gràcia Pañella, Director of the Interpretation Center – Malvasia de Sitges Museum at the Hospital Sant Joan Baptista de Sitges Foundation in Catalonia, Spain.
- Emanuela Panke, President of Iter Vitis Cultural Route of the Council of Europe.
- Dr Vittoria Bonaldo, Representative of Via Querinissima cultural route.
- Villy Fotopoulou, Director of Modern Cultural Heritage, Ministry of Culture of Greece.
- Dr Evangelia Pantou, Historian, Director of the Ephorate of Antiquities of Laconia.
- Sotiris Bolis, Author of the proposal “Sun-dried Malvasia wine”.
Panagia Chrysafitissa Square, Castle of Monemvasia
18:00 | Tastes of Malvasia
Tastings of Malvasia wines from hosted wineries from Greece (Monemvasia, Paros, Crete), Croatia (Istria, Dalmatia), Spain (Catalonia), Slovenia (Vipava valley) and Italy (Isole Eolie).
Parallel presentations of fine local products – offered by local producers – tastings and wine pairings. Cheese, cold cuts, olives and olive oil, honey, sweets, spirits and tasty unknown words such as sfela, psystiri, syglino, samousas, hydromeli!
Participating production companies: | Laviogal cheese | Andromidas meat | Asopos groves | KASELL S.A. olive oil | Sotirale family | Moreos Idista patisserie | Neraida patisserie | Monemvasia Cosmetics | Zarakas honey
Panagia Chrysafitissa Square, Castle of Monemvasia
19:00 | Concert | Nama Dama, “Pagan soul”
The multi-talented artist and performer Nama Dama, originally from Cyprus and Ukraine, takes us on a musical journey that combines traditional and electronic music, accompanied by atmospheric and intense vocals.
Her performances have a ritualistic character, incorporating percussion, synthesizers, flute and vocals. Using live looping as her compass, she transforms her solo performance into a unique, colorful ritual.
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 26
Tourist kiosk, Monemvasia town
11:00–12:30 | Masterclass | “Malvasia of the world”
A unique journey into the world of Malvasia through the aromas and flavors of 10 selected Malvasia wines-labels from the participating wineries from Greece, Croatia, Spain, Slovenia, and Italy.
The guidance is undertaken by the internationally renowned Caroline Gilby MW (Master of Wine, United Kingdom), one of the most important personalities on the global wine map, with many years of experience and passion for the wines of Central and Eastern Europe.
With deep knowledge and unique storytelling ability, Caroline Gilby will introduce the audience to the secrets of Malvasia wine, highlighting its historical path and its contemporary dynamics at an international level.
The Masterclass will be held in English.
Tourist kiosk, Monemvasia town
12:00–16:00 | Malvasia Wine Exhibition
The 1st Malvasia Wine Exhibition in Monemvasia welcomes and hosts 14 wineries from 8 characteristic Malvasia production areas, from 5 countries: Greece (Monemvasia, Crete, Paros), Croatia (Istria, Dalmatia), Spain (Catalonia), Slovenia (Vipava valley) and Italy (Isole Eolie).
During the exhibition there will be presentations of the wines by the winemakers and interventions by the internationally renowned journalists and wine experts Beth Willard, Igor Luković, Cesar Soler, Meropi Papadopoulou and Ivan Maric.
Entrance to the wine exhibition: 10€
Entrance to the masterclass & wine exhibition: 30€
Prices include a beautiful commemorative tasting glass RIEDEL.
Tickets – reservations at mwww.more.com and also at the entrance of the exhibition.
Free entry to the exhibition for people with disabilities and their companion.
* Limited number of seats for the masterclass. Online ticket sales.
The Masterclass and the Exhibition are co-organized with Vinistra – The world of Malvasia.
Castle of Monemvasia
16:00 | Historical walk
Guided tour with a professional guide through the cobblestone streets and buildings of the Castle, through the eyes and history of Malvasia.
Start: Entrance of Monemvasia Castle. Guide: Efi Anagnopoulou.
Duration: approximately 90 minutes. The tour will be in Greek.
Courtyard of the Yannis Ritsos Museum, Castle of Monemvasia
17:30 | Concert | Theseus Gousas, Classical guitar recital
Guitarist Theseus Gousas presents Carlo Domeniconi’s iconic work “Koyunbaba” with a unique, personal interpretation.
Guided by the themes of the work and the power of improvisation, he creates a new musical narrative, transforming the work into an atmospheric, immersive soundscape that highlights the artistic mastery of the Monemvasian guitarist and the expressive depth of the guitar.
Courtyard of the Yannis Ritsos Museum, Castle of Monemvasia
18:30 | Wine-Poetry | “Wine and whispers”
In the courtyard of the poet’s museum, poetry meets wine and transforms into “wine-poetry”.
Whispers that emerge from the last sip of wine and are transformed into lyrics. A spoken word performance by Maria Baka and Afroditi Leolei to original music by Stratos Sterianou.
The performance aims to give a contemporary touch to classic poems as well as original oral poetry texts that will be found together on stage for the first time. The audience is invited to follow the journey of words, music and wine, in a landscape of living poetry that converses with memory and the present.
Panagia Chrysafitissa Square, Castle of Monemvasia
19:30 | Concert | Socrates Sinopoulos Quartet, “Metamodal”
The Socrates Sinopoulos Quartet combines the primal sound of the lyre with a piano trio, drawing inspiration from Greek tradition, Byzantine and classical music, as well as from the world of jazz and contemporary creation. With a discography on ECM Records (Eight Winds – 2015, Metamodal – 2019) and appearances on important stages and festivals across Europe, the quartet stands out for its improvisation and interaction, which make each concert a unique experience.
Socrates Sinopoulos notes: “For me the quartet is the ideal group with which I can explore new compositional ideas and new forms, while what I appreciate and enjoy most is that we are able to keep the spark burning in such a way that each of our concerts feels like it is the first time we have met to play music together.“
Participating: Socrates Sinopoulos (lyre), Yann Keerim (piano), Dimitris Tsekouras (bass), Dimitris Emmanouil (drums). Sound engineer: Giannis Skandamis.
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