Odyssey of Wine Tours Inc. is a wine tourism company focused on providing exceptional and curated tours exploring the unique Blue Zone wine heritage of the Aegean. Basing our tours around the island of Ikaria, a region world-renowned for its longevity, rural beauty, and authentic experiences, our company provides small groups of travelers the chance to delve into a true cultural experience through the lens of local Ikarian wine.
Nikos Afianes is the owner and winemaker of Afianes Wines, a biodynamic winery in Ikaria practicing ancestral methods of wine production with varietals indigenous to the island. Nikos’ wines have been internationally recognized and included in many studies of Ikaria as one of the world’s five Blue Zones. His work, The Vine Which is in Ikaria, details the long-standing relationship of wine from Ikaria with Greek culture and literature, and his research has helped to revive and elevate winemaking on the island. He seeks to share the beauty of this Ikarian wine with guests near and far.
Mary Kate Fitzpatrick has studied and worked around the world in the wine industry, including the Napa Valley, Spain, France, Portugal, and Greece. She holds her WSET Level 3 Advanced Certificate in Wine, and has completed her Masters in Wine Tourism Innovation. She completed her thesis, “Reviving the Cult of Dionysus: Leveraging Storytelling Capabilities within the Wine Industry,” under the direction of Afianes Wines in 2021, when she first fell in love with Ikarian Wine and the island of Ikaria. Odyssey of Wine Tours Inc. is her dream come to life, a way to honor the creative intersection of wine with culture, literature, mythology, and gastronomy. She believes it is in these overlaps where we can find our life’s inspiration, and learn what it means to be human and what it means to live well.
We work with Afianes Wines because their wines are truly an extension of Ikaria itself. Founded in 1997, Nikos Afianes and his wife, Maria, began their dream of reviving the long and ancient wine tradition of Ikaria and re-claiming Ikaria’s image as a unique and worthy wine region of the world.
Their focus has always been the land: following the principles of biodynamic farming, utilizing only the indigenous varietals of the island, allowing for wild yeast fermentation, and continuing the ancient methods of wine production of pressing by foot in the traditional stone press (patitiri) and burying the wine in clay amphorae underground.
The Afianes family continues their winemaking legacy with the involvement of both of their children, Konstantinos and Eftychia, in the family business. The legacy of love and respect for their island home is clear, and it is what makes their wine so special. Each sip is a representation of what magic can occur when we open ourselves to the reciprocal and sacred relationship of man and nature.
Through their knowledge, craft, and incredible care, Afianes Wines has made quite the name for themselves on the international wine scene. Their wines have won many distinctions at international wine competitions, have been mentioned in international media such as The Washington Post, The Independent, and The Guardian, and many of their wines have earned a coveted spot on the wine list at various Michelin starred restaurants across Europe.
We are honored to work with the Afianes family to create this special tour. For more information about Afianes Wines, you can find the link to their website here.
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For any inquiries, please contact us at info@odysseyofwinetours.com
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