Steve Kriaris has been around wine all his life. His father, who emigrated to Canada from a small village outside Pylos in the lush Messinia wine region of southern Greece, brought his winemaking secrets to Toronto when he arrived in the 1960s What started as a forbidden sip of wine as a young child has now blossomed into a successful business and, more importantly, a passion for Steve.
Fast forward to 2000, when the Kolonaki Group was founded and Steve began importing natural mineral water from Greece. Over the course of several trips to Greece and visits to off-the-beaten-path towns and villages – and countless samples of local wine varieties – he realized that these treasures were not accessible to consumers in his home country. native. He immediately began importing Greek wines from various regions of Greece and introducing multitudes of Canadians to Greece’s best kept wine secrets.
The portfolio has expanded and today the Kolonaki Group imports more than 50 different types of Greek wines from virtually all wine regions of Greece. This includes major grape varieties such as Xinomavro, Assyrtiko, Moschofilero and Agiorgitiko, as well as smaller, unknown grapes like Vilana, Kotsifali and Athiri. From main regions like Santorini, Nemea, Naoussa and Crete to smaller areas like Peza, Limnos and Rapsani.
Steve expanded his passion for wines by creating his own. Thalia, one of the nine muses of Greek mythology and dedicated to creativity, is the name and inspiration for Thalia Wine. Produced in three grape varieties: red wine, white wine and rosé, Thalia wines are made from grapes grown with love on the island of Crete. Thalia has grown very successfully in Canada, available in many restaurants and LCBO branches. Additionally, Thalia is available in the UK, Germany, Greece and its US debut will be towards the end of 2015. Thalia is even the official wine of Ikea restaurants in Ontario, Canada.
Steve’s next evolution was born from the idea of making these Greek treasures accessible to more people, especially those far from major urban centers. His desire to share high-quality Greek wines led him to ShopGreekWine.com— the very first online wine store exclusively dedicated to Greek wines.
Buying wine online is currently only available in Canada, but expansion to the United States will take place during the upcoming summer/fall season.
The website is currently running a promotion: for every case of wine sold, Steve will donate $20 and for every case of beer, he will add $10. Proceeds will be donated to the Greek America Foundation Hope for Greece Project campaign with funds going to the Greek charity Boroume, which feeds thousands of people across Greece.
The promotion will run throughout the month of July.
Although sales are limited to Canadian consumers, American consumers can email the company here and they will notify consumers in the United States when sales can be legally conducted in each U.S. state. Announcements will also be made via ShopGreekWines.com Facebook And Twitter pages.
This is Steve’s second philanthropic initiative to support people in need in Greece. Last year, with its Thalia wine brand, he donated $1 per bottle sold in all Ontario wine stores. He included a bottle sleeve with a pin that included Project Hope for Greece’s “I heart GR” logo. In one month, 2,000 bottles were sold and this money was donated to various Greek charities supported by the Hope for Greece Project.
*If you would like to organize a charitable effort through your business as part of the Greek America Foundation’s Project Hope for Greece campaign, email Katerina Sfikas, Director of Membership and Development here.