5th Kefalonia Wine Hub – 2026

Robola Takes Center Stage at the 5th Kefalonia Wine Hub

With strong participation from the public, wine industry professionals, grape growers, and representatives of local organizations, the 5th Kefalonia Wine Hub was held on Sunday, June 7. Organized by the Kefalonia Winemakers Association and curated by Antheia Kotsi, this year’s event focused on “Robola – Analyzing the Queen of Kefalonia through Tasting, Oenology, and Viticulture.” The event took place at the Robola Cooperative of Kefalonia – Orealios Gi.

This year’s gathering was dedicated to the island’s most important and recognizable grape variety, Robola, with the aim of highlighting its distinctive characteristics and exploring in greater depth issues relating to its cultivation, winemaking, and sensory identity.

The presentations began with winemaker Evriviadis Sclavos, who provided an overview of Robola’s history. He was followed by Master of Wine Yiannis Karakasis, who discussed Robola from both a sensory and market perspective; oenologist Spyros Zoumpoulis, who addressed winemaking practices; and oenologist Panos Zoumpoulis, who spoke about ungrafted, own-rooted vines.

The conference concluded with Kostas Bazigos, director of the Robola Cooperative – Orealios Gaea, who discussed the viticulture of Robola. The audience had the opportunity to engage with a substantive discussion about the future of Robola and its role as an ambassador for Kefalonia, reaffirming the growing interest in this unique grape variety.

The Kefalonia Wine Hub has now become an established institution on the island, bringing distinguished professionals from the worlds of wine and viticulture to Kefalonia each year to discuss issues affecting the industry. Through this initiative, the Kefalonia Winemakers Association seeks to strengthen public dialogue around wine and highlight Kefalonia as a reference point for wine knowledge and discussion in Greece. 

Organized by Antheia Kotsi Communications for the Kefalonia Winemakers.