Behind the vine
Myriam Ambouzer - Lyrarakis Winery - Heraklion Crete, Greece
When do you think you fell in love with wine, enough to make a career of it?
20 years ago during my harvest experience in Spain as a young oenologist, in the region of Alicante, I tasted wines of a completely different palette, which became my inspiration for the wines I would love to create.
The wine affair began when I entered the wine industry, but it was the creation of wine that made me fall in love. I can't imagine myself away from winemaking, especially during vintage.
What story does your wine tell?
The wine tells stories from the Cretan mountains, the flora and unique ancient Greek varieties. These are ancient stories, with a new cover.
If I had to use some more keywords to describe the stories, they would be: ethics, family, people, tradition, history, rare, Crete, indigenous grapes, sustainability, adventure, experiment, passion, purity, sincerity.
“It is the creation of wine that made me fall in love. I can't imagine myself away from winemaking, especially during vintage.”
— Myriam Ambouzer
What misconceptions about wine do you think people should forget?
When you are tasting wines, I believe people should be open, far away from some stereotypes that are in wine. Wine is for everyone, well-educated in wine or not. Tasting is a synonym of joy and happiness, and not a trivial pursuit of wine knowledge. Everyone can discover the regions/varieties and wineries that she enjoys, but she should be open for new discoveries, as well.
What great things about wine do you think people should remember?
People, the region, history, vintage and personal unique moments are combined with the specific wine you drink.
What is a piece of advice you would give to a woman interested in breaking into the wine world?
The Greek wine sector is very open for women. There are many colleagues who have important positions in every sector in the Grecian industry. All the newcomers should be patient, with deep love and respect for vine and wine. I would suggest they follow their feminine intuition, and have an artistic as well as scientific approach.
Where can women find your wine?
In U.K, we are imported by Thorman Hunt.
Or you can contact Lyrarakis directly for information about worldwide distribution.