Europe Africa
Celebrating 90 years . .
Celebrating 90 years . .
Visiting Major Wine Regions
Visiting Major Wine Regions
Visiting Major Wine Regions
Visiting Major Wine Regions
Learning from masters
Learning from masters
Formal but fun
Formal but fun
Buying for quality
Buying for quality
Awarding excellence, applauding service
Awarding excellence, applauding service
Sampling the Best
Sampling the Best
Visiting the wineries
Visiting the wineries
Wine, food and friends
Wine, food and friends
EAZ Rioja Festival
20th - 25th May 2025
Now open for booking
EAZ Rioja Festival
20th - 25th May 2025
Now open for booking

EAC Regional Festival Santorini May 2014

The program has not been finalised yet, but the following are some of the intended highlights:

  • 5 dinners and 3 lunches, including an opening reception and dinner on Tuesday 6 May and a closing one on Saturday 10 May; there will be a free morning and no lunch on one day, probably on Friday. 
  • The Andre Simon lecture on `The Wines of Greece’, delivered by Konstantinos Lazarakis, the one and only Greek MW, followed by a tutored tasting intended to show the amazing diversity and quality of Greek wines today 
  • a visit to the Sigalas winery (arguably the best on the island), followed by a tasting and lunch 
  • a conference on olive oil, followed by a tasting from various regions. 
  • a lecture/tutored tasting of Greek cheeses from various regions. 
  • a boat trip and guided visit to the island of Nea Kameni, where the volcano lies 
  • a guided visit to the archaeological pre-historic site of Akrotiri

 

The Festival Chairman is Chris Bonsall, Chairman of the IWFS 2008-2010 and Chairman of the Hong Kong Festival 2001. He is assisted by Ari Sofianos, Chairman of The St James’s Branch of the IWFS. There is no IWFS branch in Greece, but Ari has secured the full collaboration of Yannis Theodorou, President of The Hellenic Academy of Gastronomy, who has organised two extremely successful similar international events in Greece in the past 5 years. Yannis is passionate about food and wine and has already purchased about half of the wines for the event, including some very rare specimens! The organisers are confident that this will be a memorable Festival and invite you to join them in this unique experience.

The dates have been chosen on the basis of the current direct London-Santorini flights on Easyjet on Tuesdays and Sundays (as well as on Mondays and Thursdays). In any event, there are also several flights every day via Athens.

The organisers are currently working hard on finding a suitable hotel and an announcement will be made in July. We expect the accommodation to be around £150 per night per room, including breakfast. Excluding accommodation and airfares, the full cost of the Festival will be £1,150 per person. This cost is based on the current GBP/Euro exchange rate. IWFS reserves the right to amend the GBP amount for the final payment if there is a significant change in the exchange rate. 

Numbers will have to be restricted to 60 participants due to the size of some of the selected venues. A waiting list will be opened once this number has been reached. A deposit of £550 per person will be required by 31 March 2013 to secure your registration. As this is an EAC Regional Festival, priority will be given to members within the EAC Zone who register by 31 March 2013. * EVENT NOW FULL BUT WAITING LIST OPEN SO PLEASE REGISTER WITH JOHN NICHOLAS IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN ATTENDING THIS FESTIVAL*

To register, please email your name (and that of your partner), address, phone number, and name of your branch to the Assistant EAC Treasurer, John Nicholas, johnsnicholas@aol.com

Payment is preferred by electronic transfer in GBP (£ sterling). If you would like to make payment in Euros please contact John Nicholas.

For payments in GBP:

Bank: NatWest

Branch: Norwich City Office

Sort Code: 60-15-31

Account No: 68005652

Account Name: IWFS-EAC

IBAN: GB 33 NWBK 6015 3168 0056 52

BIC: NWBK GB2L

Please include the reference: “Deposit EAC 2014 Festival Santorini”

Receipt of the money (£550) will be deemed to be your confirmed registration. Please ensure that all bank transfer charges (particularly for those sending money from outside the UK) are for the sender’s account.

Alternatively send a cheque (£550) and your registration details as above plus an email address to:

Mr J S Nicholas (for IW&FS EAC)

c/o Mrs G S Moore

35 Aldworth Avenue

Wantage, Oxfordshire

OX12 7EJ, UK

If you wish to pay by credit card, please email John Nicholas

or Tel: (00) 41 79 753 68 81

Payment of initial deposits will be acknowledged by email. An email will be sent in October reminding all registrants that final payment will be due by 31 October and this notice will include details of payment methods.

Cancellation policy

  • After payment of the deposit (£550) per person, the cancellation policy is as follows:
  •  Members will have a 14 day cooling off period from receipt of the deposit during which they can cancel and receive their deposit back in full.
  • Cancellations must be notified in writing.
  • Balance of price (£600) must be received by 31st October 2013
  • Non receipt of the balance will be treated as a cancellation

Effects of cancellation are:-

  • Prior to 1st June 2013 Loss of half deposit (£275)
  • Between 1st June and 31st October 2013 Loss of Deposit (£550)
  • Between 1st November and 31st December 2013 Loss of 60% of total price (£690)
  • After 1st January 2014 Loss of 100% of total price

· You are advised to have full insurance to cover cancellation.