Pioneering Greeks – Konstantinos Lazarakis, the Greek ‘Master of Wine’

Welcome to “Pioneering Greeks”, the weekly column of GTP Headlines, which highlights the Greeks that stand out for their creative thinking in the business world. “Pioneering Greeks” is a collaboration between LoveGreece.com and Greek Travel Pages (GTP).

This week we introduce Konstantinos Lazarakis, Master of Wine and President of WSPC.

Konstantinos Lazarakis entered the word of wine when he realized that “it is connected with our senses and the good side of life”. That was something very attractive to him.

Born in Piraeus, Lazarakis studied Mechanical Engineering in the National & Technical University of Athens and Jazz Music in Aeolian School of Music. He became the first Greek Master of Wine in 2002 — at the age of 32 — and one of the less-than-360 in the world. The “Master of Wine” title is considered to be the top title that someone could gain globally and requires a deep knowledge of the entire spectrum of wine making, from the cultivation of the vineyard up to the habits of consumers.

In 2004 he founded the Wine & Spirits Professional Centre (WSPC), the Greek subsidiary of the most influential educational organisation in wines and spirits in the world, the Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET) of London. Through the cooperation between WSPC and WSET, Lazarakis aims to establish the WSPC as the wine training center of Balkans.

In 2005, Mitchell Beazley publishing house in London released Konstantinos’ book “The Wines of Greece”, one of the four wine books short listed for the Andre Simon Memorial Award 2006.

Moreover, he works as an Imports Manager in a major wine trade company, consults many businesses, while his last endeavor is related to marketing of wineries. He also writes for several trade and lifestyle magazines in Greece and abroad.

Inspired by the dynamism and creativity of the Greek entrepreneurial spirit, LoveGreece was founded in 2013 as an initiative to boost and promote the country’s image abroad by profiling talented and successful Greeks. With their ethos and vision, Greece’s entrepreneurs and professionals are an important aspect of the country worth highlighting to the world. LoveGreece is powered by Gina Mamidaki, the founder of the G & A Mamidakis Foundation.

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Εμπνευσμένο από τον δυναμισμό και τη δημιουργικότητα του ελληνικού επιχειρηματικού πνεύματος, το LoveGreece ιδρύθηκε το 2013 σαν μια πρωτοβουλία για την ενίσχυση και την προώθηση της εικόνας της χώρας στο εξωτερικό, παρουσιάζοντας ταλαντούχους Έλληνες με εξωστρεφή νοοτροπία. Οι Έλληνες επιχειρηματίες αποτελούν σημαντικό παράγοντα της χώρας που αξίζει να παρουσιαστεί σε όλο τον κόσμο. Το LoveGreece υποστηρίζεται από την Τζίνα Μαμιδάκη, Πρόεδρο του Ιδρύματος Γ. & Α. Μαμιδάκη.

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