It’s not often that you can meet someone who truly shares equal values, ethos and passion about Greek food and wine. Maria and I truly bonded and connected from the very beginning towards the same goal: sharing and inspiring people about our cultural heritage and culinary treasures. For both of us it was a lot more than a business. We put our hearts and souls into it; we truly wanted people to experience, to connect, to learn, to feel what is meant by sharing food and wine on the same table. We both cared for the same reasons, which were not success, growth and profits, but something deeper that connected us.
What our businesses had in common is that they are built around the people that make the products, and not the products. Without the people there is no story, there is no passion, there is no heritage, no traditions. It is the people we connect with that bring in their love, commitment and dedication to delivering the products that Maria and I were so passionate about, caring about our health and the health of the planet. And we both had very close relationships with the people who were our producers and our suppliers. They were part of our family.
I have learned so much from Maria and I feel so grateful to have met and collaborated with her all these years. She was such a joyful, knowledgeable, charismatic, caring and like-minded female Greek entrepreneur like no other. Her wine business, Southern Wine Roads, was a true passion, as her real profession was that of an ophthalmologist. She was a true legacy in promoting small artisan Greek winemakers and discovering a new generation of young winemakers with true potential. The wines she carefully selected, mostly organic, biodynamic and natural, truly complemented the produce I was so passionate and uncompromising about from the very beginnings of the physical shop at Borough Market 10 years ago. It was a fascinating pairing that was meant to be, but which we did not expect to end in this way. Maria passed away on 24 June after a four-year battle with cancer. So many of you had the pleasure of being guided through our wine tastings by Maria. She was an impassioned sommelier, amongst so many other skills. She connected deeply with the history, the geography, the culture and the human effort behind every bottle.
This year was a lot of letting go and a lot of leaving behind, most of it intentionally and as a means of moving forward. But in this case we had to also say goodbye with great sadness to our beloved Maria. We are going to truly miss her strong spirit and exuberant energy, which, along with her wines, will remain on our shelves and our website. We will donate the profits from our summer sales to Moorfields Eye Charity, whose work Maria deeply understood and valued as a fellow eye care professional.
Our thoughts are with her family. Her memory will stay forever at Oliveology as one of the most valued and respected collaborators and contributors.
