Zitsa Wine Hub

Abstract

Zitsa is a village belonging to the north-western region of Epirus in Greece where the homonymous “Zitsa” wine is produced, from the local PDO Debina variety. The location is an aggregation of villages as Chianti or Rioja. The phylloxera pest in the 1970s together with the shift of Greece's economy towards the tertiary sector, led to the fleeing of the population and to the partial cultivation of the land. Despite its small size, Zitsa has a hyperlocal character. The current, milder climate enhances the quality of Debina wine. This coincides with the planned experimental planting of almost 32 extinct local varieties of Epirus vines. These two factors create the momentum for the area’s re-planning into a hyper-local centre of wine in Epirus and Greece. This will promote social innovation based on wine production, however with a twist, by introducing complementary programmes of education, culture and sustainable agro-tourism.