Perahori Wine Festival

Saturday 30th July 2005

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www.ithacagreece.com

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www.ithacagreece.com

The Perahori Wine Festival has been celebrated for over 20 years in the mountain village of Perahori, high above Ithacas' capital, Vathy. The entrance fee paid on arrival, gives you wine from the local barrels, supplied by the wine makers of Perahori,  until they run dry. To raise money for the community, decorated cups with symbols of Perahori were for sale on entry.

An intimate and local Festival

Very few tourists, and for that matter, locals from other parts of Ithaca, attended this Panighiri. There were no traffic jams and no Bar Culture here. 

Perahori Wine

The boys from the Panighiri Band were great again as usual. This band has the rhythm to get Greek feet moving.

That this Festival is organized by the Perahori Community is never far from mind. Everyone is friendly and welcoming

The taps of the wine barrels were rarely at off, as locals filled up their glasses and water bottles to drink from last years grape harvest. There was Red and White wine on tap and from the endless lines filling up at the decorated area of the barrels, they were stamped with approval of the community and visitors to Perahori.

It's a rare occurrence to have this many Perahorians all in one place.  With the villages' steep sloping roads, a community dispersed across the mountain  and no café center for the locals to meet regularly, this Wine Festival is a great opportunity to get together and celebrate the Perahori way.   

Perahori Wine

Festival,

a little known Panighiri with the big

potential to have a wonderful time.

The intimacy of this Festival allowed for dancing talents to shine through on the generous sized dance floor. Young and old danced their hearts out to the music presented to them by the Panighiri band, from various periods and regions of Greece.

Just when you think you've filled yourself with the best that a village can offer, good food, great wine, dancing and communal enjoyment, you take the drive home and see the spectacular night views that are only seen from Perahori. Vathy opens up like a magical show of Christmas lights below, sparkling and reflecting colour across the black bay which has brought us all to the shores of Ithaki at one time or another. The Perahori was a surprisingly good Festival that still musters the spirit of old.