The first Greek wine ice cream to hit the markets this summer
by THEODORA MAIOS
Inspired by two of life's most irresistible indulgences, wine and ice-cream, three Greek friends from Thessaloniki recently joined forces to create the first ever wine ice-cream produced entirely in Greece from local ingredients and wine varieties, creating a niche market worldwide.
"The idea for the wine ice-cream came out of the love we have for those two ingredients, ice-cream and wine," says one of the three business partners, Evgenia Koutouvelas, in an interview with Neos Kosmos.
Manufactured in Thessaloniki, 'Ice Cream Darling' is the first wine ice-cream in the world to be made exclusively from Greek wine varieties and it is anticipated to hit the markets in the following Greek summer months.
"After processing the wine, we then combine it with velvety milk and uniquely combined ingredients to bring to the consumers what we feel is a high quality product," says Evgenia who has studied horticulture, viticulture and botany, while her two business partners, 38-year-old Lefteris Eleftheriadis and 40-year-old Antonis Moisiadis, have studied geography and food technology respectively. "We only use the best ingredients and high quality wines from Greek varieties such as Xinomavro, Assyrtiko, Moshofilero, Malagouzia, Savvatiano, and Xinomavro Rose," explains 33-year-old Evgenia, who hopes that this new project will also give her and her partners the opportunity to promote authentic high quality Greek wine to the world.
According to co-founder Antonis Moisiadis, it took ten months to complete the 'Ice Cream Darling' project and the six ice-cream flavours that were finally selected represent the most definitive and high quality wine varieties Greece has to offer.
Concurrently, wine pearls were introduced in order to achieve optimum consistency and enhance the wine aroma for each of the ice-creams.
"We are involved in the food and wine industry and we have already attended the Detrop - Oenos Food and Wine Exhibition in Thessaloniki where we presented our product and we received really positive feedback.
"We certainly have future plans that involve other types of ice-creams, but we cannot reveal them yet," teases Evgenia.
*At the moment, Ice Cream Darling can be found at Plaisir stores in Greece but the team is already working on launching the brand overseas.
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