Sofia Spirou

I am a Greek agricultural journalist specialising in the food systems, producers, and landscapes of Greece and the Mediterranean. I write for the Agrenda media group and for agricultural publications in other European countries including France, Germany, and Denmark. My reporting spans olive oil and viticulture, sustainability, indigenous varieties, and the policies shaping the future of Mediterranean agriculture. I bring to my work a background in international environmental communications and policy — built over a decade with organisations including the Ramsar Convention, UNEP, and the European Commission. Based in Athens. A certified olive oil taster and co-founder of the Greek Agrifood Journalists Association, I always follow the story wherever it leads — usually somewhere with exceptional olive oil.

Selected stories

ΤΟΡ 50 ΕΛΑΙΑΣ ΚΑΡΠΟΣ

Γηγενείς ποικιλίες: το στοίχημα του Ελληνικού ελαιόλαδου

Nested in the hills above Corinth, among pine forests and vineyard is the olive grove of Oleosophia, created by Marianna..

TO VIMA

If you let nature take its course, things will find their way

Chrysoula Skorditi has farmed organically near Epanomi, northern Greece, since 1995 — driven by a mother’s worry about chemicals sprayed..

ΕΛΑΙΣ ΚΑΡΠΟΣ

Ελαιοτουρισμός the next best thing στον εγχώριο τουρισμό

At 10am, outside a Frankish castle in the Messinian countryside, a group of visitors receives a small bottle containing a..

ΕΛΑΙΑΣ ΚΑΡΠΟΣ

Ψηφίζουν τυποποίηση οι παραγωγοί της Κρήτης

Greece produces 7-9% of the world’s olive oil but its branded, packaged extra virgin holds less than 3% of the..

La France Agricole

Tourisme et agriculture en concurrence

On a summer evening, Santorini glows so brightly it could be mistaken for the Athens coastline. Tourism has made the..

ΕΛΑΙΑΣ ΚΑΡΠΟΣ

Πρώτα το δέντρο μετά ο καρπός

Lesbos is home to 11 million olive trees — making it Greece’s third most important olive-producing region — and it..

AGRENDA

Πάθος της Μεσογείου πίσω από κάθε νέα εκκίνηση στο ελαιόλαδο

Few people see the global olive oil sector with the breadth and precision of Juan Vilar. A PhD-level strategic consultant,..

ΕΛΑΙΑΣ ΚΑΡΠΟΣ

Γεωργία του άνθρακα και ελιά

The olive grove may be one of agriculture’s tools against climate change — but only if it is managed the..

Wine Trails

Η επιστροφή του αμφορέα

The amphora is having a moment. An object that held the world’s first wine 8,000 years ago in the Caucasus,..

ΤΥΡΟΚΟΜΟΣ

Θα ξάφνιαζε η φέτα από απαστερίωτο

English pitch: Raw milk cheese occupies a tiny corner of the Greek dairy market — but it may be where..

ΕΛΑΙΑΣ ΚΑΡΠΟΣ

Με ώριμη σκέψη στο ελαιόλαδο

In 2017, two friends with careers in communications and public relations left Spain behind and invested €7 million in what..

ΤΥΡΟΚΟΜΟΣ

Με πιστοποίηση ευζωίας ο Νικόλας Πιτταράς

Nikolaos Pittaras starts his working day at 11pm. By the time most people are having breakfast, he has already milked..

La France Agricole

Des panneaux semi-transparents pour l’ Agrivoltaisme

What if the glass roof of a greenhouse could simultaneously grow better crops and generate clean electricity? That is the..

ΕΛΑΙΑΣ ΚΑΡΠΟΣ

Ποιότητα ή εγκατάλειψη: δύο οι επιλογές για τον μικρό ελαιοπαραγωγό

Olive oil represents just 2% of global edible fat consumption — which means 98% of the market is still to..

ΕΛΑΙΑΣ ΚΑΡΠΟΣ, OLIVE OIL TIMES

Ρεύμα από απόβλητα ελαιοτριβείου

Every year, Greek olive mills produce hundreds of thousands of tonnes of olive mill wastewater — a toxic byproduct in..

ΕΛΑΙΑΣ ΚΑΡΠΟΣ

Ένα φυσικό υλικό που χαρίζει απόλαυση είναι το ελαιόλαδο

Greece is quietly becoming a serious player in premium olive oil — but does the world know it yet? Alexandra..

ΕΛΑΙΑΣ ΚΑΡΠΟΣ

Η τέχνη συναντά τη ζωή

On a 120-metre wall along Athens’ industrial Piraeus Avenue, artist Stelios Faitakis painted the entire history of the olive tree..

ΤΑ ΝΕΑ

Κώστας Καραντινινής: Ολιγοπωλιακές συνθήκες φρενάρουν την ανάπτυξη της ελληνικής γεωργίας

Small-scale farming is not Greece’s weakness — it’s its greatest untapped asset. In this interview, agricultural economist Kostas Karantininis argues..

Wine Trails

Η Τήνος στο ποτήρι – Οινοποιείο Βαπτιστής

On the Aegean island of Tinos, a low-lying sea mist known as antara drifts through the vineyards each winter, carrying..

ΤΑ ΝΕΑ

Κώστας Σταμούλης: Το στοίχημα της σύγχρονης γεωργίας

Can the world feed itself in 2050? Kostas Stamoulis, Director of the Economic and Social Development Division at the UN’s..

La Vigne

Santorin patrie de l’ Assyrtiko

On the volcanic moonscape of Santorini, ancient basket-pruned vines with roots plunging seven meters into ashen soil produce one of..