History People

Yiannis Boutaris, Founder (1942-2024)

He founded Kir-Yianni in 1997, a year after his stepping down from the family business, with the vision to create a premium Greek wine Estate. Visionary, pioneer, maverick with a true ‘vigneron’ soul, his goal was to produce both a prestigious, terroir-driven Greek wine and a quality-driven range for any occasion. He remains the most influential Greek Winemaker around the world, firm believer of collaborative action and source of inspiration for the younger generations of Greek producers. A larger that wine, larger than life personality.

IN MEMORIAM AND FULL CV HERE

Stellios Boutaris, Winemaker & CEO

Born and raised in Thessaloniki, at one of the most historic wine families in Greece. After graduating Anatolia College, his studies focused on mathematics, economics and business administration with a Bachelor at Wesleyan University (USA), an MSc at London School of Economics and an MBA at INSEAD. In 1989 Stellios obtained his WSET Diploma in Wines and Spirits.

His career in wine started as a District Manager at PATERNO IMPORTS (now TERLATO WINES). In 1995 he returned to Greece, where among others as a Commercial Director he had a major role in the launch of Mythos Beer with 30 million euros sales in the first 3 years.

Shortly after the foundation of Ktima Kir-Yianni in 1997 by his father Yiannis Boutaris, the visionary and maverick Greek winemaker, Stellios joined the new endeavor and took over in 2004. Today, Ktima Kir-Yianni with vineyards and wineries in Naoussa and Amyndeon, two of the grand terroirs of Northern Greece, is a leading winery in Greece and abroad, present in 54 countries. In 2024, Ktima Kir-Yianni was the first Greek winery to join INTERNATIONAL WINERIES FOR CLIMATE ACTION (IWCA) paving the sustainable path.

It was in 2020 when Stellios Boutaris returned to Santorini, 35 years after his first ever harvest that had taken place on the island, as Winemaker and CEO at Domaine Sigalas. Restless and insightful, he presented Scaperdas Frères in 2023, a passion project dedicated to premium traditional method sparkling wines from old Xinomavro vines of Amyndeon.

With a strong belief in the power of collaboration, Stellios Boutaris has been actively supporting Greek Wine Associations, having served as President at Winemakers of North Greece and as Board Member at Greek Wine Federation, Wines of Greece and the associations of Naoussa, Amyndeon and Santorini. In June 2025, Stellios was elected as the President of Greek Wine Federation.

Stellios is married with 3 children. His son, Yiannis Boutaris, has started his own hands-on route in Greek Wine at Domaine Sigalas.

Mihalis Boutaris, VP of the Board

Mihalis is a co-founder of Kir-Yianni and a member of its Board of Directors. As our Vice-President he has a non-executive role supporting management on investments, innovation, business development, and corporate governance & social responsibility. He managed operations at Kir-Yianni between 2000-2003. Between 2011-2016 he grew the market presence of Kir-Yianni and other Greek wineries in Asia Pacific. During this time as a resident in China, he established with local partners Domaine XiGu, a vineyard venture in Tianshui, Gansu. As a fifth-generation winemaker, he graduated with a M.Sc. from UCDavis and trained on the job in California, Chile, and France. His track record goes beyond wine to cross-border partnerships for commercialization of novel technologies including an eco-friendly biopesticide (“Mevalone”), a small hydro-electric power plant, and the first concentrated solar power plant in Greece. Mihalis is also the founder and director of Athroa Innovations, an Athens-based venture studio tackling human & planetary health challenges, as well as the director of its first two startups. He is an independent non-executive member of the Board of Directors of Performance Shipping, a NASDAQ-listed company, and has also served as an advisor to the Innovation Office of the National Centre of Scientific Research “Demokritos”. He began his career at the Boston Consulting Group after graduating with a B.A. in philosophy from Harvard. He has served in the Greek Marine Corps.

Mihalis co-founded ARCTUROS, the NGO dedicated in the preservation of wildlife and its natural habitat located in Florina, Northern Greece, and is the General Secretary at Yiannis Boutaris Foundation. He is married with a child.

Giorgos Anastasopoulos, General Manager

Giorgos joined Kir-Yianni in 2004 with the key challenge of managing the rapid expansion. Formerly the Director of Arcturos, Yorgos has worked as a financial director in large enterprises and several of his own ventures. Based at the Estate, he heads operations and financing on top of co-developing a business for side products like vine leaves and vinegar. He is married with two children.

Antonis Kioseoglou, Chief Oenologist

Antonis joined Kir-Yianni in 2010, after having worked in Alpha Estate and in Mesimvria Wines. He has received a degree in Chemistry from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, and after that the Diplôme National d’Oenologue from the University of Bordeaux. He is married and has one daughter.

Lambros Papadimitriou, Director Sales & Marketing

Lambros joined Kir-Yianni in 2013 to lead the international expansion of the brand. He has over 20 years of experience in the areas of international sales, communication and consulting. His academic degrees are in Mechanical Engineering, Environmental Technologies and Business Administration from the University of Aachen in Germany. Lambros also holds a 3rd level WSET degree. He speaks fluent Greek, English and German.

Damos Damianidis, Cellar Master

Joined Kir-Yianni in 1997 as our first employee and still serves at the core of our business. Damos gained his experience as a cellar master at the Central Facility of Boutari Wineries in Naoussa. He completed his studies in Food Science & Enology at the Polytechnic Institute of Thessaloniki. In his spare time, he runs a small alambic that produces a fabled grappa. He is married with a son and a daughter.

Giannis Albanis, Operations Manager

Giannis first joined Kir-Yiànni, as well as the wine sector, in 1999. That 2-year period of working with Yiannis Boutaris, the founder of the Estate, introduced him to the intriguing world of wine and nourished his enthusiasm for the winery and its people. Almost 20 years later, in 2022, he returned to Kir-Yianni as an Operations Manager.

Holding a BA in Chemical Engineering from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Giannis counts 25 years of work experience in the broader F&B industry (production, management, quality control). For the last 15 years he was appointed as the General Manager at “Winemakers of North Greece Association”. Giannis is married with 3 children.