Oscar-winner Payne Named Honorary Citizen of Aigialeia in Greece

US director Alexander Payne was named honorary citizen of Aigialeia last week during the annual Enoxenia 2016 wine festival, which is taking place August 17-28.

Payne, who is of Greek decent and specifically from the town of Aigio, was honored last Thursday, and awarded the key of Aigialeia, which includes the popular seaside resorts of Aigio, Akrata and Diakofto.

Payne, or Konstantinos Alexandros Papadopoulos, together with his Greek wife Maria Kontou, also from Aigio, participated in Enoxenia which is dedicated to local wine and products.

Mr Payne sampled wines from the six wineries of the Enoxenia network. The Enoxenia events included documentaries on the vine and the wine, concerts, as well as a screening of Payne’s Oscar-winning film “Sideways” and came to a close with plenty of food and drink.

“What a wonderful moon. What wonderful music. What a wonderful night,” Payne said in Greek upon receiving the key.

“So now I’m trapped,” he commented, adding that as an ambassador of California wines for the past decade he will now do the same for the wines of the Aigialeia municipality.

Enoxenia 2016 wine festival poster.