Theodore Georgopoulos

Theodore Georgopoulos serves as Full Professor at the University of Reims Champagne-Ardenne Law School, teaching Wine Law and European Law while holding adjunct positions at Burgundy School of Wine and Spirits Business, OIV MSc, and Berkeley Law. His international teaching footprint includes visiting professorships at Harvard, NYU, Stanford, and the European Institute of Public Administration in Brussels.

His academic foundation comprises:

• Athens Law School graduation (1997)
• Postgraduate in International Law (Athens, 1998)
• Postgraduate in European Law (Aix-en-Provence, 1999)
• PhD in European and Comparative Law, Aix-en-Provence (2003, magna cum laude)
• Habilitation à Diriger des Recherches (Aix-en-Provence, 2009)

Georgopoulos pioneers interdisciplinary research at the nexus of legal frameworks and viticultural practice, examining wine sector regulation, AOC protection mechanisms, terroir-cultural connections, and global wine trade dynamics. His work critically analyzes how European regulatory models interface with national legal systems across France, Germany, and the United States.

His distinguished recognition includes:

• OIV Book Prize for Wine Law scholarship (2016)
• Jean Monnet Chair in European Regulation of Wine Sector
• Fulbright and Emile Noël Scholarships (2006)
• Four concurrent PhD prizes (2004)
• Hague Academy and French-German Office fellowships

He supervises doctoral research in European and Wine Law while directing the Wine & Law Program, EU Wine Law Summer School, and Robert Tinlot Moot Court Competition. As Academic Coordinator of C.LA.W.S. Law Clinics, he bridges academic theory with industry practice. His dual leadership as President of the Georges Chappaz Champagne Wine Institute and former President (2020-2022) of the International Wine Law Association underscores his institutional influence.

Georgopoulos maintains active legal practice through Georgopoulos & Associates, specializing in Wine and Food Law with precedent-setting cases before the European Court of Justice and European Court of Human Rights, representing national bodies and businesses in cross-border regulatory disputes.