Greek Wine Regions: Kefalonia

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Kefalonia lies just north of Zakynthos and northwest of Patra off the coast of the Peloponessos. Mountainous and relatively verdant, the island's winemaking potential was never, until recently, fully achieved. Kefalonia's reputation for wine dates to Homeric times. Since then, Kefalonia has been under the jurisdiction of the Romans, Franks, Turks, Venetians, French and English. Despite the obvious suitability of the island for viticulture, one political force or another had always stymied attempts to create a significant wine industry. In 1953, on the verge of recovery from a turn of the century pernospora epidemic; the First World War; a world wine glut; and the Second World War, Kefalonia suffered a devastating earthquake that caused nearly half the population to leave the island.

Kefalonia's wine fortunes began to improve, however, with the establishment of Calligas wines, one of the pioneering generation of Greek firms that inaugurated the bottled wine industry in Greece beginning in the early 1960s. Working primarily with local grapes, the firm produced volume-style wines that developed strong markets within and outside of Greece. During the 1990s, management and distribution was taken over by the large Attikan firm of Kourtakis.

Kefalonian vineyards are currently dominated by the Robola variety, with which approximately 300 hectares are planted. The island has three appellation designations, Robola of Kefalonia (100% Robola), Muscat of Kefalonia (100% Moschato Aspro) and Mavrodafni of Kefalonia (100% Mavrodafni). Other significant local varieties include, Tsaoussi, Kozanitis (primarily a table grape) and Perachoritiko.

Kefaloniá is home to two small producers working on opposite sides of the same coin to create first-class wines based on local varieties.

Gentilini, begun twenty years ago by British-educated Nicholas Cosmetatos, was a pioneer example of the new wave of Greek wineries and one of the first to bridge the gap between indigenous flavors and Western style. Cosmetatos, notoriously suspicious of his Greek counterparts, focused immediately on creating exportable products that would appeal to sophisticated palates in Europe. That he did this using primarly traditional varieties established a model other Greek wineries were quick to emulate. The bold acidity of his wines had no forebears, but now that the industry has grown up around Gentilini, the winery—under a new managing director—has pursued a kinder, gentler style.

Another, as it happens, gentleman vintner, Giannakostas Metaxas, opened his winery in Mavrata in 1991. With one eye on country living and the other on exploring the deep side of local cultivars (Zakynthino and Robola), Metaxas has been able to accentuate varietal character with state-of-the art finesse. Low yield, high elevation vineyards and creative winemaking are bringing out the best in these varieties.

The island also has a local cooperative that produces appellation Robola, as well as several other small producers, Divino, Sclava, Siroke and Vitoratos, focused mainly on local markets.

producers:

Calligas
Co-op
Cosmetatos
Metaxas, G

Appelations:

OPAP

Robola of
Kefalonia

OPE

Muscat of Kefalonia

Mavrodafni
of Kefalonia

Common Varieties

Robola
Moschato Aspro
Mavrodafni
Tsaoussi
Perachoritiko
Zakynthino

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