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Makedonia has produced wine since ancient times. Evidence suggests that the vine was cultivated near Drama some 5000 years ago. Significant pockets of production survived comfortably through Ottoman rule, only to fall victim to political forces during the period in which Greece sought independance from the Turks. An uprising based in Naousa in 1821 provoked harsh reprisals, resulting in loss of life, emmigration and a major setback in wine production. Although winemaking was never dealt a death-blow, phylloxera in the early 1900s, the Balkan wars of 1912-13 and the Second World War took a further toll on wine production in Naousa and other parts of Makedonia. Naousa
Naousa has always been considered the crown jewel of the Makedonian wine region, and to this day is one of Greece's best-known regions among foreigners. The Boutaris firm is widely credited with reversing the decline of viticulture in Naousa. Ioannis Boutaris was the first to bottle wine in the area beginning in 1879. Boutaris was instrumental in the widescale replanting of Xynomavro in Naousan vineyards following the catastrophic outbreak of Phylloxera in the years before World War I. In the post-World War II period, Ioannis' son, Stelios, expanded the business internally and abroad, creating a name and an economic foundation for winemaking in the region. In the late 1960s, his sons Yannis and Konstantinos took over the family business, ultimately expanding their reach into almost every wine region in the country. Recently, Yannis left the Boutari Group, striking out on his own with his two sons Stelios and Mihalis to create a small firm, General Wine Co., focused on artisanal production at their Yiannakohori estate in Naousa and at properties in Amyndaio. The establishment of the Naousa appellation in 1971 spurred a slew of new producers intent on fulfilling the promise of Xynómavro. While progress in other greek wine regions has been fast and furious during the past decade, the development of post-appellation Naousa has been slow and steady for 30 years, marked by stability resulting in part from a belief that tradition should not lightly be abandoned for the sake of every new trend that emerges in Western markets. Time may well be on Naousa's side. Despite striking variations in vineyard management and winemaking philosophies, few in Naousa have succumbed to the temptation to attempt the camouflage of the somewhat volatile, organic character of Xynómavro, even as some products reach new heights of sophistication. Much to the benefit of serious enofiles, Naousa provides a case study in coherence: one region, one predominant (and characterful) cultivar and a host of producers expressing individual interpretations therefrom. Not that all Naousan winemakers are stuck exclusively on Xynomavro: many now cultivate more familiar 'cosmopolitan' varieties, especially the innovative and experimental Kir-Yianni estate of Yiannis Boutaris. When they do, however, the focus is not on style but on quality. The divergant paths to quality are what make Naousa such a rich tapestry of wines. Among the most traditionalist Naousa producers are the Melitzanis brothers, whose Gastra vineyards produce some of the region's best fruit. The Naousa appellation stipulates that the wine spend a minimum of one year in barrel. The Melitzanis brothers believe, however, that almost any oak contact imparts qualities that harm varietal integrity. Aging of the naturally tannic and acidic Xynómavro, they believe, requires no assistance from oak whatsoever. According to Antonis Melitzanis, if he had his druthers he would revert to walnut, the traditional wood used in barrels in Naousa until recently. For now, the older the oak, the better. His wines, the stuff of dreams for real enofiles, are hip, not because they are 'retro', but because they display no methodologies too closely associated with ephemeral market trends. Yiannis Dalamaras, heir to a 160 year family tradition also employs the absolute minimum oak to preserve the aromas of his Xynómavro, some of which is sourced from 60 year-old vines. Keimis Chrisohoou, who, like the Melitzanis brothers, comes from good Naousa wine stock, has adopted a different philosophy. After following a traditional course for years, Chrisohou had to confront the fact that his white wines (especially his Prekniariko (from the rare Priknádi), were competing more successfully for attention than his reds. Experimenting with Merlot and Cabernet, he created various Xynómavro blends, employing carbonic maceration to highlight fruit and soften tannins. For his appellation reds, however, he stays loyal to tradition until the end of fermentation, when malolactic fermentation is used to crop the more angular extremities of flavor. Like those of many other winemakers in the region, Chrisohoou's improved reds have benefitted by vineyard micromanagement and the isolation of superior parcels for reserve wines. Nikos Fountis, whose operation in Stranza began just a decade ago, is a firm believer in the use of both de-stemming and malolactic fermentation to tame the wild side of Xynómavro. Vaeni Naousa, the local cooperative, and the most advanced in Greece, is another enterpise exploring the soft side of the Naousa appellation. Tsantali, who have their own strong presence in the region have applied their new, modern philosophy there, as they have elsewhere. Other producers of note include Diamandakos, Giorgiadis, Karydas and Kastaniotis. Amyndaio Goumenissa Giannitsa Thessaloniki Area
Evangelos Gerovassiliou, Greece's consummate international-quality winemaker, former Emile Peynaud student and Porto Carras enologist, has been changing foreign perceptions about Greece's wine capabilities since he first opened his own winery at Epanomi, just south of Thessaloniki, in the late 1980s. The first in Greece to examine the possibilites of Rhone varieties and patron of the indigenous Malagousia cultivar, Gerovassiliou is still a compelling force behind the revolution in wine standards in Greece of which he was a key protagonist. Halkidiki Halkidiki has had a long, and
in ancient times, well-documented vinicultural history. To this day, the ancient
Limnió (Limniá) is still under cultivation,
though whether it has been so continuously is open to question. The wine profile
of Halkidiki was forever changed by the Carras family, who developed a large parcel
on Sithonia, the central prong of the promontory, in the mid-sixties. The project
featured a resort complex, a winery and 450 hectares of vineyards planted with both
Western and local varieties. Domaine Carras,
as it is known, was the first venture of its kind in Greece; a deliberate attempt
to cater to European tastes. Following the passing of its founder, the estate was
plagued by mismanagement and a lack of a clear vision, its potential never fully
realized. It has recently been acquired by new owners and may yet play a role in
the new age of Greek viticulture. Drama Noone could reasonably have predicted twenty years ago that Drama, lying more or less between the coastal city of Kavala and Yugoslavia, would achieve the role it has in modern Makedonian wine production. The area
In 1992 Kostas departed to create his own winery, Ktima Kosta Lazaridi on the opposite side of the village. There, a similar varietal configuration was given more New World treatment, resulting in the first Greek wines to overcome the Greek stigma in American markets. Several miles away, in Microhori, a new venture, Techni Inou, emerged in 1993 when Yiannis Papadopoulos, with partner Yiannis Kalaitzidis, revived an old family vineyard. A simple portfolio consisting of red and white Bordeaux blends, a Chardonnay and a Cabernet-Grenache rosé brought rapid acclaim to a project that had originally been envisioned as a hobby by its founders. A small, appealing new winery and visitor center caps the pair's recent achievements. The latest development in Drama is the new winery of George Manolesakis and Son. This sunny character has thrown his hat into the ring with ever more serious vintages of the western varieties now securely at the core of the region's identitiy. Plans are underway for a new winery, this time with a visitor center, to replace the humble, but practical facility now in use. Kavala On the eastern coastline of Makedonia,
Kavala is home to the small winery of Athanasios Protopappas,
who works with locally-grown Cabernet and has vinified red wines from local grapes
of Akti and the Island of Thasos. In Amisianá, the Mavromatis
winery vinifies wines exclusively from Cabernet, Merlot, Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay.
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