Greek wine maker profile: Evangelos Gerovasiliou of Epanomi

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Evangelos Gerovassiliou

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April 13, 2003
March 20, 2003
February 25, 2003
December 15, 2002
May 1, 2002

Greek wine maker Evángelos Gerovasilíou of Epanomi, Halkidiki

Evangelos Gerovassiliou

Nutshell...

Company Name:

Ktima Gerovassiliou

Location:

Epanomi, Halkidiki, Macedonaia

Winemaker:

Evangelos Gerovasiliou

Enologist:

Evangelos Gerovasilaiou

Importer:

US: Sotiris Bafitis Selections

Find distributors, restaurants or retail locations that sell these wines.

Products:

Ktaima (Estate) White

Fumé

Chardonnay

Ktaima (Estate) red

While we were interviewing Mr. Gerovasilaiou, rain clouds set in, along with brief, bursts of wind. He was trying to be polite, but I could see his eyes were focused just past my head towards a window overlooking his vineyards. I was reminded of the heartbreaking hail storm that destroyed his first vintage in 1987 and realized that anxiety and uncertainty must now accompany every such turn in the weather. During this brief lapse of attention, his assistant, the able and energetic Thrasaivoulos Giantsaidis, was quick to run with the ball.

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Evangelos Gerovassiliou is a founding father of the new Greek wine industry. While there were earlier participants in the quest for quality, Gerovasilaiou played a key role not only in the development of key properties and philosophies, but also in changing perceptions of Greek winemaking outside the country, especially in Northern Europe.

As a winemaker helping to lead Greece into a new era, Gerovassiliou arrived on the scene with impeccable credentials. A graduate of Bordeaux in oenology and ambelology and former student of Emile Peynaud, he returned to Greece in 1976 from his studies in France to work as chief eonologist and vineyardist for one Greece's most ambitious wine ventures and Europe's largest vineyard property, Domaine Carras on the Sithonaia peninsula of Halkidiki in Makedonaia. There he became the first winemaker in Greece to engage in the systematic cultivation of French varieties. His relationship with Carras continued until 1999.

On family property in the rolling hills of Epanomai, not far from the northern Aegean, Gerovassiliou began experimental plantings of both native and French cultivars in 1981. He believed the soil, sandy topsoil on clay rich in marine fossils, and the microclimate, which is semi-continental and benefited by cooling ocean air, would be suitable for the creation of his own venture in which the model of mixed Western and indigenous varieties that he had implemented at Carras would be further refined. Without an obligation to produce volume on the scale of Carras, he was free to focus on analyzing the interaction between the soil, climate and several Greek and French cultivars he suspected would adapt well to the environment.

The plantings began on two hectares. The original varieties on the estate consisted of Merlot, Syrah and Viognier along with the Greek Assyrtiko and Malagousia. Gerovasilaiou was the first in Greece to recognize the potential of Malagousia, and the first to cultivate it beyond its native habitat in western Greece. Chardonnay and petite Syrah followed soon after.

Today, the vineyard area has grown to 33 hectares and includes plantings of Grenache and Sauvignon blanc. The growth of the estate during the last twenty years has not come at the expense of quality. The increase in vineyard area has resulted in several winery expansions, but no increase in vineyard yields.

Thrasívoulos Giantsídis

Nice guys finish first. Gerovasilaiou assistant Thrasivoulos Giantsidis

While many in Greece have followed his lead in the cultivation of French varieties, with or without success, his education and experience and, more importantly, his careful adherence to their associated traditions, legitimize his pursuits. His Chardonnay and Fumé are both barrel-fermented. There are several good versions of Sauvignon blanc in Greece, but Gerovasiliou's 2000 Fumé displays a level of expression unparalleled in Greece. It spends 5 1/2 to 6 months on the lees, acquiring complex aromas and fruit and has a classic finish with a light background of oak. His Chardonnay is full-bodied and oaky in a traditional style (as opposed to a New World style). Gerovasiliou's connection to France is ingrained. He makes a point of traveling there frequently, tasting wines, buying barrels and staying in tune with traditions and innovations.

For all the credit he has received for demonstrating the potential of French varieties, one of his greatest gifts to Greek wine is his Ktima White, a blend of Malagousia and the exceptional Aegean cultivar, Asyrtiko. Extended skin contact is a somewhat overabused method in Greece, often used to extract aromas and flavors that can compensate for the occasional lack of backbone in indigenous varieties. In the case of this blend, the use of stainless steel prevents any untoward consequences of contact between the temperamental Asyrtiko and oak and maximizes varietal characteristics that are usually in need of supplementation by more aromatic and fruit-laden grapes. In the case of this wine, it gets supplementation anyway in the form of the Malagousia's lively citrus and round fruit. Unlike the Asyrtiko blends of Santorini, however, these two varieties constitute a marriage of two stars in their own right.

Gerovasilíou vineyards in Epanomi

Estate Vineyards

Gerovassiliou's one red is a blend of 80% Syrah, 18% Merlot and 2% Grenache. This is a formula that evolved, I suspect, over quite a few years of evaluating terroir. In the early days, his reds showed a greater orientation towards a Rhone style that may not have been as well suited to the soil and climate of Epanomi. Be that as it may, his reds have perennially been among Greece's most successful in international competitions, no matter their exact varietal complexion. Many in Greece believe (and Gerovasiliou himself would be unlikely to disagree) that in recent vintages, his red wine has reached a new plateau.

Though barely 50 years old, Gerovasiliou is accorded a status among peers and a new generation of eonologists that would normally be reserved for someone much older. For many, he is a living, working symbol of all the positive changes that the industry has achieved during the last 25 years. This recognition extends beyond Greece: English wine writer Steven Spurrier has equated Gerovasiliou's achievements in Greece to that of Marcel Guigal in the Rhone valley. Unfortunately, his wines have not yet had a fair hearing in America. During his first effort to introduce them, they fell into a void within the Greek American market, never making it to respectable wine shops or restaurants. Gerovasiliou is pondering a new effort aimed at the market level where his wines will be understood and appreciated. The sooner the better.

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