Greek oenologist Panagiotis Papagiannopoulos is not about to forget the morning of the 27th July 2007 in a hurry. A time of widespread forest and bush fires on the Peloponnes peninsula. Papagiannopoulos is a part-owner of the Tetramythos wine estate, founded in 1999 and located high up in the hills close to Aegialia. The fires are eating their way through this region. However, just the previous evening the fire-fighting teams had sent the nervous estate owners home. They said there was no danger anymore, and went off duty themselves later, going back down to the village for a well-earned break. The next morning, the 34-year-old wine producer got up early to go up to his wine estate. But that was no longer there. All he could see in front of him was a wildly burning heap of rubble. The fire had come during the night.

The new main building of the estate before the fire

„There was simply nothing left to remind me of our estate“, he recalls. Although there was smoke everywhere, he attempted to get into the cellar. But the stainless steel tanks, which had been installed only in 2004, the presses and other equipment, the storage tanks as well as bottle and barrel stores – none of this was there anymore. All he could see were pieces of rubble where walls had been, melted pipes and bottles burst into a thousand pieces. Tetramythos is the only wine estate in Greece that was destroyed by the raging flames this summer.

The four other partners arrived shortly thereafter. They wept. Oenologist Papagiannopoulos had already called the fire brigade. But they did not come. Two units arrived, but only that evening. The firefighters did not have any breathing apparatus and masks, and their pumps did not work. When they finally started trying to put out the fire it was much too late, and there was nothing left to save. One of the partners lost his house in the flames too.

The new cellar with its state-of-the-art equipment

„We were unable to speak for two days, that’s how shocked and depressed we all were“, reports Panagiotis Papagiannopoulos, whose voice still goes all throaty when he thinks back to the fire. The fire that not only destroyed his wine estate, but also put an end to this success story overnight. The Tetramythos wine estate, named for an ancient variety of pear indigenous there, had been owned for many years by two brothers, Aristidis and Stathis Spanos, as well as Panagiotis and Yiannis Ntotas. They had 3.2 hectares of Roditis vines under cultivation, and sold the grapes to wine producers in the area. Then in 1999 the partners were joined by a new partner, 34-year-old qualified oenologist Papagiannopoulos.

In 2003 they decided to establish a modern wine estate on the site. The owners expanded the vineyard area to 14 hectares, and added varieties such as Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Sauvignon Blanc as well as indigenous varieties such as Agiorgitiko, Mavro Kalavritino and Malagousia to the range. Organic practices are implemented in the vineyards. „Organic farming is part of our life philosophy“, the young wine maker stresses.

Utilising development funds made available by the EU, they created the wine estate, including ultra-modern cellar technology, a wine bar as well as a small but elegantly appointed hotel within a single year. The owners believed firmly that wine tourism would help to provide a sound financial basis for Tetramythos: guests would come to the scenically attractive region, they would be able to taste and purchase high-quality organic wines, and would also be able to sleep and eat in style. This plan paid off: more than 10.000 tourists came here in the first year. In 2006, the team at Tetramythos harvested 105 tons of grapes, bottling 40.000 bottles of own wines, and selling the remainder, as is customary in this country, in bulk. Everything seemed to be moving along just perfectly. And then came the morning of the 27th of July 2007.

The fire left nothing of the modern cellar

Once Papagiannopoulos and his colleagues had overcome the initial shock, they set about taking stock of the situation: The wine estate had been completely razed by the fire, while the bar and hotel escaped with fairly minor damage. It appeared the damaged vineyards were also not a total loss. A small residual stock of around 7500 bottles of wine survived in a small store-room attached to the wine bar – it is still not quite clear whether they have survived the heat without being damaged.

„We all drove up to the top of the hill together. Up there, at an altitude of 1050 metres above sea level, we own a vineyard planted with Sauvignon Blanc, this is the highest vineyard in Greece“, Papagiannopoulos recounts. „We saw an ash-grey region that had been razed to the ground by the fires. But we also saw a few green hills: our vineyards“, he reports. It is this sight that “gave them hope”, and the determination to start all over again, right from scratch.

The main building of the estate was also severely damaged

A wave of solidarity expressed by friends and neighbours also helped to strengthen them in this resolve, and they got stuck in to the hard work. August, which in this region is harvesting time for grapes, was coming closer rapidly. Wine estates in the region offered they could vinify their grapes free of charge in their cellars. Renowned wine producing colleagues such as Skouras, Spiropoulos, Rouvalis and Katogi & Strofilia were among the first to offer their help. „We started picking, but our heads were hardly clear at this stage“, says the oenologist. The 2007 harvest amounted to all of 60 tons of grapes – little more than half the previous vintage’s amount – and these grapes were processed in two neighbouring wineries.

Soon thereafter, the state offered immediate aid amounting to 3000 Euros per family. The minister of tourism, Fani Pali-Petralia, came to view the damage, and promised to cut through the red tape to help. This was in the run-up to the elections in Greece, and showing solidarity with those in need is a good vote-catcher. She therefore promised to rebuild the wine estate, which was seen to be of tremendous value to tourism in the region, using state funds. But there is that adage about the best-laid plans: Pali-Petralia was unable to retain her ministerial position in the new government, and the hopes at Tetramythos were dashed once again.

The young vineyards were also exposed to the raging fires with no protection

At this stage, the wine estate is still a ruin. There is one ray of hope for the wine producers: The EU has increased the aid being paid out to finance reconstruction in the region, and the insurance has paid for a part of the damage, though by no means all. In the end the partners, who were still in debt from building up the project the first time around just a few years ago, will have to finance a major part of the rebuilding themselves. On the other hand, the income to be expected from tourists visiting the estate, hotel and bar in the near future is rather uncertain. Not many tourists come to visit villages reduced to ashes by this summer’s forest fires.

But the five partners have started work again, and have already started attending wine shows again. Plans have been drawn up for the new building complex, including a state-of-the-art sprinkler system to protect it against fire. Papagiannopoulos produces a bitter laugh: „What could possibly catch fire here again? The whole region has been burnt to the ground.“ But this at least seems certain: Tetramythos will continue in business, and rise from the ashes.