The next leg of our trip took us on to the next wine route, the „Wine route of Epirus“ took us past the famous monasteries of Meteora, right into the heart of the mountains, unfortunately we were travelling as night fell. 70 km of winding roads were a challenge not only to the driver, but also to several other members of the party. This turned out to be a journey into winter. We were completely surprised the next morning to wake to heavy snowfall with enormous snowflakes drifting down. Slowly we realised that not all wine-growing regions in Greece are constantly bathed in bright sunshine and heat, occasionally pine trees and snowdrifts can dominate the picture. Once again we are at a remarkable altitude for viticulture, and there is enough snow to ski on.

The famous monastery at Meteora, a UNESCO world cultural heritage site

Here one can spend the night in a wine estate hotel, or should one call it a hotel wine estate? The large Katogi Averoff complex has been newly built on the outskirts of the town, blending very well into the landscape, above the ground floor it is a luxurious hotel, while below ground there is a well-appointed cellar with all mod cons. The Katogi wine estate was founded by one of the leading Greek personalities of the 20th century, Evangelos Averoff-Tositsas. He was a statesman, author, art collector and a great proponent of the region. He found out that wine had been grown on the slopes of the Pindos hill in Metsovo around 1730, and had the site recultivated in the 1950Â’s. Also in 1960 he was the very first to plant Cabernet Sauvignon in Greece, and also the first to use an artist label for wine. The Cabernet is located at an altitude of close to 1000 metres above sea level, making it one of the highest vineyards in Europe planted with this variety. It is thus not surprising that occasionally in winter there is a thick covering of snow in the vineyards. The wine made from these grapes clearly shows its origins, definitely cool-climate and quite hard. To soften the wine, it is blended with either Merlot and Cabernet Franc (Averoff Estate), or with Agiorgitiko (Katogi Averoff Red). The indigenous grape varieties Xynomavro and Agiorgitiko are blended, producing a relatively soft wine as a result of the climatic and topographical conditions. Another speciality can be found here, that is quite a dry Traminer produced here, this also benefits from the high-altitude location, and is very reminiscent of a wine from Alto Adige. Katogi and Strofilia, an operation that operates a wine estate in the south of Attica and another on the Peloponnes entered into a partnership in 2001, resulting in the double-barrelled name. In Metsovo, Katogi is naturally the prominent partner.

The Katogi Averoff estate covered in snow in late winter, © Sonja Graminski

We had planned visits to Zoinos S.A., the cooperative of  Epiros and the Glivanos Estate, both located in Zitsa close to Ioanina, but these had to be cancelled due to the incessant snowfalls, an accident on a mountain pass road led to the closure of this road. Zoinos is quite a small cooperative, which is successfully making the transition towards quality wines, Glivanos was founded in 1978 by the well-known oenologist Eleftherios Glivanos, a complex with striking architecture that is now run by his son Thomas. In spite of our misfortune in not being able to get to these wineries, we were able to taste their wines as the lively manageress of the cooperative and her husband, who is the district veterinarian, fought their way through to Metsovo over roads deeply covered in snow to deliver samples. We were therefore still able to taste the wines in the evening, although we were unable to do this at the wineries themselves. In addition, Eleni Sintou provided us with all the necessary in-depth information. We were most impressed by this enthusiasm and dedication, and resolved to visit the wineries as soon as possible. Although they were quite different in style, both wineries presented interesting ranges we were particularly impressed by the bottle-fermented sparkling wine Poéme of the 2000 vintage by Glivanos and an organically grown Debina by Zoinos. The Debina (white) as well as Bekari and Vlachiko (red) grape varieties are typical for Epiros, it is also worth mentioning that the production of sparkling wine is permissible within the Zitsa OPAP classification.

Metsovo in late winter, © Sonja Graminski

If you are in the area anyway, and are headed in the direction of Thessaloniki, you should be sure to visit Velvendos. If you are coming from Metsovo, you will find you have crossed the border into Macedonia without noticing it, and are now on the “wine route of the lakes”. The Voyatzi wine estate is located on the shores of the large Polifitou lake, still quite a young operation, competently looked after by an equally young oenologist, Irini Zandé. Don’t be put off by the building operations that are still in progress, it really is a winery, even if it currently does not really look like one. The tasting room is already complete, and provides an attractive ambience, here you can also enjoy a lovingly compiled video show, if you wish. This region has had viticulture for a very long time, but no professional, commercial producers. Wine was always produced for own consumption, and not for sale. The Voyatzi estate currently has only 4 hectares of vineyards yielding grapes, this is being expanded to 8 hectares. Indigenous varieties can be found here, too, such as Tsapournakos, of which a homeopathic amount of 1000 bottles ahs been produced of the current vintage. At this stage, one is uncertain as to whether international wine lovers will really accept a very individualistic wine made from an unknown variety, or whether they will prefer blends „softened“ by international varieties..... Apart from that, you will also come across Vapsa Velvendou, Vergiotiko, Voulgariko and Dogos (red), as well as Alpitsa, Pitsiariko, Koukouli, Batiki (white), these are all processed in various blends. Certainly this winery has ambitions to go to the top, and it is clear they know how tough the road to success is. The estate of Ioannis Zandes is even smaller and younger, the first two wines are currently being launched on the market. They are still a little unclear, but definitely already interesting. It will take some time for them to be noticed in the market.

Velvendos - „Wine route on the lakes“, © Sonja Graminski

Finally, a few words on food and wine: if you believe that Greek wine goes only with Greek food, then you are right in a sense, and wrong in another. It all depends on how you define things. Visitors will be surprised at how many food specialities the wine route region has to offer. Standard Greek staples such as Tsatsiki and Taramasalata, drawn from 10 kg buckets, are rare in this region. What you will find a thin frying sausages with a hefty dash of paprika in Ossa, numerous variants of braised and grilled meat – lamb, pork and chicken, wild boar, semi-domesticated pork, coarse frying sausages with bits of cheese in the mixture in Metsovo, goats, sheep and cow milk cheeses, from soft to mature and hard, cheese done in the oven, braised vegetables, wild herbs, to name but a few. The taste of many of these dishes is familiar, and the local wines are the perfect companions, they are good partners with food, and more, even when drunk in Germany. However, the exceptional hospitality of the locals is something you will only be able to experience if you visit the area.


Recommendations along the wine route

Chalet und Restaurant Castello
60065 Neos Panteleimon
Tel. 23520 41822
Fax  23520 44730
Contact person: Apostolos Makrovassilis

Katogi Averoff Hotel & Winery
44200 Metsovo
Tel. 26560 42505
Fax  26560 42554
Contact person: Eleni Biss
info@katogihotel.gr
www.katogihotel.gr

Restaurant & Hotel Galaxias
44200 Metsovo
Tel. 26560 41202
Fax  26560 41124
Contact person: Themistoklis Barbayiannis
galaxias@mail.gr
www.hit360.com/galaxias