Island Vineyard

frown, canvases, presses, hostages, wooden barrels. But also cesspools, racadia and copper crucibles. Visitable wineries, aging cellars, tasting rooms, small wine museums.

With wine as a guide, tour the islands and enjoy the sun in a glass of wine, the airs, the taste of the sea. Discover the vineyards, which for centuries now define the landscape of the islands. On the fertile and fertile islands they stand quietly among olive trees, fruit carrier, pine trees, legumes and cereals. In the barren, dry and stony, the vines, perched on terraces or formed into "coils", they resist difficulties and overcome harsh conditions, offering their dehydrated fruit. Between sky and sea, stand in the spring rush of the island vineyard, in the sweltering bunches of summer, in its golden autumn foliage, and get carried away by the frantic rhythms of the vintage.

In the Cyclades, the climates are lost in the barren landscape, they go out in the cafes shades of barren hills. They stand out in the spring, when the green foliage grows day by day, and summer, when the grapes ripen and the birds claim the sweet fruit. You won't be long in rewarding the lively Athiri, white variety that stands out for its vitality and fertility. You will observe how the lazy and fragrant Aidani rests in Naxos and Monemvasia in Paros, you will be introduced to the explosive Assyrtiko in Santorini. What if Caldera steals the show; Assyrtiko will satisfy your taste buds. The scarce Mavrotragano will force you to look for it all over the island and the robust red Mandilaria variety will introduce you to the aromas of rosé and red wines in Rhodes.

There is no shortage of vines in the Dodecanese. Indigenous and international varieties, originating mainly from France and from other countries. Vines low most of the time, to resist the eddy of the wind. Vines in barren places. It took a lot of work to tame them, care to bear fruit. Linear vineyards, well formed, spread out on the slopes of the islands. On other islands the landscape is shaped by terraces. Small pieces of land rest on dry stones and tame the slope of the ground.

In Crete, diagonally for a while and leaving the sea behind you, you will find yourself in front of a different landscape. Plain areas, many small slopes, Mountain villages. The vines alternate with the olive trees and the gaze is lost in the Mediterranean shades of green. Kotsifali, variety red, fertile and productive, prefers hilly areas, the white Thrapsathiri, drought resistant, promises a lot, while Vilana, the best known white indigenous variety, it is distinguished by its conical dense grapes.

All over the island of Crete, in the Cyclades but also in Kefalonia Liatiko is cultivated, which ripens early and its red grapes color the island vineyards.

The landscape enchants you, invites you to discover it. You rest for a while under the shade of an arbor, you cut a bunch, you're chasing a bunch of grapes. Every place and stories, myths, traditions and truths. On the islands where strong winds blow, the vines are shaped into baskets to protect the grapes inside. In other places, the vines still retain their autonomy, planted in the old cup way, without supports and with little viticultural care, they fight the weather and resist the birds to bear their fruit at the end of summer.

In the Northeast Aegean, in Lemnos it seems that the sunlight has a bit of a bada, as if protecting people, animals and crops from the heat and midday sun. The vines are near the spars, in the lowland fields of the interior or on hills overlooking the sea. Muscat of Alexandria gives aromatic grapes and Limnio (or Kalamaki), named after the island, is a red variety that has been found since antiquity and prefers barren stony soils.
In Lesvos, the native red variety of the Lesbian grape is grown in the crater of the volcano that created the island's petrified forest. In the northwest part as well, in the Makara region, the varieties with the name Fokiano are cultivated (Ricara), Kalloniatiko and Moscato (Scented). The Mandilaria variety is cultivated in the mountainous area of ​​Megalochori Plomari and in Karyona Skopelos Geras (Ugly & I painted), Athiri, Assyrtiko and Muscat white.
In Samos, the small white Muscat, on the amazing terraces, gives the famous sweet wines. In the Ionian Islands, the intense green color of the vegetation touches the blue waters of the sea. On the slopes of Ainos, in Kefalonia, crops are rotated. Olives give way to vines, with the white native variety Robola leading the way. A bit higher, in Lefkada, you will meet the hard-to-find Vardea and Verdjami, among orchards. In Corfu, the vines of Kakotrygis flirt with the olive groves. Table grapes go into household baskets and wine grapes will become, on time, wine. With their dark fibrous wood, the vines, their foliage or grapes, the vines beautify the islands and shape landscapes, habits and tastes.