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Viticulture area: approx. 13,000 hectares Wine production: approx. 460,000 hectoliters Click on the map to enlarge. Guided wine tours? Click here! Wine tasting, traditional food, Wine information, wine course.

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Northern Greece is different in many ways from the other wine regions of Greece. Despite its proximity to the northern Aegean, a distinct set of microclimates and geological environments give the land—and its wines—an unparalleled continental flavor. The topography, though widely varied, is more Balkan than Aegean. Even along the coast, the sandy softness of the land is on contrast to the rugged coastlines of southern Greece and most of the islands. Mountainous western Northern Greece has a distinct alpine feel in various places. Rolling hills and flat plains in the north and central areas are a soothing respite from the drama of southern Greece. Driving to the picturesque new Babatzim winery, just north of Thessaloniki in Ossa, is like a trek through South Dakota, disorienting until the panorama from his citadel reveals, among other sights, the Thermaic Gulf far below.

Northern Greece 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 Northern Greece .

Naousa
Naousa's revitilization began in the late 1800s with the first bottling of local

View of Naousa from Ktima Kir-Yianni

wine by Ioannis Boutaris. It was not until after the establishment of an appellation in 1971, however, that the roster of producers began its rise in number to the present level (see left). The success of the Naousa region is unparelleled in Greece and can be said to have had a positive effect throughout western Northern Greece , including at Amyndaio, Goumenissa and Giannitsa. Xynómavro, the sole variety permitted under the Naousa OPAP appellation, is the most widely cultivated in Northern Greece and has long been believed to be one of two red varieties (the other being Agiorgitiko) on which Greece's international status as a wine-producing nation depends.

Naousa has always been considered the crown jewel of the Northern Greece 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
Amyndaio, just west of Naousa on the opposite side of Mount Vermio, occupies a plateau at high elevation (600-750 meters), nearly double that of Naousa. There are two notable estates there, Grypas and Vegoritis, both under the auspices of Yiannis Boutaris, grandson of the founder of what is now the Boutari Group. Following his recent departure from the family business, Boutaris established his own firm, the General Wine Company, focused (among other objectives) on developing a choice vineyard parcel, Yiannakohori in Naousa, as well as the Grypas and Vegoritis properties. After much analysis, the Yiannakohori estate came to be planted exclusively with red cultivars, Vegoritis only with white and wines from both vineyards sold under the Kir-Yianni label. Grypas, which produces blends of native and Western cultivars has become Kir-Yianni's second label. Amyndaio is also home to a cooperative specializing in Amyndaio appellation wines.

In Velventos, near Kozani, Yannis Yoyatzis has replanted his family's vineyard on the gentle slope above Lake Polyfyto with an intriguing mix of traditional Greek and foreign varieties. Voyatzis, who is the head of enology and product development for the Boutari Group, is widely regarded as the best in his field in Greece. His wines are already achieving success in Greece and America even as work continues on a new winery at his vineyard.

Goumenissa
Goumenissa, though overlooked in favor of Naousa in times past and present, has always been an important Northern Greece wine center. Lower elevations, an Aegean influence on climate and lower calcium levels in the soil result in wines of warmer and friendlier nature than in Naousa. The Goumenissa appellation calls for the blending of Xynómavro with at least 20% of the related, but riper, Negoska. Amidst lesser known local producers such as Tatsis and Titos is Boutari's Goumenissa operation and the ever-improving facilities of the thoughtful and artisinal Christos Aidarinis.

Giannitsa
Between Goumenissa and Naousa lies prime farmland on which, from ancient times until the early twentieth century, the vine had flourished. One of Greece's most serious winemakers, French-trained Thomás Lígas has reclaimed a piece of this pleasant, hilly terrain, creating a vineyard and winery that have enabled him to express his appreciation for the land and its history through the vinification of wines that display not only the advantages of soil and climate, but his deft hand in in harnessing them.

Thessaloniki Area
Thessaloniki, Greece's second largest city, is home to several wine firm head offices, but the exurbs are not home to viniculture on any major scale. There is, however, some wine production in the area. The Kechris firm, whose facilities are in Kalohori, produces wines from grapes sourced in Mesimvria, Thraki. Mantovani produces white and rosé wines from local grapes in Nei Epivates.

View southeast from Ossa. Volvi lake in the distance.

Two of Greece's best-known producers are also within short driving distance of Thessaloniki. Anestis Babatzimopoulos, the charismatic of the charismatic Greek winemakers, has been exploring a wide range of native and foreign varieties for years, vinifying wines and producing some of the world's most exquisite mono-varietal apostagamata (grappas) at his winery in Anhialos, just northwest of the city. A stunning new winery being constructed on a hillside in the midst of his vineyards further north in Ossa promises to become a major destination for wine-tourists as well as a cultural focal-point for the region.

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.

One cannot mention Halkidiki without making reference to the Tsantali wine firm, one of Greece's largest, who are headquartered in Ayios Pavlos on the main highway leading to the peninsula. The company, which has wineries in Naousa and in Thessalia also, has vineyards surrounding their main facility at Ayios Pavlos and, by special arrangement with the monastary of Ayios Panteleimonas, at Chromitsa on Akti, the easternmost of three arms of Halkidiki. Tsantali was the first of Greece's large wine concerns to recognise (and adjust to) the increasing sophistication of the Greek market. Perhaps to the chagrin of the rather courageous group of winemakers who led this charge, Tsantali quickly and considerably improved quality to develop a portfolio of wines with export potential that compete successfully also on the domestic front.

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 Northern Greece wine production. The area

They don't call it Drama for nothing. View of the town from the east during a brief wind storm.

around Drama has known viticulture probably from the bronze age to the present. In the late 1980s, however, any existing local winemaking was eclipsed by the establishment of a modern winery with distinctly cosmopolitan aims, Chateau Lazaridi. Founded in the village of Adriani by brothers Nikos and Kostas Lazaridis, prosperous owners of an international marble firm, the aim was to capitalize on Drama's continental climate and favorable soil. Planting primarily noble French varieties, the estate began, in a sense, where Domain Carras (see above) left off, successfully producing, on Greek soil, the kinds of wines that appeal to the palates of Francofiles.

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 Northern Greece , 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.

The big news from Kavala is that Evangelos Gerovassiliou and former Gerovassiliou and Kosta Lazaridi enologist Vassilis Tsaktsarlis are partnering in a new winery and vineyard on property (that Gerovassiliou excitedly describes as truly exceptional hillside land) facing the Aegean. More information concerning this venture will be appearing soon on this site.