DIRECTORY OF GREEK WINERIES

Cephalonia

OREALIOS GAEA

Region: Cephalonia orealios.gr

Orealios Gaea has over 300 vine growing members on the island of Cephalonia, between the Ionian sea and Mount Aions. The semi-mountainous steep terrain, and the limestone and gravelly soils, are very well suited to Robola, a variety that gained PDO status in 1982. The 180 hectares of vineyards are planted at an altitude of 300-800 metres.

Imported by Maltby & Greek

SAMOS

UNION OF COOPERATIVES OF SAMOS

Region: Samos Island samoswine.gr

The history of winemaking in Samos dates back to early antiquity. Founded in 1934 by Samos vine growers and farmers, the aim of this co-operative is the preservation of viticulture and trade. The co-operative is the largest in Greece with over 2,000 members focusing mainly on different expressions and styles of the local white Muscat of Samos.

Imported by Eclectic Wines

VAKAKIS WINERY

Region: Samos Island vakakiswines.gr/en

Vakakis Winery was established in 2011 and focuses on the indigenous varieties of Samos; mainly the White Muscat grape planted at an altitude of 600-1,000 metres. Vakakis produces a range of nine wines made with Assyrtiko, Muscat and the rare Black Muscat variety. A large percentage of the vineyards are cultivated organically. Currently seeking representation

Santorini

ARTEMIS KARAMOLEGOS

Region: Santorini artemiskaramolegos-winery.com

Although the Artemis Karamolegos winery was officially founded in 2004, the Karamolegos family has a winemaking tradition that stretches back to 1952. It is the third largest winery in Santorini, producing a range of wines using indigenous grape varieties, predominantly Assyrtiko.

Imported by Amathus Drinks and WoodWinters

ESTATE ARGYROS

Region: Santorini estateargyros.com

Established in 1903, Estate Argyros is the largest vineyard owner on Santorini with more than 120 hectares of ungrafted vines, between 70 and 200 years old. The focus is mainly on Assyrtiko. Since 2004 the winery has been run by fourth-generation winemaker Matthew Argyros, who built a new winery in 2015 in Episkopi.

Imported by Clark Foyster Wines

SANTO WINES

Region: Santorini santowines.gr

Santo Wines was founded in 1911 with the goal of protecting Santorini’s farmers through sustainable agricultural development. The promotion of local PDO Santorini products focusing mainly on wine was a key factor in the formation of the co-operative. Santo Wines built a state-of-the-art visitor centre and welcomes more than 500,000 visitors per year.

Imported by Bibendum

Sigalas Winery

Region: Santorini sigalas-wine.com

Sigalas Winery, founded in 1991 by visionary Paris Sigalas, is located in the plain of Oia, on the volcanic terroir of Santorini. Paris was closely connected with the development of the island’s vineyard and the rise of Santorini wines to international stardom. The winery works with 40 hectares of vines, focusing mainly on Assyrtiko.

Imported by Enotria & Coe

VENETSANOS WINERY

Region: Santorini venetsanoswinery.com

Overlooking Santorini’s caldera, the Venetsanos winery

How The Directory Was Compiled

is located just above the port of Athinios. The Venetsanos family has been producing wine for generations and built the first industrial winery on the island in 1947. Initially, the wines were just made for the island, but are now widely exported.

Imported by Cava Spiliadis

Crete Diamantakis Winery

Region: Crete diamantakiswines.gr

Diamantakis boutique winery was founded in 2007 by third-generation vine growers Ioannis, Michalis and winemaker Zacharias Diamantakis. Located just outside the village of Kato Asites at an altitude of 450 metres, the winery sits on the eastern foothills of the Psiloritis mountain. The focus is largely on indigenous varieties such as Liatiko, Vidiano and Mandilaria.

Imported by Vindependents and WoodWinters

DOULOUFAKIS WINERY (CRETE)

Region: Crete douloufakis.wine

Douloufakis was established in 1930 by Dimitris

Douloufakis in Dafnes, a few kilometres south of Heraklion. The estate is now run by Dimitris’s grandson Nikolas, who trained in the oenology school of Alba in Italy. Douloufakis owns 80 hectares of vineyards and focuses mainly on indigenous Cretan varieties such as Vidiano and Liatiko as well as some international varieties. Currently seeking representation

Outside the box

We like to keep our fingers on the pulse at WBC. In that spirit, I was reading an article in Packaging News about a wine that was being launched with no front or back label.

All the required information is printed on the capsule, and I was left wondering what the point of it was. The same thought went through my head when we were assessing the potential of “paper” bottles that are seemingly the next big thing in the drinks trade. And don’t get me started on the flat bottles that can fit through a letterbox.

Although I am not in the wine trade, I have had a lifelong fascination with wine, starting from a holiday job stacking shelves in the now defunct Peter Dominic. I also remember the thrill of going into one of the early Oddbins stores, stacked floor to ceiling with a bewildering display of wonderfully labelled bottles.

For me, the bottle and the label are an intrinsic part of buying wine. Are they really such a big environmental problem that needs to be solved? Are the days of glass bottles numbered? I personally do not think so. For a start, glass bottle recycling was around before recycling became popular and is one of the truly successful stories in our quest to cut waste.

Nowadays, recyclable is defined (apparently) as something that can be reused again and again in the same form. For example, a glass bottle can be ground up and a new glass bottle made from it as many times as you like. A card box can be shredded and used to make another card box, again and again.

This differs from downcycling (yes, it is an actual term) where the original product, once reworked, can only be used to make a different product. An example would be a plastic bottle that can be ground down and reused to make another plastic item; but, importantly, not a bottle. This process can also only happen a limited number of times until the final product has to be disposed of, which is not the case with glass, cardboard and aluminum. So glass bottles still come up smelling of roses.

Is a “paper” bottle better than a glass bottle? Firstly, it is only the outer layer that is paper: the inner layer is plastic, or made from a plant-based polymer. The “paper” bottle cannot be thrown into standard home style recycling. In this respect it is no different from Tetra Pak, which also requires specialist recycling to separate the different layers.

If you manage to separate the inner film from the outer film, it is still only good for downcycling and not recycling … and personally I am always wary of whether biodegradable claims are true. Clearly the paper bottle is lighter, so has a smaller carbon footprint. But in my mind the glass bottle, with its limitless recycling potential, still wins the eco argument.

Lightweight bottles are increasingly popular, and they certainly have their place. However, a note of caution needs to be applied for those of you who sell online and send cases via couriers. In all the transit testing we do at WBC on our packaging, the breakage rate on lightweight bottles is noticeably higher than with standard bottles. Nothing could be more environmentally wasteful than delivering broken bottles to the customer. In that regard, “paper” bottles would probably win over glass, but we have never actually transit tested them.

A well-known brewer (probably the best!) launched a range of its beers in “paper” bottles, but it turns out this was a very limited edition. The intention is not to replace glass bottles or aluminum cans but to simply provide another option. The brewer’s aim is to develop “paper” bottles with the same carbon footprint as glass ones. Which begs the obvious question: why not just stick with glass?

Perhaps I am missing something. Could it be that the paper bottles are a gimmick to make the company look environmentally friendly and hit its corporate and social responsibility targets? I am not convinced that consumers are demanding an end to glass bottles, and once they try to recycle a “paper” bottle they will quickly realise it is potentially a step backwards, rather than forwards. Greenwashing is, I think, the term that’s used.

These are my personal thoughts. I do not profess to be an expert, just an interested observer. I am happy to be put right if I am wrong. We spend a lot of time at WBC trying to make genuine improvements to our products and ensure they are as ecofriendly as they can be while still being fit for purpose. On that basis, we will not be promoting “paper” bottles in their current form.

Wood-aged gin

Producers are turning to wood to give gin some of the top-end panache of Cognac or whisky. Devon’s Salcombe Distilling has produced the Victuallers Special Edition Snapes Point (RRP £40) sloe gin. It’s a blend of gin cask-aged for nine months with sloes and damsons that have been steeped for two months and then distilled in copper pot stills. The result is a sloe gin with a port-like character with a touch of vanilla from the wood on the finish. Salcombe has also made the first release in five years of its Finisterre gin (RRP £50), aged for three years in fino casks in a partnership with sherry house Bodegas Tradición.

Scottish island distiller 57˚ Skye has produced a version of its Earth & Sea gin (RRP £44.99) finished in French oak casks that have previously been used to mature Banyuls, a fortified aperitif. The gin is made with “earth” botanicals including heather and rowan berries, and “sea” ingredients such as smoked laminaria and kelp seaweeds.

White rum

Spiced and golden rum have been the buzz segments for longer than’s decent but more niche producers are growing in confidence, taking them into the territory traditionally dominated by Bacardí and Wray & Nephew. Duppy Share, one of the most high profile independent brands of the past decade, has made its White Rum (RRP £20.50) in partnership with the grime artist Kano, who signed off on the label design and flavour profile.

While white is usually viewed as a base for long mixing, Duppy Share sees it as having a more refined taste that’s suitable for sipping neat or shots.

John Paul Jones is sensing an opportunity to reach out to jaded gin fans with its Ranger white rum (RRP £35), which has