 |
| Wines |
Article No. |
Grape
varieties |
Year |
Pack. |
| Château
Harlaftis |
4881 |
Cabernet
Sauvignon |
2007 |
12 |
| Chardonay |
4882 |
Chardonay |
2009 |
12 |
| Argilos
Gis |
4886 |
Agiorgitiko |
2007 |
12 |
| Merlot |
4888 |
Merlot |
2009 |
12 |
| The
story of the Harlaftis Estate begins in Crete. Here, at the turn of
the century, one of the better known exporters of sultanina raisins
was Nick Athanassiades, owner of an important agricultural estate
on the outskirts of Heraklion. Nick Athanassiades was passionate about
growing grapes and his estate was well-known for its advanced cultural
methods and it's superior grapes. In the early 30's he decided to
expand his operations by creating a new vineyard, for the production
of wine this time. |
|
 |
 |
|
He
chose a beautiful, unspoilt area on the northern slopes of Mount Penteli,
in the commune of Stamata, some 20 kms north of Athens. It was here,
according to the legend, that the vine was first cultivated in Greece,
when Dionysos gave it as a gift to Icarus, king of this region. A
winery was quickly established and soon Nick Athanassiades was selling
his wine to Athenian high society, making him one of the very first
persons to bottle and commercialize wine in Greece. |
| In
the late 50's Nick was succeeded by his daughter Adda, and her husband
Diogenes Harlaftis, an air force pilot at the time. Together, they
replanted the vineyard with both traditional and international grape
varieties. One of the grapes they chose was the assyrtiko, an excellent
performer for the production of fine white wines and a perfect complement
to the region's traditional savatiano. Cabernet Sauvignon and chardonnay
were also chosen, among the first to be planted in Greece. |
|
 |
|
The
vineyard's orientation was also remodeled so that all vines were afforded
a maximum protection from the summer's heat. The stone buildings that
housed the traditional winery built by Nick Athanassiades were preserved
but gradually all the equipment was modernized.
Today, the Harlaftis-Athanassiades Winery is equipped with stainless
steel, temperature-controlled vats, underground cellars for the ageing
of wine in both casks and bottles and a modern bottling line. The
renovated old buildings that house the winery and the tasting hall
are in themselves a major attraction for wine-lovers visiting the
"Wine Routes of Attica".
It is now Emily and Nicholas's turn to run the family winery. They
are Nick Athanassiades' grandchildren and their project has been the
creation of a new estate in the heart of the Nemea region of the northern
Peloponnese. With the help of their father Diogenes Harlaftis and
a team of international experts, the have planned a new, high-density,
low-yield vineyard in one of the most promising areas of Nemea, locally
known as "Ahladias". Here, using a new, state-of-the-art
winery, they hope to maximize the potential of this region's superb
red grape variety, agiorgitiko, thus keeping alive a family tradition
in making fine wine, started by their grandfather over 60 years ago. |
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|
Antonopoulos
Averoff
Biblia Chora
Creta Olympias
Driopi
Evharis
Gerovassiliou
Harlaftis
Hatzimichalis
Kyr-Yianni
Constantin Lazaridis
Mercouri
Pavlidis
Samos Cooperative
Sigalas
Strofilià
Tselepos
|
