Vakaki Winery
The company, VAKAKIS WINES, started its operation in 2011 under difficult conditions, both because of the financial crisis, but also because the establishment of a winemaking business was not possible in Samos, due to the compulsory law of 1934. So, therefore, due to the above, the company until 2013 was active in the wine trade and from 2013 until today in the vinification and trading of Samian Wines. It produces three (3) dry wines, two (2) semi-sweet and three (3) sweet wines.
Its facilities are located in the M. Lakka area of Samos (Karlovasi, on the way to Kodeika village). The area covered by the winery amounts to 250 sq.m., a small area but at the same time functional and proportional to the size of the company. In this specific area, the wines are received, vinified and bottled. Storage takes place in different properly designed areas.
Koutsodontis Winery
The family winery "COUTSODONTIS WINERY" was founded in 2016 and is located in Marathokampos Samos, close to its traditional vineyards, which are formed in terraces. The Koutsodontis winery produces quality small-production wines in Samos with minimal technological interventions and chooses traditional winemaking techniques to bring out the rich aroma and concentrated taste that a quality wine of noble origin should have.
Visitors to the winery can have a guided tasting, learning more about the wine culture of Samos, as well as the wines of "COUTSODONTIS WINERY". The Tasting includes 3 different wines
Hatziioannou Winery
Hatziioannou Winery was founded in 2019 in Mytilinioi, at Rizovrachos, by Georgios Hatziioannou and his two sons, Themistocles and Evangelos. The two sons inherit, develop and further promote viticulture and the production of quality wines. One son has a degree in oenology and the other son has taken over the cultivation and care of the organic vineyards. Everyone is working together in the new winery aiming to further highlight and promote this historic grape variety of Samos.
Kostaki Winery
The Kostaki winery is the newest winery in Samos, with the first harvest taking place in 2023. It is the creation of Eumorfia Kostakis who grew up in Samos and Lorenz Immerfall who comes from Germany. Both hold postgraduate diplomas in viticulture and oenology from international universities as well as the WSET oenology diploma, which they combine with a wealth of practical experience in various countries abroad.
Eleftheriou Winery
The Eleftheriou winery is located in a mountain village on the island of Samos, which is called Stavrinides. It was founded in 2017 by its owners, Eleftheriou Petros and his wife, Velani Evangelia.
It is a family wine business of 200 square meters, which has a winemaking area, a bottling area and a visiting area. The goal of this family business is to make both the vinification of the wine and the bottling using natural methods according to the traditional standard.
Nopera Winery
In the middle of the 19th century, the historic Nopera family leaves the island of Malta and settles on the island of Samos. In Samos, the family initially deals with Samian wine by creating a high quality wine from the white Muscat variety, and later starting the Muscat trade with exports to various countries.
In 2013, the first private winery of Samos since 1934, the ''Nopera winery'' of the family of Nikolaos Mytilinaios, opens its doors, continuing the wine family tradition, reviving the privately owned organic vineyards and highlighting in the best way its various varieties dry dimension.
Metaxa Liknon- A Model Samian Vineyard
Metaxa Liknon is the new home of Metaxa House on the island of Samos, in the village of Vourliotes. It is a model organic vineyard with 100-year-old vines, on the slopes of Mount Ampelos.
The particular architectural design, which focuses on the traditional terraces of Samos, makes Metaxa's house more of a landscape than a particular building within the expanse of a vineyard. It extends the terraces with the dry stones of the vineyard, integrating into the natural landscape a series of cave buildings that on one side are sunk into the earth and on the other side look out over the green slopes of the area.
Dry stone terraces
The terraces, known in Samos as "dry stone terraces" are the solution given by the islanders to the problems of soil erosion and the lack of arable land. Due to the mountainous configuration as well as the large slopes of the land, on the island of Samos, from the beginning of agricultural cultivation, the need arose for the construction of many thousands of square meters of dry stone. Viticulture on terraces ("dry stone terraces") is a particularly difficult and laborious traditional viticultural practice. For example, in order to plant a vine in Samos, it must be "acred", i.e. cleared and terraces built ("dry stone terraces ») to hold the ground, which is usually sloping. Its construction, reconstruction and maintenance is done manually and requires the work of a skilled craftsman.
Vine varieties in Samos
Towards the end of the 19th century, with the overvaluation of wine and raisins, the vineyards on Samos took on enormous dimensions and occupied a large part of the island. Gradually in the 20th century, many types of vines were abandoned and the Moschato vine varieties prevailed Samos as a white wine and Fokiano as a red wine, since they occupied the largest area of the Samian vineyard. Ritino, Augustiatis and more rarely "Mavro", "Roditis" and "Kokkineli" complete the image of the vineyards of Samos.
The harvest of Samian Muscat wine - today
The Samian Muscat wine harvest still marks the island's dominant agricultural production activity. According to the experiential testimonies of the winegrowers, the harvest was (and is) a multi-day summer "celebration" throughout the island. The Samian winegrowers follow the tradition of their fathers and grandfathers in the harvest, an outdoor and manual work that begins in August and is completed by the end of September.
Other grape and wine products
During the production of grapes and wine, a number of other products are usually produced, such as the following:
• Raisins: In the past, when wine was not sold, the producers turned their grapes into raisins. For the transformation of the grape into a raisin, the murky ash was necessary, in which all the grapes had to be dipped and spread out in the sun. They baked in the sun for a week and turned into raisins, at which point they were ready for picking.
• Mustaveria: Mustaveria is also called "Kourkouta". To make mustalevria, must and flour are needed.
• Vinegar: When the wine turns sour in the cup or barrel we have ready vinegar, however we can also make vinegar ourselves.
The Samian Wine Harvest in the Old Years – The Preparation
According to the experiential testimonies of the old winegrowers of Samos, the harvest was a multi-day summer "celebration" throughout the island.
As they say, preparations started early. In all the vineyard villages, the roads were cleared of branches and weeds, while the "dusimedes" (the cobblestones) were also repaired. The winegrowers prepared the "grape bags" making sure they all had "crickeles" and ropes for tying, while even the small holes were patched. There were the coffins, the "galikia", the "coffins", the "kofes" and the "seledes", as well as the cutting tools the "katsounias", "kats'nakia" or "katsounes" (the largest) which were ground to be sharp.
As they say, preparations started early. In all the vineyard villages, the roads were cleared of branches and weeds, while the "dusimedes" (the cobblestones) were also repaired. The winegrowers prepared the "grape bags" making sure they all had "crickeles" and ropes for tying, while even the small holes were patched. There were the coffins, the "galikia", the "coffins", the "kofes" and the "seledes", as well as the cutting tools the "katsounias", "kats'nakia" or "katsounes" (the largest) which were ground to be sharp.
Armakades
"Armakades" in Samos are called the big piles of stones, measuring about a palm. Probably the word "armakas" (singular) comes from the archaic "ermax"
The armakades (where they exist) occupy as a small pile the most barren corner of the vineyard. They become a habitat for mice, snakes and other saurids.
The wine of Samos in literature
The wine of Samos is often mentioned in Greek literature as well as in books by modern European writers, such as the widely read Marguerite Yoursenaard. Even Giorgos Veis, award-winning author and ambassador of Greece to UNESCO, writes in his book "Everywhere", the following passage entitled " Pyrgos Samos":....finally our Samian moments, watered with the wine of wisdom... Finally, Napoleon Lapathiotis, who had an excellent supervision of the literature of his time, from time to time selected short pieces of prose from world literature, translated them and published them in newspapers. From Schwob's "Mimes" he translated a passage entitled "Lykythos," or "The Wine of Samos," which referred to a story about the Tyrant Polycrates and Samian wine.
The Samian wine and the Catholic church of Samos
The Catholic Community of Samos, before the creation of the "Union of Wine Cooperatives of Samos" and the (then forced) vinification and marketing of the product through it, had the role of supplier and distributor of sweet wine for the needs of the Catholic Church in Italy, Africa and elsewhere .
According to the testimony of the last abbess of the Order of St. Joseph in Samos, sister Michelina, during the bombing of the capital during World War II by the Germans, the wine from the basement of the church flowed into the port, changing even the color of the sea!
The Muscat wine of Samos still supplies the Catholic Missions in various countries, although clearly in smaller quantities.
The Samian wine in Poetry
"Wine is bottled poetry" wrote Robert Louis Stevenson. And this kind of "poetry" from unspoiled Samos has its own name: Samian wines of the "White Muscat Samos" variety, with distinct aromas, diverse flavors, fruity touches and a well-hidden but intensely enjoyable aftertaste.References for the Samian wine can be found in the poetic work of Lord Byron: "...fill the cup full of Samian wine", Sikelianos, Elytis, Varnalis, Cavafy and Karyotakis
The Samian wine is mentioned in the "Games of the sky and water" by the poet of Romiosynis, Yiannis Ritsos, who spent a large part of his life - under confinement - in Samos. K. P. Cavafis in his poem "Merchant Alexandreus", written in 1893 states: "After washing, the soul thirsts for Samion." The meaning of Cavafy's "Samios" is a noble wine from a noble grape variety, as Dr. Stavroula Kourakou.
The history Samos Wine
The history of Samian wine dates back to ancient times. According to a legend, Agaios, hero of the Argonautic Expedition who also reigned on the island of Samos, studied and taught the way in which the inhabitants of the island cultivated the vine. However, references to Samian wines have also been made by other important people of letters and art, such as Hippocrates, Galen, Theophrastus. It is worth noting that even today there are many reports about the ship "Kyrenia" which transported wines to various ports.
Archaeological Museum of Pythagoreion
The Archaeological Museum is housed in a neat, modern building in the center of the modern city of Pythagoreion, where the ancient city of Samos was located. It started operating in 2010 and has been a magnet for many visitors ever since. The Museum of Pythagoreion exhibits archaeological artefactsl from the wider area of Samos. The finds are displayed classified thematically and chronologically from the Neolithic era to the Early Christian years, proving the important position that ancient Samos held in the Greek area, both historically and culturally.
General State Records
The General Archives of the State are housed near the building of the Regional Directorate of Samos. In G.A.K. In Samos the visitor can find collections from the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, the archives of the Hegemonic period of Samos (1834-1912) but also newer ones (19th-21st centuries). In these archives, important documents related to the cultivation and marketing of Samian wine, but also its effect on the social, historical and economic development of the island, have been identified.
Pottery of Koumaradai
According to the oral tradition of Samos, the pottery art first developed among the Mavratzai but flourished among the Koumaradai. Samos, like all the Aegean islands, received the influence of the pottery workshops of Asia Minor, mainly of Canak Kale and Kiutachia. In the late 1970s, the production of pottery began, not for utilitarian, but for decorative purposes. In this context, pottery workshops were established in Koumaradai, with the main ones being those of Timoleon Hatzilagos and Th. Klironomou. The special interest presented by the workshop of the Klironomos family lies in the fact that its production was oriented towards the folkloristic reproduction of the oldest traditional forms. The famous Pythagoras cup, which was used for drinking wine, is also produced in these workshops.
The establishment of UWCS
In Samos until 1934, the vinification and trade of wine was done by merchants, who bought the must from the winegrowers and vinified it in their wineries, the so-called taverns, also setting the prices. However, because there was a strong phenomenon of the exploitation of the winegrowers, in the same year, the Union of Wine Cooperatives of Samos (UWCS) was founded with the Compulsory Law 6085/1934, to which the winegrowers were obliged to hand over their production. Afterwards, the Cooperative vinified and marketed the wine of the winegrowers of Samos in its winery on their behalf, for a certain amount.
Samian wine and Orthodox church
The time of starting the cultivation work, milestones for the course of ripening, as well as the rites in the vineyard are in many cases directly connected to religious tradition and faith. It is characteristic that, even nowadays, the feast day of Saint Tryphon (February 1st), patron of vines and winegrowers, is also considered the opening day for pruning throughout Samos. Saint Tryphon is honored as the protector of fields and vines, who repels insects and mice that damage the crops. That is why his illustration depicts him with a viticultural tool (pruner or "tracha") in his hand. After the divine liturgy, the relative exorcism of the saint is read, through which harmful insects and animals are prevented.
Catholic Monastery – Saint Joseph Boarding School
At Areos 2 and Manolis Kalomiris street we find an imposing building, with high fence walls in ocher color. This is the educational institution of the French School of Nuns (Saint Joseph School) which started operating in 1901. The School accepted children from Samos and neighboring islands while also functioning as a boarding school. Teaching French was valuable back then. Many children came into contact with the book and loved reading thanks to the nuns of the Order of Saint Joseph. The Saint Joseph School and the Boarding School of Samos ceased to operate in 1971. The building has been abandoned but is kept in a marginally good condition.
Vrontiani Monastery
The emblematic "Monastery of Panagia Vrontas" or otherwise "Vrontianis" is one of the oldest monasteries of Samos. It is located SE from the village of Vourliotes. It was built in 1566 by the monks Iakovos and Makarios near the ruins of an older church of Panagia and is dedicated to the Nativity of the Virgin.
The architectural type is a basilica with a dome while maintaining the high enclosure and the stone-built cells, which refer to a fortified monastery. The name of the monastery is due to the thunders of lightning, as it usually rained on her feast day (September 8) and marked the end of the harvest for the vines of the area.
Wine Museum
The Museum of Samian Wine is housed in a 19th century stone building, which before the establishment of the "Union of Wine Cooperatives" was used as a wine warehouse, and later as a barrel factory. The building was converted into a Museum in 2005 and since then houses important exhibits that define Samian wine: vineyards with native vines growing in ventilated showcases, linoleums and sublinoleums, tools and utensils of viticulture, winemaking and aging, as well as huge wooden wine tanks of of the last century. Also, the visitor can see collectible bottles, old photos and records of the production, barrel-making utensils and tools, old wine-making machinery, a series of gold awards and international distinctions, handwritten statements and documents of the long wine tradition of Samos.
Sami wine and local dialect
There are linguistic expressions and words alive in Samos, which are related to viticulture and the Samian Muscat wine. The much-used colloquial word "gumar'" (a load of wine of about 100 liters, but also metaphorically "the fool"). kulltsida, the" helix of the vine shoots and metaphorically the one who imposes his presence in a company, the "grade" (the glucometer with which we measure degrees of sweetness but also metaphorically the one who has sound judgment), the "seledis"- the large crates with a specific capacity of grapes.
The Samian wine and the religious communities of Samos
The Catholic community of Samos had a special relationship with Samian wine, as the Catholic priests bought quantities of grapes for their own winemaking. After the establishment of the "Union", the wine of the Catholic Mission was vinified in special facilities, within the Cooperative. The Catholic Community of Samos, had the role of supplier and distributor of sweet wine for the needs of the Catholic Church in Italy, Africa and elsewhere. The Samian Muscat wine still supplies the Catholic Missions in various countries, although clearly in smaller quantities. Finally, the strong community of Jewish merchants that existed in the city of Samos traded for many years Samian wine, while, in the last two years, wines with Kosher/Mevushal certifications have been produced by the Samos Cooperative for the Jewish communities.
The presses (linoi) and the polylimnion
The winepresses in Samos were mainly family owned and built in the vineyards. These were "tanks" where the grapes were poured after the harvest. There they were pressed by family members and workers with bare feet, so that the must was collected in the "polymni" (the "hypoline"). The wort ran into the polymnium, which looked like a small well dug into the earth with a "porcelain" coating. Then the must was transported to the houses with the "skins".
Taverns
The "Tavernes" were large stone wine warehouses built in Kampos of Samos to serve the wine trade of the region. There the farmers sold their products to merchants and brokers during the years of the Turkish Hegemony of Samos. These are stone and massive buildings, mainly from the 19th century, with a height of about 6 meters and tiled roofs
Traditional "stafylodoxoi"
These are stone-built cisterns in which, in those years, UWCS collected the grapes of the island's grape growers, who transported them with animals to the grape harvesters' area. The grape tanks are elevated tanks, approximately 3 meters high, supported on stone beams with a straight surface where the grape production was unloaded.
Vineyard huts
The "huts" were simple rectangular (oblong or almost square) buildings, mostly one-story and one-room. They were usually extended with auxiliary buildings, for the storage of harvest and housing of the sub-weighers. According to the testimonies of the owners of those that are left, most Samian "huts" were built during the second half of the 19th century.
The current state of winemaking
The modern image of Samian winemaking is made up of UWC Samos and a significant number of small and medium-sized winemaking enterprises. Specifically, the Samian wine industry consists of 6 wineries, 1 visitable vineyard and 1 cooperative producing many different wine labels.
These wine companies control significant shares of the domestic bottled wine market and sell their products through wholesalers or direct sales to supermarkets and restaurants, covering the entire country through these extensive distribution networks.
Wine tourism
Wine tourism is a special form of tourism that concerns the provision of reception, guided tours, hospitality and catering services in areas functionally integrated with winemaking or wine-producing facilities, e.g. vineyards.
In Samos there are significant possibilities and opportunities for the development of wine tourism. We are constantly seeing vineyards being used and organized wineries being created with modern facilities which can also accommodate visitors.
Geographical indications and quality systems – PDO Samos
For Greece, the fact that some wines become famous and sought after based on their place of origin is a phenomenon that comes from ancient times. Greece has 33 Protected Designations of Origin (PDO) and more than 100 Protected Geographical Indications (PGI).
The wines of Samos, made from grapes of the "white muscat Samos" variety, have been Protected Designation of Origin PDO since 1970 with code SM.
The removal of compulsion and the Samian wine
The "removal of compulcion" of the Union of Wine-making Agricultural Cooperatives of Samos was imposed by Joint Ministerial Decision 902/51563/27-04-2016. This decision brought about changes both in the structure and in the operation of the ESS. With the lifting of the "Compulsion" and the change of the previous regime, the vinification and marketing of Samian wine was freed. As a result, many private state-of-the-art wineries were established in Samos, which highlighted the Samian vineyard in a unique way.
Mechanical equipment of winemaking
Both the wineries of Samos and the UWCS are equipped with all the necessary modern winemaking machines, which enable the implementation of the most modern and complex winemaking processes. However, the element that characterizes the wine-making enterprises of Samos is that they have succeeded in combining traditional techniques with modern wine-making processes and highlighting Sami wine in the most noble way.
The modern winemaking process
In summary, the various stages of modern winemaking are as follows:
Deboning: In the blasting plant, the cracks are separated from their stalks.
Grape Crushing: The breaking of grapes.
Addition of sulfur dioxide
Pressure: completes the juicing.
Must: is the grape juice obtained from fresh grapes.
Descaling: It is the process of clarifying the must.
Alcoholic fermentation: is a complex phenomenon with the main axis of development being the conversion of wort sugars into ethyl alcohol and carbon dioxide.
Yeasts: Yeasts, like other microorganisms, are found in the vineyard and are then transferred to the grape.
Fermentation temperature
Extraction: The process of "transferring" the red pigments of the grape skin to the must.
Malolactic fermentation: It takes place simultaneously with alcoholic fermentation by bacteria.
Decanting: is removing the clear wine and placing it in a clean container.
Aging: The aging of the wine can be done either in stainless steel tanks or in oak barrels.
Bottling: Bottling is a mechanical process. On modern bottling lines there is an automated bottle washer, a wine filling system, a corking machine, a labelling machine, and a bottle packing machine. The bottle, cork, label, and cap are an entire series of product that contribute to the final appearance, how the wine is “dressed”.
The stages for the production of wine in the traditional way
The 5 main stages for making wine the traditional way are listed below.
• Harvesting the grapes: The grapes are harvested at the right time and when the grapes are ripe.
• Pressing of grapes : Whole bunches of grapes are placed in a container or basin or special place and the pressing started by both men and women and children.
• Production of must: The aim of the above process is the production of must. Must is essentially the freshly pressed grape juice that contains the skins, seeds and solid parts of the grape.
• Alcoholic fermentation: The wort or juice can begin to ferment naturally within 6-12 hours when aided by wild yeasts in the air and when the proper temperature is reached.
• Storage – maturation – aging of the wine: When the alcoholic fermentation is complete, there are two options. Either the wine should be decanted into another container where it will also be stored or left in the same container. Aging is a process that will lead a wine to evolution, maturation, so that over time it is perfectly soft, elegant and friendly.
The wooden barrel
The wooden barrel is traditionally the most common storage method for wine.
A wooden barrel gives the wine the aromas and flavor characteristics of the wood from which it is made, a smoky character and allows oxygen to come into slow and controlled contact with the wine as it enters through the pores of the barrel.
It is understandable, therefore, that the type of wood from which the barrel is made, its burning and the size of its pores shape both the results of aging and its duration.
