From the foothills of Mount Agrafa in Thessaly, Andreas Kontozisis and his partner Aphrodite Tousia farm a patchwork of small plots and make natural wines from indigenous Greek grapes. The estate is a quiet pioneer, certified organic since long before it was fashionable.
Backstory
Kontozisis has practiced certified organic agriculture and organic vinification since 1991, among the first in Greece to do so. Andreas, together with his family, built the estate by planting, reviving and rediscovering more than a hundred small parcels, many of them abandoned, betting on the potential of the little-appreciated Limniona.
The Region
The vineyards lie around Kanalia and Dafnospilia near Karditsa, in two distinct terroirs on the slopes of the Agrafa mountains. This is a cool, mountainous corner of central Greece, far from the better-known islands and coast.
Vineyards and Farming
The estate-owned vineyards total around 11 hectares, farmed organically and biodynamically and worked by hand. Yields are deliberately low, near 28 hectoliters per hectare. The standout grape is Limniona, a rare ancient red native to Thessaly, alongside whites such as Malagousia.
Winemaking
All fruit is hand harvested. Kontozisis uses no commercial yeasts and no press, working only with free-run juice. Over the years the family has developed proprietary vineyard techniques to draw concentration from Limniona's large berries.
The Wines
The Kontozisis range includes the A-Grafo Limniona ancestral rose and still red and white wines that have earned recognition for their finesse and aging potential.
