Kamara Retsina, 2020

When the Kioutsoukis family migrated from East Romylia in the early 1900’s -a region at the Black Sea coast well known for its wine- to Greece, carried with them the embedded knowledge and the passion for the vineyard and the wine. Unfortunately, they could not fulfill their dream to build a winery in Greece until Dimitrios Kioutsoukis, the grandchild, did it in 2010. Dimitrios Kioutsoukis received his degree as a chemical engineer from the Polytechnic School of Thessaloniki and worked for several years in the medical field- in order to obtain the needed money to fulfill the dream of his life. The family inherited wine passion led him to take the UC Davis Oenology Extention program in order to go beyond embedded and tacit knowledge and obtain the explicit knowledge as well about winemaking. He planted with his family’s assistance about 11 hectars of vineyards in the slopes of Mygdonia in Northern Greece, near Thessaloniki, where vines were planted from ancient times, but vine cultivation was abandoned since 1900 due to phylloxera. In the self owned vineyard mainly greek grape varieties are planted (Assyrtiko, Malagousia, Roditis, Xinomavro). The low hillside along with the micro climate (a refreshing northern wind is present all year round), and the different types of soil -from clay sand to lighter with small stones and schists- gives exquisite wines with excellent ageing potentials. From the very beginning, the vineyards are exclusively treated with the long-standing traditions, some of which have almost been forgotten.Manual pruning- hoeing – harvesting, use of herb sprays,such as nettle, yarrow etc, natural fertilization with compost and manure- newly planted vines shaped in basket crowns. The basic rule is doing as few treatments as possible, trying not to subvert the natural equilibrium. Using modern wine-making equipment, only to monitor and support (if necessary) the natural chemistry of the wine-making cycle, Kamara winery produces wines with a unique character that express the terroir without lowering the quality standards. From 2015 Dimitrios, seeking the real taste of life that he learned from his grandfather, took a step forward to natural wine making in a large scale production. “Nature is the real winemaker, man is her assistant” therefore the wines are produced following the traditional way, manipulated gently and slowly in order not to shock or spoil the wine’s character: no added yeasts, few or no rackings at all, wine matured on fine lees, light or no filtration, well-integrated wood,using only old barrels etc. The main goal is authentic vibrant wines in small productions, with the fewest possible interventions ,that express the terroir and the philosophy of the winemaker with a broad spectrum of flavors and a complex aromatic profile that evolves and changes constantly.