Chatzivaritis Estate was a hobby turned dedication for
Vagelis Chatzivaritis – dedication to the
creation of very unique and widely undiscovered Greek wine.
Vagelis' wife, Olga Iakovidou, comes from Goumenissa, a place with a long tradition in winemaking. With her influence and being a wine-lover himself, Vagelis began making his own wine as a time-out from his demanding career as a mechanical engineer to enjoy with the company of his good friends and close relatives.
In 1994, he planted the first 5 hectares of vineyard in the Bindabla area. He chose to farm the vineyard organically to emphasise the quality of the grapes, soil fertility and environmental protection. The vineyard expanded over time with the gradual planting of parcels in the area of Filyria. The climate in the region is continental with plenty of rainfall in winter and hot, dry summer with cool nights.
In 2007, a wonderful “boutique” winery was built in the parcel of Filyria. The production started with the well-known PDO Goumenissa wine, which quickly developed into an emblematic wine for the region and was distinguished for its elegance. Over the next 10 years, the range of wines grew, and the winery began to produce other red, white, and rosé wines.
In 2017, the daughter of Vangelis and Olga – Chloi – decided to return to Greece after studying oenology in France and Portugal and having worked in various wineries in France, New Zealand, Argentina, and Chile. When she returned, she brought her passion and experience for low intervention wines and immediately started making a new range of wines without interventions and experimenting with new wine making techniques, such as petnat (pétillant naturel) and carbonic maceration.
Today the estate vineyard consists of 20 hectares, focusing on the Greek varieties of Xinomavro, Negoska, Roditis, Malagousia, Muscat and Assyrtico. It also cultivates the popular Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot, Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon in smaller surfaces.
