Domaine Zafeirakis, Tirnavos

Christos Zafeirakis’ family have lived in Tirnavos, by the foothills of Mount Olympus in Central Greece for numerous generations. Over 100 years.  Looking north from the winery, the foothills of Mount Olympus rise up quickly. In fact ‘Propodes’ (Greek for ‘foothills’)  is the name of his very good Chardonnay. It’s a dry region, but cooled by the breezes blowing down from the mountain. There is a high clay content to the soil mixed with flint and gravel.  Christos farms organically here 14 hectares of vineyards. He is on the way towards fully biodynamic viticulture. He trained in Italy , in Piedmont and Tuscany, before returning to take over the family estate.

He bottled his first wines in 2005, and established the new winery in 2012. In 2018 he redeveloped and increased size. is best-known in Greece for his work resurrecting a wonderful grape variety; Limniona, and it is interest in this which first led us to visit him. It’s a grape variety that produces quite gently textured reds. There’s none of the bite and twang of Xinomavro, but rather a medium-bodied, herbal, almost pinot-esque quality.