How an American Businessman Ended Up in Amyntaio Making Wine

How and why an American businessman with no household ties to Greece discovered himself within the uplands of Amyntaio producing wines was intriguing to me. So, one sunny spring day I met with David Wittig on the shores of Lake Zazaris – which along with Lake Cheimaditida and Lake Petron kinds the gorgeous lake area of Amyntaio – to strive wines and stroll alongside the paths that introduced a person of the company world to Greece to provide a number of the space’s most delectable wines.

With the intention to hint the origins of Noema Vineyard, we’ve to return a dozen years, to New York and to Father Alexandros Karloutsos, a outstanding determine of Greek Orthodoxy and Hellenism on the opposite aspect of the Atlantic Ocean and an individual thought-about by many to be an important Greek priest on the earth! Father Alex inspired his good buddy David Wittig to go to Greece, and it was throughout a household trip there that Wittig was approached by the agency Euroconsultants with an fascinating funding alternative. “In 2014, Greece was the black sheep of the worldwide monetary sector. It was thought-about by practically everybody because the worst place to put money into. However I by no means comply with the herd and I believed to myself, ‘Why not?’”, Wittig stated.

So, the ever-bold businessman discovered himself with one foot in Athens. At this level, nonetheless, he wasn’t considering of winemaking as an possibility – he was himself solely accustomed to Assyrtiko wine from Santorini. The true credit score for his eventual foray into the wine enterprise ought to go to his son Davis, who initiated his father into the native varieties and satisfied him that there was a marketplace for Greek wines within the US.

Father and son based their Amyntaio vineyard collectively. “At first, I used to be fairly skeptical”, David Wittig informed me, “However now I’m very enthusiastic. My son returned to the US for the Christmas holidays after being away for a yr. He fell in love, obtained married – immediately, he’s the CFO of Company Banking at Wells Fargo – and I all of the sudden discovered myself in sole cost of the vineyard. I’m nonetheless Euroconsultants’ largest overseas investor and marketing consultant, however I discover myself changing into an increasing number of engrossed in winemaking. I’ve been part of many corporations in my profession, however winemaking is one thing completely different! The spirit of cooperation between producers doesn’t exist in every other sector, and I consider it’s this spirit that contributes to the worldwide success of Greek wines.”

Why Amyntaio?

I questioned why, of all of Greece’s wine areas, Wittig selected Amyntaio. “Father Alex performed a task on this determination, too”, he informed me. “He launched me to Periklis Drakos, a former director of exports on the Tsantalis wine firm, whom I satisfied to hitch us from the start. Periklis believes that Amyntaio can be Greece’s subsequent massive wine area, and he’s proper. We’ve a cool, continental local weather with 1,600 GDD, or Rising Diploma Days, a sophisticated calculation primarily based on temperatures that estimates the expansion and growth of crops through the rising season, and comparatively excessive elevations as much as 750 meters. This ends in the manufacturing of a lighter Xinomavro grape. The wines which are produced on this distinctive microclimate are the alter ego to Naoussa’s wines. [Editor’s note: Naoussa is the other wine area famed for Xinomavro production.] Amyntaio Xinomavro wines stand out as a result of they mix the dynamism of the range’s construction with finesse and a robust fragrant expression.”

The longer term lies in cooperation

Noema focuses on the manufacturing of Xinomavro wines: purple, rosé, and the extra delectable blanc de noir which I’ve personally tried. “Greek varieties are what make Greek wines”, Wittig stated. “Worldwide customers are in search of authenticity. I don’t see why we have to attempt to persuade them to strive a Greek Chardonnay. These of us who’re lucky sufficient to reside right here know in regards to the distinctive high quality of our native varieties. However it’s a problem to persuade the remainder of the world of it. Whatever the problem, I’m optimistic. I consider that the continual improve in Greece’s tourism, via which an increasing number of individuals are discovering the attract of Greek wine, will assist.”

The staff at Noema have very fascinating concepts concerning exports. “Our worldwide markets are rising, primarily in areas the place there’s a robust Greek presence,” Wittig stated. “However we’ve to look past Greece’s diaspora. We’ve to promote to everybody. We’ve to strengthen the Greek wine class in retailers everywhere in the world, with good wines at aggressive costs. We’re engaged on a enterprise enterprise that we name Wine Cellars. Small wineries, with high quality wines, that wish to export their merchandise overseas will over time make up the engaging export portfolio that we wish to create. I consider that our grape selection and the distinctive nature of the area, along with the dedication and the compelling tales of the native winemakers, are all aggressive benefits that may sway worldwide customers.”

Our dialogue, which started on the lake, concluded at Aeroino, a phenomenal wine bar in Florina run by the oenophile Giannis Soubasis. Sitting within the bar’s cool courtyard, having fun with a drink with the vineyard’s Kyriaki Panagiotou and Periklis Drakos, I requested Wittig if, given the selection, he would do it over again concerning the vineyard. “With no second thought!” he replied directly. “I’d undoubtedly do it once more. In fact, I’ve made plenty of errors alongside the way in which however, if you wish to succeed, it’s a must to be prepared to study.”

Noema Vineyard produces three wines from Xinomavro grapes: Invicta: a purple, fragrant wine with a velvety texture that leaves an intense freshness on the palate and a long-lasting aftertaste; Eruption: an explosively fragrant rosé wine that’s balanced, advanced and engaging to the palate; and Blanc de noir Xinomavro, a sublime and delectable white wine (produced from purple grapes) that is stuffed with the attribute aromas of the Xinomavro grape.