Vintage 2021

As we are nearing the end of an intense harvest period, we would like to share with you some of the main take-aways of this year’s season. Each year is marked by new developments and unexpected events. As last year we were under the dark shadow of Covid, we can rightly say that this year’s season was more bright and positive. We saw the return of our yearly stagaires, this year from France and Italy, and overal our team was in higher spirits and dedicated to a ‘big’ vintage!

The major event that shaped this season was the extreme heatwave late July/early August in South-East Europe. It started of the harvest with a bang and resulted in a big effort by everyone to harvest our Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc grapes in time. The heat unfortunately did have an impact on the grapes and as a result we have not harvested all the vineyards of these two varieties. However, we did process enough grapes, and with good winemaking practices and blending, we are confident we can produce the Zambartas Semillon-Sauv Blanc that you know!

The impact of the heat on the rest of the grapes was lesser, as they were not yet mature during the heatwave and the main consequence was the time of harvest. It required flexibilty and long days from the team, as a lot of vineyards not only ripened early, but also simultaneously. Overal our vineyards looked very healthy this year and we are glad to see our organic vineyards not being affected by any disease or funghi. A confirmation for us that we are on the right track with our viticulture practises of close monitoring  and early detection.

The Maratheftiko vineyards yielded very good grapes this year and the typical millerandage was limited. Our viticulturalist Christodoulos has been working hard the past years to access the causes and every year we start to understand the vines and the different growing techniques better. It promises to be a good vintage for Maratheftiko 2021!

With the last tons of Xynisteri and Maratheftiko to be harvested this week, we are nearing the finish. We look forward to turning the grapes into the best possible wine and continue the cellar work throughout autumn.

From the winemaking team, we wish you a happy autumn!