A-Grafo Assyrtiko

Assyrtiko A-Grafo - Kontozisis Organic Vineyards - Karditsa, Greece - Natural wine - USDA Organic - No Sulfites

A-Grafo Assyrtiko is showing the natural expression of mainland Assyrtiko, through a spontaneous fermentation of whole clusters, and no addition of sulfites.

  • Grower: Kontozisis Organic Vineyards
  • Vintage: 2021
  • Type: White Dry Wine
  • Grapes: Assyrtiko 100%
  • Appellation: PGI Karditsa
  • Alcohol: 14%
  • Bottle: 750ml
  • Viticulture: Certified Organic
  • Vinification: 35-day all skin contact, spontaneous fermentation with indegenous yeast for 25 days and ageing in concrete tank for 6 months.
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Viticulture

  • Certified Organic
  • Climate: Warm Mediterranean
  • Soil: Calcareous sand
  • Vine age: Planted in 2003
  • Altitude: 300m
  • Slope: 10%
  • Planting density: 1.2m x 2m
  • Yield: 1.5kg / plant
  • Irrigation: When required
  • Spraying: When required
  • Harvesting: Manually

Vinification

  • Maceration: 35-day all skin contact (30% carbonic maceration)
  • Pressing: None
  • Temperature control: When required
  • Fermentation: Spontaneous fermentation with indeigenous yeast in concrete tanks for 25 days
  • Malolactic: Naturally completed
  • Maturation: 6 months in concrete tank
  • Clarification: None
  • Filtration: None
  • Production: 2,000 lt
  • Alcohol: 14%
  • Acidity: 5.60 gr/l
  • RS: 2.10 gr/l
  • Total sulfites: 10 mg/l
  • Certification: USDA Organic Wine, No Added Sulfites
  • Bottle: 750ml

Kontozisis has been practicing certified organic agriculture and organic vinification since 1991, one of the first to get such a certification in Greece. His long term commitment to organic practices shows his honest approach to sustainability. Andreas Kontozisis and his partner Aphrodite Tousia are working passionately with the area’s indigenous red grape, Limniona, among others, for which they have developed proprietary vineyard techniques to get as much concentration as possible from the variety’s large grapes. All grapes are hand harvested and pruned from the low-yield (28 hectoliters / ha) estate-owned vineyards of 11 ha. Kontozisis uses no press (only free run wines) and no commercial yeasts.

Karditsa is a rural town in Thessaly, in the center of Greece. It is the bicycle capital of Greece, with many bicycle roads and many residents using them as their main transportation mean.

Its terroir is largely defined by the nearby Agrafa mountains, and the artificial Plastira lake. It is also in close proximity to the impressive Meteora rocks, which host the second most important cluster of monasteries in Greece.