Monemvasia Winery Tsimbidi, Monemvasia White Dry, Laconia (3-bottle case)

The Monemvasia Winery Tsimbidi was founded in 1997 with a clear objective: to revive the production of Malvasia wine in its birth place. The Frankish name for Monemvasia is Malvasia, which originally lent its name to the wine. In the 12th century and for the subsequent 300 years, this wine ruled the European world. It is still produced in many countries, but until recently was not being produced in the country of its origin Greece. The Monemvasia Winery created the first privately owned 121 hectares of vineyard, planted with local varieties. It is committed to producing quality wines which showcase the characteristics of the indigenous varieties and the terroir of the peninsula of Maleas.

The Monemvasia vineyard is situated just six miles from the sea at an altitude of 250 to 300 metres above sea-level. The terrain here is rugged, the vines are grown on a sloped terrain, in medium-textured schist and clay-loam soils with poor organic matter. The area benefits from high levels of sunshine, the Mediterranean climate delivers hot, dry summers and mild winters. The extremely dry summers, often cause drought conditions from March to October, but the ‘Meltemia’ winds – cooling breezes from the north-east enable the vines to endure the heat waves of August. The combination of poor soils and hot climate, encourage the vine’s roots to penetrate deep into the soils, where they are nourished by minerals and soil water and in turn produce wines with complexity. The vines are grown following organic principles, with minimal intervention. The vines are linearly arranged, in rows, to achieve greater aeration and the yields are kept exceptionally low. Cultivation, including harvest, takes place by hand.

The grapes were sorted and the juice was extracted and fermented with selected yeasts in temperature controlled stainless steel tanks of up to 18°C. The wine as matured for six months on its lees, with periodic stirring to imbue the wine with added texture.