KTIMA KALOGEROPOULOS
Some History
The Kalogeropoulos family has been involved in viticulture and wine production since the 1980s. At that time, the family cultivated the privately owned vineyards, traded the grapes and vinified a portion of them in the traditional wine press they owned in Zevgolatio of Arcadia.
As the years passed by, the interest in viticulture and wine production grew bigger and bigger. In 2002, the younger members of the family make the big decision for the next step: the creation of a place that will house their love of viticulture and their knowledge of fine wine production. Thus, a winery is created among the vineyards of Mantinia, located in Zevgolatio and at an altitude of 650m.
The ultimate goal: On the one hand, the creation of a complex of facilities that as a whole will constitute a place for the creation of quality wines, and on the other, for getting to know the world of vines and wine by welcoming visitors and hosting events.
KTIMA KALOGEROPOULOS
The Winery
The first foundations for the creation of the winery were laid in 2002. The founder, Petros Kalogeropoulos, being a second generation winegrower and taking advantage of the existing family-owned vineyard of 2 hectares located in the heart of the vineyards of Mantinia, builds a winemaking complex that today amounts to an area of 2,900 m2.
The initial objective is the creation of a wine production unit, among the family vineyards, which will be characterized by the most suitable conditions to ensure quality at all stages of wine production, bottling and maturation. For this reason, the production process followed in the winery is in accordance with the international quality assurance standards ISO 9001:2008 and ISO 22000:2005.
The winery consists of several distinct areas:
- The production area of the winery includes the necessary modern equipment for the reception of the grapes during the harvest period and to ensure the quality of the produced wine. Among other things, it consists of pneumatic presses, stainless steel refrigerated vats, oak barrels, stabilization vats and a bottling system.
- The bottling area consists of a modern bottling line where the packaging and labeling of the bottled wines takes place. Afterwards, the bottles are taken to ideal storage areas where they are placed until they are released on the market.
- The Analysis Laboratory is an integral part of the winery, where all the necessary checks are carried out on the vines and wines of the winery.
Later on, the winery will be ready to welcome visitors, as the appropriate visiting area is under construction right now. There, visitors will be able to taste the wines of the winery, learn about their production process and the characteristics of the region and climate that gives them this special character.
KTIMA KALOGEROPOULOS
The Vineyards
The family’s initial involvement with the wine making came as a result of the cultivation of the Moschofilero vineyards they owned in Zevgolatio of Arcadia, within the PDO MANTINIA zone and at an altitude of 650m. There, this specific variety finds the right soil and climate conditions to unfold its complex character.
The climate of Mantinia region, where the vineyards are located, is characterized as continental, one of the coldest in Greece, with a lot of rainfall and snowfall during the winter season and mildly cool summers. During the summer season and the ripening of the grapes, there are temperature fluctuations with hot days and cool nights. Thus, the gradual ripening of the grapes is favored, with full development of the aromatic potential and preservation of the natural acidity of the Moschofilero grape.
The dominant variety of the Estate’s privately owned vineyards could be no other than Moschofilero. This fact, however, does not exclude new plantings of other varieties, Greek or foreign, which find suitable growing conditions in our region: the Chardonnay variety is already been cultivated for years, while the Merlot, Traminer and Kolliniatiko –an old variety of Mantinia region with special characteristics- varieties have recently been added to the portfolio of the winery.
All the vineyards of the Estate follow organic farming standards and the wines produced are certified by the Organization for Control and Certification of Organic Products “DIO”.
In addition to the privately owned vineyards, the winery has long-standing stable collaborations with grape producers both in the wider Mantinia area and with neighboring regions: Agiorgitiko is originated from Nemea, a versatile red variety that is vinified, matured and aged in our winery.
