Vaimaki Famlily

Vaimaki Famlily

GRAPE WRANGLER/S:
Vasilis Vaimakis
LOCATED IN:
Koutselio, Ioannina, Epirus
HOW HIGH:
Amyntaio 650m / Zitsa 600-700m / Lemnos 50-300m
TERROIR TYPE:
Amyntaio, sandy clay with a limestone substrate / Zitsa, limestone and stony / Lemnos, volcanic ash, tuff and volcanic rocks
GRAPES GROWN:
xinomavro, muscat of alexandria, debina
PRACTICE IS:
organic / biodynamic / low-intervention

In 2009, Vasilis Vaimakis, launched Mater Natura, a series of numbered, one-off wines made without the use of cultured yeast and with no added sulphites.  The wines reflect his belief (and his studies, having completed a PhD on white wine oxidation and leading the cooperatives of Zitsa in Epirus and Amyndeo in Macedonia) that oxidation and temperature, not additives, are the winemaker’s real tools. He prizes turbidity, convinced that suspended proteins add flavour and texture and that the winemakers influence should be guiding but minimal.

Vasilis was among the first Greek oenologists to make natural wine and remains one of its most revered godfathers.   Each Mater Natura release is a single vinification that is never repeated, so every bottle records one vineyard, one vintage and one set of decisions.

Muscat from Samos, Debina from Zitsa and more prominently Xinomavro from Amyndeo make up the range of unique bottlings that are always on limited release.

visit the Vaimaki Family here

THEIR WINES