“Evolving the tradition of Assyrtiko”
Canava Chrissou – Tselepos
– Santorini –
The new winery Canava Chrissou – Tselepos is located in Santorini and is the child of the cooperation between Yannis Tselepos, owner of the homonymous estate in Arcadia and the Chrissou family from Santorini.
The driving force behind this venture was Yiannis Tselepos’ endless search for new challenges regarding his wine-making activity and the vision of the Chrissou family to revive the old Canava and utilize its privately owned vineyards, 12 hectares, in Pyrgos, Emporio and Megalohori.
After the vintage of 2013, efforts have been made to revive the perennial vineyard with traditional methods that continue up to today. These efforts focus on achieving a viable state of the vineyard by restoring the yields at 3 – 3.5 tons per hectare. The ultimate goal is to optimize the quality of the fruit produced, since the project aims at delivering high-quality and high-value wines, which Santorini’s particular conditions and potential favor.
We want to convince the market, both domestic and international, that Santorini’s wines rightfully deserve to be included in the category of super-premium wines. This is helped by the fact that the company is particularly extrovert, with its export activity reaching up to 80% of the total production, mainly in the markets of Northern America (USA, Canada) and China.
The Assyrtiko variety
Assyrtiko, one of the renowned varieties in Greece, finds its supreme expression in Santorini, the most historic vineyard of Greece and one of the most ancient in the world which extends in 1.200 hectares.
Due to its volcanic soil, Santorini has never been affected by phylloxera, thus preserving its vineyard own-rooted, a fact that along with its particular microclimate, and the island’s viticultural and oenological tradition, creates a unique “terroir”, responsible for the highest quality wines produced on the island.
These wines are characterized by high acidity and high concentration of flavor, while at the same time stand out for their “mineral” character and can be aged for a long time in the bottle, giving wines of great complexity.