Estate Manolesakis

The village of Adriani in PGI Drama is home to a whole string of internationally significant wineries, including Domaine Costa Lazaridi, which we reported on recently.

Estate Manolesakis, by contrast, is a medium-sized family business with 7 permanent employees, on a property that nonetheless covers a considerable 1500m2.

The Manolesakis family has been growing French varieties (Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah) since 1989. Son Stavros has since followed in the footsteps of his father, George.

The first bottling came in 1999. Since the early 2000s, growing autochthonous varieties has also become central (Malagousia, Assyrtiko, Muscat d'Alexandrie, Limnio, Moschomavro and Agiorgitiko). On top of that comes the notoriously difficult-to-grow-in-Greece Pinot Noir. On our website, we've tasted the red entry-level wine – Gennima Psihis Red (in German) – and the cuvée of Agiorgitiko and Pinot Noir, named after his wife – Pelagia (in German) – (tasting notes behind the links).

The winery can be visited outside pandemic times. Online, you can find out more via the website or follow the estate on Facebook and Instagram. Note: some information still circulates under the winery's older name – Gennima Psihis – which is now reserved for the entry-level range. Well worth watching, for instance, is this video with Yiannis Karakasis.

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Tasting note on the Gennima Psihis Red 2018: here (in German).

Tasting note on the Pelagia 2017: here (in German).