Paterianakis

Georgios Paterianakis left a career in civil engineering to return to his family's land in the Peza hills south of Heraklion, and in 1997 he made the first certified organic wine on Crete, an island with four thousand years of wine culture behind it. The vineyard is older than the label: the family farmed it organically from 1980, long before there was a certificate to prove it, and Georgios assembled today's sixteen hectares in 1988. The cellar he designed was the first gravity-flow winery in Greece, cut into the hillside on six levels, letting the rock insulate as fruit moves down gently. His daughters run it now, Emmanouela and Niki, the fourth generation, who took over in 2012 and added the 3.14 range of unsulfured wines six years later. The wines lead with the island's own grapes, Vidiano, Kotsifali, Mandilari, Moschato Spinas, grown on limestone and clay at 500 meters, some of the fruit drawn from trusted neighbors who farm the same way.

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Producer:	Paterianakis
Diversity:	Female Winemaker
Country:	Greece
Region:	Crete
Subregion:	Melesses
City of Origin:	Heraklion
Date Founded:	1996
Owner Name:	G. Paterianakis SA
Vineyard Size:	16 HA
Total Annual Production:	100,000 bottles

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Property History:

Everything started before 50 years where Manolis Paterianakis inherited the vineyards from his father in law, located at a fantastic semi-mountainous area of an approximate altitude of 650m, and went through organic cultivation in a period that it was almost unknown for the local society. Georgios Paterianakis, the son of Manolis, literally grown up in the vineyards of his family and he adopted in a very early age the principles of making pure and natural wines. Being a great and succeeded civil engineer he waffled back and forth of returning at his father land while at the early 90s he decided to quit a very successful career and to follow his family vision. After numerous wine trips, seminars and endless studying he managed to construct the Domaine’s winery in 1997 where the fist bottle of wine was produced. Carrying a perennial experience in civil engineering he designed a model gravity flow winery in different levels with the use of natural materials of the local environment being the first Cretan Winery with a holistic approach in winemaking and the first organic wines. Subsequently, he planted indigenous grape varieties like Vidiano and Moschato Spinas together with some famous French ones like Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot, Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon. At the same time, he maintained the vineyards of his father of the famous Kotsifali, Mandilari and Thrapsathiri. In 2008 he enriched Domaine facilities with a superior Wine Tasting Hall while in 2010 four traditional luxurious suites are build in order to facilitate friends and partners during their visits. In 2010 the third generation, Emmanouela and Nicky took over the management starting a new era for the Domaine Paterianakis. New labels, such Moschato Spinas and Assyrtiko have been launched, organic vinification and biodynamic cultivation have already been adopted and been implemented, constant presence at international fairs has been established, new markets such as Germany, France, Belgium and USA have been approached and wine tourism has been worked a lot the latest years making the winery one of the distinctive in the Peza viticulturist region. The Decanter awards, which Domain wins constantly the latest years, prove this growth.

Owner History:

Emmanouela and Nicky are the soul of Domaine Paterianakis. They both running the business with the love and the passion they inherited from their traditional viticulturist family. Emmanouela is the main enologist of the Domaine since 2007 and the winery manager. She holds a degree from University of Athens and actually the department of Oenology and Drinking Technology. She has also worked as an enologist consultant in major Greek wineries at the beginning of her career while she is specialized in wine tasting being certified by the official W.S.E.T. Being an enthusiast personality she never stops exploring for new tastes. Nicky, is a chemical engineer having graduated from the famous National Technical University of Athens and apart of being the chemical consultant of the winery, since 2009 she leads all the promotion and sales for Greek market.