Domaine Gerovasilou

Domaine Gerovasiliou is a family business that was founded in 1981 at the family vineyard located in Epanomi. Vasiliki Gerovasiliou who toured us around the estate, is the second generation running the business. Her grandfather had some acres of land but it was her father, Vangelis Gerovasiliou, who decided to renovate the vineyard and start the business from scratch.

◤

About Gerovasiliou

Vangelis Gerovasiliou studied at the Aristotle University School of Agriculture. He wanted to become a professional football player; he had an accident, though, which led him to travel abroad, specifically to Bordeaux, where he ended up studying Oenology at the University of Bordeaux. When he finally returned to Greece, he worked at Porto Carras, a very famous hotel and winery, for 15 years. He worked on his vineyards as a hobby then.

◤

The vineyard

​

The vineyard is about 800 acres; to be able to get from one side to the other you have

to walk an hour and a half. The business uses only their grapes which are produced in

a windy area (this helps drop the temperature which favors the grapes). The vineyard

uses sustainable cultivation, not organic farming because one of the varieties of

grapes they grow called “Malagousia” is prone to diseases. When the weather is very

hot, the vineyard is affected negatively because the grapes burn and stop growing.

That is why agriculturalists let lots of leaves grow on top of the grapes.

◤

The production process

​

Vasiliki’s father and brother are both oenologists and agriculturalists, plus in their

team they have another 2 oenologists and 3 agriculturalists. They are very careful and

precise when watering the vineyard using a technique called drip curing. Vangelis

Gerovasiliou has said: “You can’t have a winery if you haven’t solved your water

problem.” They do not water too much, otherwise the quality of the wine declines,

since the concentration of scents decreases if you water more than required. Due to

the anticipation of droughts, they have installed an irrigation system, which is

normally not utilized. An experimental robot of a University collects samples and

sends data about the weather to a phone. During the harvest period there are 25 people

working in the field. The harvest is done by hand because the machines damage the

vineyard. There are two teams working, one cuts the grapes and the other collects

them. The grape harvest lasts about a month.

◤

Wine Production

Domain Gerovasiliou produces around 800.000 bottles a year. The production area is large and they have provided for more space in case more tanks are needed. There are three kinds of wine fermenters: stainless steel tanks, wooden tanks and this year they will experiment on clay pots.

◤

There is a museum at the estate with different kinds of vessels, utensils and bottles, the biggest being a 32L one. There are also works of art at the museum, a collection of viticulture and vinification tools and a huge corkscrew collection consisting of 2,600 items, which Vangelis Gerovasiliou himself started collecting in the late 80s. In the two underground maturing-aging areas there are 500 - 800 barrels: the oldest wine there has been stored since 1986. Each barrel is used 3 times. “Malagousia” matures in the barrel for 2 to 3 years, Gerovasiliou “White” takes 4 to 7 months and “Red” over a year. Wine does not expire, however, its quality may decline.

◤

Ecological Solutions

• For Domain Gerovasiliou water quality is of utmost importance. They reuse water via technologically advanced facilities.
• They have installed solar panels to meet the needs of the whole estate. If the energy generated is more than they need, they sell it to ΔΕΗ ( DEI- the leading electricity and supply company in Greece) There are four buildings: two warehouses, the winery and the reception building.
• There is a botanic garden with certain plant species used in order to deter birds and bees.

◤

• The sustainable design of the building allows for low temperatures for the cooling of the wine, which saves energy. Every year they measure their carbon footprint and they set doable goals.

​

• They try to use thinner glass for their wine bottles. However, due to its low demand, thin glass is costly, making it less beneficial for the company.

​

• Wine labelling has a huge environmental impact, but eco-friendly solutions are more expensive.

​

• Finally, as for the wood used for the construction of their barrels, it is their policy that each tree felled should be replaced by two new ones.

◤