The main goal to our visit to Chromitsa was a winetasting at the Tsantali winery.

Mr Christos Bitsios, the Tsantali manager who kindly showed us around and explained us everything about the history of the Tsantali company and the Chromitsa vineyards, started the tour with coffee and glass of tsipourou.

The view from Chromitsa: Ouranopolis

          The grapes and vines of Chromitsa: different varieties are kept, not only traditional Greek ones, but also of French origin.

These “vieilles vignes” are the vines that create the iconic wine “Kormilitsa” (‘nurse’), the housewine of the Kremlin

The building were the Chromitsa wine is kept and where the winetasting takes place (building A – for a plan look here).

The view from building A: the vineyard with a small chapel in its middle

Inside building A

The wine is kept in French oak tanks and barrels. The wine is not produced at the Chromitsa vinerery but at the Agios Pavlos head office of Tsantali in Nea Kalikratia Halkidiki. Presumeably they bring the barrels back to Chromitsa, to let their better wines – like the Avaton – age at the place of harvesting (?).

the Tsantali top wine: Abaton

Christos Bitsios and your webmaster

In a short while I will give you the results of the Dutch jury, who tasted different Athos wines, like the Tsantali Abaton and Kormelitsa, the Mylopotamos and the Monoxylites wines.

Wim, 20/5