Hatziemmanouil Winery

For more than 80 years the Hatziemanouil family has been involved with viticulture and winemaking.

En 1929, Grandpa Nikos, a refugee from Smyrna, began to produce his first wines in a small winepress at Marmaroto on the south side of Kos island, buying grapes from growers. He soon became known for the quality of his sweet wines, which he made using a traditional, almost primitive technique, with 'psima'. "With a lie".

Although grape cultivation and wine production on the island have been gradually abandoned in favor of activities in the tourism sector, Nikos' son, Kostas, did not balk at taking over the family business many years later. By 2000 it was the turn of the third generation to run the company and this time make enormous changes.

Vasilis traveled to Santorini and was impressed by the way in which the island was promoting its wines. He left his work in tourism and dedicated himself to wine. With the help of his father, he planted new vineyards of Greek and international varieties, while building a new winery in the Asfendiou district, on the island's main road. The old cement tanks and the cauldron for the psima were replaced by stainless steel tanks and oak barrels.

By the end of the '00s, he had also created a showroom - run by his wife Joanna - and thus the winery became visitable for individuals and groups. Of his three children, Konstantinos is studying oenology and will be representing the fourth generation to join the business.

The winery's vineyards are located at Asfendiou, at an altitude of 105 m above sea level, and cover a total of 60,000 sqm. They are dedicated to both domestic and international grapes, particularly Malagouzia and Assyrtiko and Cabernet Sauvignon, Grenache Rouge and Syrah. Annual average production comes to about 40,000 bottles of wine.