Tsipouro of Tyrnavos

If it is wine, product of the magical fermentation of grape juice, is the gift of Dionysus to humanity, the raki and Ouzo is a result of the culture of poverty and ingenuity of ordinary people. Thanks to the concern of the people to utilize the remnants of the wine production, but also to the constant effort of the most enlightened of them to deal with alchemy, the process of "dissolution and recomposition", the distillation was created, and from there the discovery of favorite drink of the Greek.

Tradition says that in Greece the tsipouro began to be made by monks on Mount Athos. From Byzantium onwards, the monks of Mount Athos and Meteora knew how to make tsipouro and drink it. They took care to keep the alchemy of distillation and to give us generously the art of tsipouro.

Over the years it spread to various regions of Greece, mainly in Macedonia, Epirus, Thessaly and Crete. Until the last decades of the 20th century, the production of tsipouro was done exclusively "at home", that is, there was no mass production. In recent years, however, due to the many problems that stem from the non-control of the quality of bulk tsipouro, but also from the standards of the European Union, tsipouro is bottled. Champion in bottled tsipouro is Tyrnavos. With the enactment of a law from 1988 for the production of bottled marc spirit, the production and distribution of tsipouro throughout Greece in standard units is allowed only with a special permit.

The Tyrnavos tsipouro has been registered as a PGI product since 1989, while Tyrnavos is the only city that was registered as a PGI - while regions are usually registered - due to the long tradition of Tsipouro production in the region. Pursuant to Reg. 1576/89 the only obligation that exists is for the production and bottling unit to be in the area of ​​Tyrnavos.

Recent years The EU is strengthening in detail the technical dossiers of all EU PGIs. area of ​​Tyrnavos and in fact 50% of it to be Moschato. These changes have not yet been registered and are being negotiated with the EU.

In Tyrnavos the most important family distilleries with a long history and dynamic presence is of Katsaros, Kardasis, his Vasdavanou, Vryssas, Agrafiotis, Papras, Kavaratzis, Milias, but also the Agricultural Wine Cooperative of Tyrnavos.