HARLAFTIS ESTATE: QUALITY WINES SINCE 1935
At the turn of the century, one of the best-known dry raisin merchants of Greece was Nikos Athanassiadis. Although he traveled and his commercial interests were wide, his passion was grape growing which he practiced on his huge sultana - growing estate in Crete. In 1932, Nikos Athanassiadis decided to create a new estate near Athens. He was drawn to the northern slopes of mount Pendeli, a region known from ancient time as a vine growing area. The area was cultivated for the first time as a gift from Dionysos to the local King Ikarius. |
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There, at the outskirts of the village of Stamata, Nikos Athanassiadis byued a large plot of land and planted it with vines. A few years later he built a winery and started to bottle and sell his wines to the hotels of Athens. It was an avant-guard move and the beginning of a splendid career for the Athanassiadis Winery, which soon became the rage of the Greek capital. In the late 50’s, after the founders death, his daughter Adda took over the estate and gave it a new direction by planting noble grape varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay and Assyrtiko. |
| The estate’s aspect changed completely as the vines were now planted in rows and trellised, while the old buildings were renovated. The winery’s cellars were extended and lined with fine fresh oak barrels; upstairs new stainless steel tanks were installed along the modern wine presses and bottling lines. In this enterprise, Anastasia had the full support of her husband Diogenis Harlaftis, who although a full-time fighter pilot found the time to devote himself to the estate. |
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| The result of all this effort is that the Harlaftis estate is considered today to be one of the most respected Greek Wineries. The family-run business is now ready to be passed-over into the hands of the third generation of winegrowers. Emily and Nikos Harlaftis are both committed to producing the same high quality wines. Wines which will continue to charm Athenians today as they have for the past 60 years. | |
