Gavalas Winery
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Identity:
Gavalas winery, in Megalochori, Santorini, is a family tradition. The family has been engaged in the vinification of the varieties grown in Santorini since the end of the 19th century.
Gavalas Winery, one of the oldes "canavas" of the island, lies in the traditional village of Megalochori.
The Gavalas Winery is one of the first winery units to ever operate in the PDO Santorini zone.
Now spans a 18 acre vineyard planted with Santorini PDO native varieties Assyrtiko, Athiri, Aidani and several rare local Katsano, Gaidouria, Mavrotragano, Voudomato.
The winery is equipped with modern machinery and a capacity of 150 tons.
Our wines are available in the U.S.
We also participate in EU programs for the promotion of Greek wines.
George Gavalas and his colleagues welcome summer visitors from 10 am until 8 pm at the traditional Canava, where you will have the oportunity to taste the wines.
The tradition and experience from one generation to the next always emphasizes in high quality wines.
History:
The Gavalas family has been exclusively engaged in the vinification of the indigenous varieties grown in Santorini, since the end of the 19th century. Up until the 1920s the family produced wines from grapes grown in their privately-owned vineyards and vinted in their winery (canava) in Megalochori.
This production was mainly distributed to customers throughout the island of Santorini as well as being exported to the city of Alexandria, in Egypt. Later on in the 1930s they started shipping the wine to Athens and Piraeus. The shipping procedure could be well described as an adventure. From Canaves, mule - drivers loaded the goat-skins, filled with wine on to their mules, and carried them to the port of Fira, where they were transferred into barrels of 600 kgs (called bombs).
Then the barrels were loaded on to small boats (caiques) and were shipped to Athens. After the end of the 2nd World War and for the following 30 years, most of the Brusco wine was sold to the Kaloyannis distillery, where it was distilled into brandy and a lesser quantity was supplied to the Koniordos family and a number of taverns. In contrast, the Vinsanto wine was obtained by the churches and monasteries for Sacramental use.
In 1973 the Gavalas family established its own wine store in Athens which handled exclusively the sales and distribution, throughout Greece, of the main wines of Santorini: Nyhteri, Brusco, Mezzo, Mandilaria and Vinsanto.
At the beginning of the 1980s, when the Boutaris company established its own winery in the island, the Gavalas family became the sole supplier of Vinsanto wine to Boutaris for a period of 6 years. For the first time in 1998 the Gavalas family bottled their own production of Vinsanto at their small, but modern winery (canava) in Megalochori.
Following the long-standing tradition and experience of three centuries, the Gavalas family has been carrying out the vinification of the islands indigenous varieties aiming to introduce wines of superior quality and unique characteristics for the international market place.
It is to be hoped that you will also become a devotee of the wines produced by the Gavalas family.