Vladis Slavos
KEFALONIA
The vineyards of Greece benefit from a remarkable heritage of old autochthonous grape varieties, sometimes in very old pre-phylloxera vines, to which a handful of winegrowers in search of authenticity have devoted their life's work. This is the case of Vladis Sclavos, on the island of Kefalonia: white or red, the wines are admirable in character and naturalness.
A neighbor of Ithaca dear to Ulysses, the island of Kefalonia is located in the Ionian Sea, opposite the Gulf of Patras, to the west of mainland Greece. Mountainous with limestone soils, it bears an old tradition of viticulture and grape varieties to which Vladis Sclavos remains totally loyal. After studying agricultural engineering, at the end of the 1990s he took over the family vines located near Lixouri and plots on the slopes of Mount Ainos. The estate is now made up of 6 hectares of vines plus a few plots for rent: he cultivates there in a very natural way – no weedkillers, no pesticides –, in biodynamics, the traditional grape varieties of Cephalonia: Robola, Vostilidi, Muscat for the whites, Mavrodaphne for the reds. The vinifications, without inputs, produce pure and frank wines, marked by the singularity and the striking minerality of the terroir.