New from Crete: Distinctive wines from Aori

We are proud to present our newest Greek acquisition: the exceptional Aori winery from Crete. Winemaker Aimilios Andrei crafts impressive, authentic wines from ancient indigenous grape varieties on the rugged slopes of the White Mountains in Chania.

One word says it all: AORI, meaning mountain in the local Cretan dialect. This word was chosen by Aimilios Andrei for his project in the Chania district of Crete, near the White Mountain of Chania. Having only started in 2021, he is making the most exciting new wines of Greece here, with a focus on indigenous grape varieties from forgotten vineyards.

White Mountain is not the first mountain where Aimilios learned to make wine. A formative internship experience was with Commando G, pioneers in their own right in the Sierra de Gredos in Spain. There, they make Garnacha high above sea level, which turned the perception of Spanish wine on its head. Aimilios saw that where he came from, in Crete, the potential of the region had not yet been fully exploited. He found vineyards, still maintained by a local man who made a semi-sweet wine from the grapes for his own consumption. A crying shame, he thought, as these vines are well over 100 years old, pre-Phylloxera planted on French rootstock, beautiful poor slate soils, and located at a very favorable altitude of 850 meters. Wild and untamed, much like the men of Commando G once found the vineyards in Gredos.

The white wine is made from the local Muscat Spinas, a mutation of Muscat à Petit Grains found only on the island. Not a typical muscat that is floral, sweet, and soapy; no, rather an aromatic wine with salty tension and pepperiness. A Muscat that is thirst-quenching. The red wine is made from Kotsifali, also a grape that originated on the island, but was always seen more as a blending partner to give lighter notes to more powerful grapes. Precisely this profile fits Aimilios' philosophy: wine that is both light and intensely flavorful. We find the expression of this Kotsifali somewhere between Garnacha, Nebbiolo, and Pinot Noir. For us at Karakter, it is a unique find in the Greek wine world and a style that ticks all the boxes of what we look for in a wine.