Two pioneers, one plateau: the founding story of Alpha Estate
When Makis Mavridis and Angelos Iatridis chose the Amyndeon high plateau in northwestern Greece as the location for their joint winery in 1997, the region was little more than a footnote in the Greek wine trade. Mavridis, an experienced winegrower, had spent years acquiring plots on the plateau and held onto the idea of a contiguous, exclusively estate-owned vineyard. Iatridis, a trained chemist and oenologist with experience from Bordeaux and consulting work throughout Greece, was captivated by Amyndeon — by the altitude, the continental climate, and the barren sandy soil. Together, they founded a winery that set new standards for northern Greek wine.
Today, the daughters of the two founders are continuing the project: Angeliki Iatridou and Emorfili Mavridou are carrying the work of the second generation into the future — with their own aspirations, but in close cooperation with their fathers and the entire winery team.
220 hectares of estate-owned land, no herbicides, gravity in the cellar
The heart of Alpha Estate is 220 hectares of fully estate-owned vineyards at an altitude of 620 to 710 meters — a rarity in Greece that allows for complete control over every vintage. The soils are sandy-loam, nutrient-poor, and drain quickly; the limestone subsoil, which bears sediment traces of former lakes, gives the wines their mineral basic structure. Two neighboring crater lakes mitigate temperature extremes, and the wide day-night temperature difference ensures slow, even ripening.
In the vineyard, work is carried out exclusively according to sustainable principles: no herbicides, cover cropping in the rows, and block-by-block treatment depending on soil and variety. All vineyards are certified as sustainable according to EU standards AGRO 2-1 and AGRO 2-2; individual plots are in the process of converting to organic farming. The cellar was consistently aligned with the vineyard: the winery is located in the middle of the vineyard, the grapes are cooled and delivered in the shortest possible time window, and aging takes place in an underground barrique cellar. All Alpha Estate wines are also vegan certified.
Xinomavro, Malagousia, and the potential of the cool north
Amyndeon is Greece's coolest wine-growing region and the only one with a clearly continental climate — and that is exactly what shapes the style of Alpha Estate: wines with lively acidity, finesse, and aromatic precision instead of Mediterranean heaviness. The range focuses on indigenous Greek grape varieties: Xinomavro, the great red variety of the north, shows itself here in various expressions — including single-vineyard bottlings like the Hedgehog, which grows at an altitude of 690 meters with a northern exposure on sand-clay over limestone and impresses with bright acidity, fine tannins, and cool minerality after aging on the lees and in Allier oak. Malagousia, Greece's aromatic and spicy white variety, finds a freshness on the Amyndeon plateau that would be hard to achieve in warmer regions. In addition, there are international varieties such as Syrah, Merlot, and Sauvignon Blanc, as well as cuvées that combine both wine worlds. What holds the line together: artisanal precision, harvest timing based on manual labor, and a clearly readable terroir profile in every wine.
