Back on the Road Again!

Back on the road again and this time we decided to go down to Skala. We drove through Lourdata as we needed fuel for the Quad Bike. We had many questions, what fuel, we knew it was Unleaded, but would there be a choice? How much would it be? And do we serve ourselves? Well we didn't need to worry about that as the nice man spoke good english as did most of the people we met. He served us the fuel and joked, he looked in the fuel tank and said I bet it will take €15Euros. Was he right? Well €14.81

There is one major road from Argostoli to Skala, which was quite busy, not only cars, but Lorries and Buses, but it was an easy route. All I had to remember was keep my right hand near the kerb, as an Englishman I was driving / Riding on the wrong side of the road!

We got to Valerianos and there was a choice in the road, straight on or turn right towards the coast. We went right, through some small villages that were so beautiful. We got to Thiramonas and saw the signs to a winery, we had missed the chance yesterday to visit one so off we went following the signs to Melissinos Winery.   We drove through the village and turned up an un-made road and found a carpark. There were three people there, who told us the Winery was closed. We must have looked so disappointed that after a quick conversation in Greek, there decided take us for a quick tour.

I believe the man was referred to as Nikos told us about their wines. He told us they make small quantities of high quality wine, one of the Red wines was so dark he told us, it was called Mavro. Oh Black! said Cheryl; how do you know the greek word for black. She told him that I speak a little greek and we have named our Black Cat Mavro because he is very black.

He took us through a gate to an old house. He told us the family had been producing wines here for many years. He showed us around the outside of the house and told us how they collect the grapes.

He told us the reason the Winery was closed was because the family had gone to London to exhibit their wines.

Old Barrels at Melissinos WineryOld Barrels at Melissinos Winery Melissinos WineryMelissinos Winery He then went into the building and came back with a bottle of MAVRO wine and presented it to us. We were over joyed, we think it was because of our comment about our cat being called Mavro.

Orange Trees at Melissinos WineryOrange Trees at Melissinos Winery

Around the house were trees full of oranges and lemons, Cheryl asked about them, he said pick what you want. I must say I have never tasted oranges so sweet. The lemon we sliced up and put in our water bottles the next day.

Melissinos WineryMelissinos Winery
 

And then it came time for our Good Byes, such lovely friendly people, Thank you so much.
 

Update: We are now back in the UK, so here is a picture of our Cat Mavro with a bottle of his Marvo wine.

Mavro the CatMavro the Cat

Mavro Wine from Melissinos Winery, KefaloniaMavro Wine from Melissinos Winery, Kefalonia

Mavro Wine from Melissinos Winery, KefaloniaMavro Wine from Melissinos Winery, Kefalonia

Credits:

Photography by:

Paul Taylor of Images Beyond Words

Blog words by:  

www.taylortrip.co.uk

Wine from:         

What the Greek Wine Insider said about the Melissinos Winery:

"The winery is engaged in the production of high quality wines, in a limited number of bottles. Our aim is to highlight the valuable and rare local varieties of Kefalonia and the economic and cultural development of the region."

www.greekwineinsider.com

What decanter said about Melissinos Winery:

"Pay a visit to the Melissinos-Petrakopoulos Winery in Thiramonas. This artisanal winery set up by entrepreneur Nikos Petrakopoulos aims to produce terroir-driven wines, with a production of not more than 25,000 bottles. A fascinating range of three Robolas and two Mavrodaphnes showcases the complete array of flavours and textures these varieties can create. The complex pre-phylloxera Mavrodaphne is particularly worth tasting."

www.decanter.com