Wine Enthusiast – October 2019

WINEMAG.COM | 101

View of Meteora from
above the Monastery
of Moni Agias Varvaras
Roussanou

Ts i l i l i s

Meteora, Thessaly

Meteora’s surreal landscape, with its massive

columns of natural rock jutting thousands of feet

from the Plain of Thessaly, is just one of its many

appeals. Eastern Orthodox monks began settling

here around the 11th century, building precipitous

dwellings on nearly impassable land; today, visitors

can still amble up the thousands of steps to tour

the six remaining UNESCO World Heritage monas-

teries that cling to Meteora’s cliffs. Wine has been

made in the region for thousands of years, but for

modern wine drinkers, organic producer Tsililis in the

Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) appellation

of Meteora is growing a wide range of varieties in the

hills among the Meteora and Theopetra rock forma-

tions. The winery’s vineyards range in elevation from

918–1,100 feet, with 10–30% inclinations. Everything

from ancient variety Limniona to Malagousia to

Xinomavro benefi ts from long sunny days and cool

mountain nights, says Chief Enologist and Master

Distiller Ioanna Tsilili. Drought, low yields, shallow

soil and rocky subsoil are just some of her obstacles,

but Tsilili says that the battle is precisely what gives

her wines their verve and concentrated character.

The family’s fi rst vineyards were planted in 1996, but

Tsililis has been making Tsipouro, an alembic distil-

late native to Thessaly, since the 1940s.