102 | WINE ENTHUSIAST | OCTOBER 2019
Tsantali Vineyards & Wineries
Mount Olympus, Thessaly
Whether or not you believe the tales of ancient gods living and concocting mischievous plots against their human counterparts
here, one story is for certain: The first mention of wine being made on Mount Olympus was written in 300 B.C. The Tsantali
family has been investing in and planting grapes on the impossibly picturesque slopes of the Rapsani Protected Designation of
Origin (PDO) since the 1980s, and has gained an international reputation for its Rapsani reds (a blend of equal parts Xinomavro,
Krassato and Stavroto, the latter two of which are only grown in this designation). Flanked by forest, shrub land and rivers, vines
in their small plots date up to 35 years and, with some locations clocking in at 2,625 feet, offer the dramatic conditions that add
to the vibrancy and uniqueness of the wines. Slopes range from 2–20% inclines, and temperatures swing dramatically both
during the day and between day and night, sometimes by almost 30 ̊F. Those conditions require expert maintenance, led by
Dr. George Salpingidis, the head of Tsantali’s viticulture department. The family is widely credited for reviving the region, which
was almost abandoned in the early 1990s, via education on vine growing for local farmers. Today, Tsantali wines offer robust but
mineral-driven elegance for collectors of truly one-of-a-kind and ageworthy selections.Tsantali vines on
Mount Olympus
in Rapsani