Alpha Estate Malagouzia Wit

ALPHA ESTATE is located in northwestern Greece, near the border with North Macedonia (SKOPJE). The winery was founded in 1997 by winemakers and friends Makis Mavridis and Angelos Iatridis. The region falls under the FLORINA appellation and is particularly known for its dark, heavy wines made from the Xinomavro grape (the emphasis is on NO). 'Xino' means sour and 'Mavro' black. The Xinomavro grape is a clone of Nebbiolo and is also related to Pinot Noir. This is not surprising, as the Florina region is on the same latitude as Burgundy and Piedmont.

Alpha Estate, along with Domaine Gerovassiliou, is a pioneer in the new Greek wine culture. Where previously the goal was to grow as many grapes as possible to produce a large quantity of mediocre wine, Alpha began pruning and pursuing low yields. Initially, everyone in Greece thought they were crazy, but when international success quickly followed, they were vindicated.

Alpha Estate soon earned the designation Grand Cru of Greece from Marc Squires, the right-hand man of Robert Parker. Today, all Alpha wines score 90 points or more, an achievement given to only a few wineries in the world. Other well-known wine experts like Jancis Robinson and James Suckling are also very positive.

At Alpha Estate, there are no romantic, dusty wine cellars; everything is done scientifically. They have their own weather station, underground irrigation, and use drones to manage everything in detail.