Tselepos Estate

Yiannis and Amalia Tselepos when looking for a suitable location, they chose the earthen hills on the outskirts of the historic Mount Parnonas to plant their vineyards and founded Ktima Tselepos in 1989. The estate is located at the southeastern end of the Mantinian plateau, at an altitude of 750 meters.

Yiannis Tselepos graduated from the Department of Oenology at the University of Dijon, France, and after having gained experience for two years in wineries of Burgundy, he settled in 1981 in Mantinia, the wine of which he has been producing since then. Enchanted by Moschofilero after the variety’s first vinifaction, he is the first of the younger generations of winemakers to rescue it from oblivion and putting it back on the map by presenting it in a mono-varietal way. The exceptional soil and climate of the region, characterized mainly by continental climate, poor claystone soils and the excellent sun exposure, were chosen for their ability to produce high quality wines. The main philosophy of the estate is to study, experiment and display all the potential of the Moschofilero variety, in order to establish its presence in the greek and international market. Today, Ktima Tselepos extends in 45 hectares of privately owned vineyards and 20 hectares of cooperating producers. Great attention is given to the grape-growing practices and to the management of terroir so that the variety delivers its best expression. The first label, Mantinia (Protected Designation of Origin), was released in 1990 and a few years later wines from international renowned varieties namely Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot followed. The volume of production of the winery has been increasing gradually, with the current production reaching the 450,000 bottles a year, allowing for the 40% of production to be exported, mainly to USA, Canada, China, Germany, Cyprus, Belgium and United Kingdom.

The activity of Tselepos Estate has been expanded to two more wineries. Ιn 2003 Yiannis Tselepos bought a 10-hectare vineyard of 50 years-old vines in the area of Koutsi Nemea, at an altitude of 380 meters which was named Ktima Driopi. This region was chosen for its ability to produce wines of high quality and long aging potential from the variety “Agiorgitiko”. Wines characterized by intense color, fruit, velvety flavor and high levels of polyphenols and tannins. Since 2013, there has been operating the new winery “Canava Chrissou–Tselepos” which is the child of the cooperation between Yannis Tselepos and the Chrissou family from Santorini.The driving force behind this venture was Yiannis Tselepos’ endless search for new challenges regarding his wine-making activity and the vision of the Chrissou family to revive the old Canava and utilize its privately owned vineyards, 12 hectares, in Pyrgos, Emporio and Megalohori.

After thirty creative years, the second generation of Ktima Tselepos is ready to take over the reins and lead the company into it into the new era. Highly educated and well-trained, but mainly characterized by passion and fresh mind, combined with the valuable experience and guidance of their mentors, they promise to further improve the quality of Ktima Tselepos wines and fulfill the vision of their predecessors.