On the foothills around the mountain of Profitis Elias (726m), in the center of the Cycladic island of Paros, one finds most of the island’s vines. Most of them are old and self-rooted since the pest of phylloxera never spread despite its appearance. The entire island belongs to the PDO Paros (ΠΟΠ Πάρος) zone (est.1981), which produces both white and red wines. However, as Paros is a very popular tourism destination, construction development and the changes in the occupational profile of the island have had a significant limiting impact on viticulture.

Monemvassia is Paros’s white grape variety. Its name alone connotes its origin and corroborates the role the island played in having the variety spread throughout the Aegean. Equally important was the island’s role in promoting “malvasias oenos” which was the most popular Greek wine during the time of Venetian rule. PDO Paros red is the only PDO wine whose composition includes a white grape variety: That is the Parian way of taming the tempestuous characteristics of the Mandilaria variety, which is also present in the PDO Archanes, PDO Peza and PDO Rhodos wines.

Varieties

For the white wine: Monemvassia 100%.
For the red wine: Mandilaria (at least 35%), Monemvassia .

Wine types

• Dry white
• Dry red