It was an open invitation. We often stalled our visit s since daily pressure in Athens makes you sometimes to not even want to move a finger over the weekend. However on the first Saturday of March we overcame our procrastination having the weather on our side since it was a beautiful sunny day. 

As the winery is so close to the National road, we did not even understand how quickly we got there. The winery has a beautiful and impressive structure adapted to the surrounding environment although it seemed as a costly affair, as Thanos lately confirmed. There we met our host, Thanos Dougos, who whilst waiting to meet us was busy in the basement but appeared almost immediately when I shouted out loud that I will take all the Magnum bottles and leave! 

 

I will not go into details regarding our tour nor the wine production process as you've probably read about them many times but we were very impressed by the general cleanliness and of course, like in most of the wineries, by the basement with the wines ageing in the barrels and the dusty bottles resting for one or two decades. We are of course talking about a small winery, where love and care are shown in the final products, starting from the fresh wines (white and rose) to the white wine that passes from the barrels to the two PDO Rapsani labels, the varietal Meth'ymon 7 and the top Meth'ymon Opsimo and Trigono (Mavrotragano). The latter makes us suspect that there is a serious chance that a big Mavrotragano might eventually emerge in northern Greece.



We tasted everything, maybe a little faster than we should have, but he had already plans for us on spending the evening in Larissa. Once we selected our dinner wines we were on our way. Sadly we did not get the chance to meet Thanos' sister Louisa, who is the oenologist at the family winery and consequently has a huge share in wines’ quality. This same weekend she had to be in Thessaloniki as a judge for the Thessaloniki International Wine & Spirits Competition.

Our night in Larissa  was wonderful with excellent wines and unique company. Evripides Katsaros joined us, making our evening even better and setting out a new revisit goal. Regarding the wines, I was impressed by Methystanes 2007 that was at its best, but also vintage 1997 that despite the 20 years on its 'back' it brought out unbelievable aromas of olives and sun-dried tomato. Finally, I should mention what made this experience an unforgettable one: 

 

  • The level of hospitality reminded us once more the meaning of the word that has nothing to do with quantitative measures but rather on how much heart and passion someone shares.
  • Dougos winery wines are truly high quality ones and it is not just us that say so but many reputed wine critics (Robert Parker, Jancis Robinson, etc.). Try them!
  • I will say some words about Klimax, an all-day entertainment place that I would also call cultural place created by hard work and passion of two close friends. Their wine list is beyond imagination! In a slightly different wavelength, Vosporos is a wonderful restaurant that could successfully stand at any Greek city. Their emphasis on the wine list is as well beyond expectation.  

 

    We would like to thank Thanos Dougos for the experience and to encourage you to visit Dougos winery or other wineries in general as often as you can. 

     

    They have so much to offer as creative and cultural places, but it is where you can offer your feedback to producers, show your appreciation and give your comments.