Methymnaeos

In the beginning of the 1980s, the Lambrou family discovered the last remaining vines of the traditional red grape of Lesvos in the surroundings of a forgotten village of the island called Chidira. The grape, named after the village Chidiriotiko, was replanted in 1985 by the Lambrous in their private estate, situated near Chidira inside the crater of the extinct volcano which, millennia ago, had created the Petrified Forest of Lesvos. In 1997 the Lambrou family completed construction of Methymneos Winery, located, too in Chidira. The first bottles of Methymneos Organic Wine came out of the winery's production line in 1999. This wine, of the harvest of 1997, was the first bottled wine in the history of Lesvos. Nowdays the Lambrous do not only process the grapes of their own vineyard at Methymneos winery, but also the produce of other farmers in the area of Chidira, who, following the steps of the Lambrou family, have decided to replant and recultivate the Chidiriotiko grape. Production is steadily increasing, as the people of the village are still continuously replanting. All vines are organically grown on the lava of the volcano which formed the Petrified Forest of Lesvos. Because of the volcano, the soil where the vines are grown contains considerable amounts of sulfur and copper sulfate which act as natural protection against plant disease, thus favoring organic farming. This soil also gives Methymneos Wines an elegant minerality.