Conversations with Dominik Brun - Giannikos Winery
Last year, we made the decision to expand our Greek products and included wine as part of our catalogue. Our wine producer, Giannikos Winery, owns 8 hectares of vine in Corinth and another in Mycenae, a famous archaeological site and birthplace of Greek viticulture almost 4,000 years ago.
With their focus on single varietal wines, they were able to showcase the greatness of the indigenous Greek varieties and the high-quality wines that Greece can produce using international grapes. Today, Giannikos Winery is considered one of the leading organic wineries in Greece.
We find out more about their life on the winery from Dominik Brun, Sales & Marketing Manager of Giannikos Winery.
Q: Tell me more about your brand/what you do
A: We are a family winery, based in Corinth on the Peloponnese in Greece. We produce organic certified wines from Greek and international grape varieties. We have planted three Greek varieties, Roditis, Agiorgitiko - an ancient variety exclusive to Nemea, and Malagouzia. For the international varieties, we have Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah, Chardonnay and Viognier, which were selected from the best French nurseries.
All our wines are single varietal wines and have been awarded at several international wine competitions.
Q: What does your day-to-day work life look like?
A: Day-to-day work depends on the season of the year, as we are working with nature. The cycle starts with pruning of the vines in wintertime, in spring when the vines wake up we tend to them until it is time to harvest in August to October, that’s when we make wines. Some of them will be ready at the end of the year, while others go into the barrels to age.
In between we do other works such as exhibitions, exports, sales, events, marketing and others around the winery.
Q: Do you have your favourite product from your brand & how do you consume it?
A: We love all our wines and our favourite varies on what we are having our wine with. If we are out having seafood in our go-to tavern in Corinth, we love to pair fresh fish with our Roditis. When the day is hot, we have something aromatic such as our rosé wine made from Agiorgitiko. And in autumn when it gets chilly, we have our Trojan Horse, made of 100% Syrah variety, with some meat on a grill.
Q: What is your favourite place in Greece
A: At our vineyard in Mycenae, you can see the Argolian valley until the sea. There is a small pine forest that provides shade. It is a beautiful place.
Q: What is one food that you’ll recommend to someone visiting Greece?
A: Definitely seafood. Other than fishes, we also have mussels and crustaceans. We are also famous for our vegetables that are full of aromas from the sun and the ground that they grow in. One of my favourite foods is grilled lamb chops.