Θάσος (Thasos)

Styles

Principal grape varieties

Terroir

• The vine-growing zone encircles the island at elevations between 100 and 500 metres, on the slopes of the single mountain that reaches 1,100 metres.
• On the sloping terrain, terraces were formed with both tall and lower retaining walls, all of them facing the sea.
• The soil is mainly calcareous and rarely clayey, while the vineyards are surrounded by dense coniferous forest with cedars, holm oaks, walnut trees, and wild fig trees.
• Temperatures in the area never fall below −5 degrees and never exceed +30 degrees Celsius, while the flowering season always occurs at a minimum of +15 degrees.
• Annual rainfall is approximately 550 millimetres in the Sotira area, the largest vine-growing district, considerably lower in the southern part of the island, and appreciably higher in the northern part.

• The oldest legislative text found in Greece was drawn up on Thasos in 480–460 BC with the aim of protecting consumers from fraudulent profiteers, with fines for breaches of the laws on wine and vinegar inscribed on a stone stele in the agora.
• Guarantee of capacity, vintage year, and production area was achieved by stamping the fresh amphorae, on which the name of the potter, the name of the magistrate, and the word THASION were recorded.
• Phylloxera in 1957 destroyed the reconstituted vineyard of Thasos, and subsequent sporadic replanting efforts were again devastated by the major wildfires of 1985 and 1989.

• The soil, the mild maritime climate, the cool easterly winds of summer, and the extensive coniferous forest are the defining elements that characterise the grapes produced on Thasos.

Facts drawn from the specification's terroir-link section by automatic interpretation — see the source.

All appellations in Greece

Sources

• National product specification (PDF) — ypaat
• eAmbrosia register (EU) — File number PGI-GR-A0121
• Official trade body site — Wines of Greece (EDOAO)