Konstantinos Manouras recommends… Theros and connects wine with love, summer and harvest. A Wine Collectiva in Crete worth delving into…
Theros is a vision that has compiled a series of wines that highlight the Cretan vineyard and its special native varieties, in such a way that it will go beyond the limits of “formality”. After several years of experimental vinification and viticultural methods, 2021 was the final year that the project took shape producing its very first label.
A wine “calendar” worth delving into…
Plyto and Thrapsathiri varieties originate from a mountain vineyard at 680 meters at the PGE Pezon Heraklion wine-growing zone from auto-rooted climates, which were rescued and resurrected thanks to the assistance of our experienced winegrowers.
Two small dry vineyards from the same vineyard, capable of producing 2.5 tons of fruit each, generated our first label: Theros White Plyto-Thrapsathiri in just 2414 bottles. A co-vinification using native yeasts (mainly candida cerevisiae) in a stainless tank and a small part in a concrete egg, long stay on a certain number of fine lees and sufficient batonage to develop the potential of the varieties as well as add up the width of their capabilities.
In addition, there was a conscious choice to release the 2021 vintage in 2023, in order to be gently matured in bottle and express its botanical and savory character, which is developed after a year and a half when aging in bottle.At the first vintage in 2021, red wine was also vinified, by a single variety Mandilari from a nearby mountain vineyard with our white.
This wine was vinified in a closed stainless steel tank, using native yeasts with mild extraction and long fermentation. Most of it remained in the tank with a certain number of fine lees and a part went into 7 barrels of various types, burns and volume, so that in 2023 we can evaluate and choose a blend between tank and barrels. The exact time that will be officially launched to the market is not yet known to us.
In 2022, people at Theros, after considerable efforts came to an agreement with an excellent wine grower from the DAFNES PDO zone with the aim of vinifying the first Rosé label, from the Liatiko variety. The use of native yeasts and extraction of a few hours at low temperatures and in a closed tank was selected once more to create an anaerobic environment. The stay on lees was limited this time and selective filtering was processed so as not to lose body and structure in such an elegant wine. The rosé wine was produced in only 2016 bottles and released at the market in April 2023.
Katerina Karsioti: Theros.. A Wine Collective in Crete! When did the project begun and how did passion for wine come emerge?
Konstantinos Manouras: Theros Wines Collectiva was an idea that was conceived about a decade ago and came to fruition in 2021, which also occurred to be our very first vintage. Born and raised in Crete, I had many experiences during my childhood helping my grandfather, who was a tireless vintner, and thus the first piece of the puzzle that connected me to the Cretan vineyard was put in place.
Later on, growing up, although I had a varied journey with wine, the need to return to nature and wine arose. A bottle of “Plyto” that fell into my hands, from a great viticulturist and pioneer winemaker, Manolis Lyrarakis, also played an important role at this stage. This rare variety and its characteristics marked me so deeply that I realized almost immediately how this puzzle of experiences could be completed within me.
Katerina Karsioti: As a winemaker, do you indulge exclusively in indigenous varieties?
Konstantinos Manouras: I vindicate exclusively Cretan varieties. I believe that our indigenous varieties open up a new dimension to the world markets, which seem to have an increasing preference for our wines. At the same time, these varieties also respond to the problem of climate change and by extension to the future of the Cretan vineyard, as due to their adaptability, will withstand the rise in temperature.
Katerina Karsioti: You are one of the few winemakers who have invested in Plyto variety, an ancient Minoan variety… What is its potential, how does its future unfold?
Konstantinos Manouras: Plyto was in Crete one of the dominant plantings in previous decades at the regions of Heraklion and Sitia, but the accession of other varieties, mainly foreign ones, which, however, brought greater profits to the winegrowers, combined with the difficulty of production , being a difficult variety, brought it to the brink of extinction.
Nowadays, there are quite a few plantings, measuring only 20-30 hectares, ranking it among the extremely rare varieties of the world. However, I find that there is an upward trend in plantings of Plyto variety, which is extremely encouraging for me and other winemakers involved with this variety.
Katerina Karsioti: Why Th{eros}, what is the brand’s philosophy and how many labels do you “count” so far?
Konstantinos Manouras: Theros is a love story that lives within us. Summer and love. They are two words that meet in the same neighborhood and have a common denominator, human.
This is the brand’s philosophy behind Theros , connecting wine with love, summer and harvest. Th{eros} has Crete as a point of reference and highlights the dynamics of this island with thousands of years of viticultural history. My efforts are focused on capturing the special terrain of Crete in the glass and the path of the grape, 365 days under the sun.
So far, I produce two labels, our white, which is a co-vinification of Plyto and Thrapsathiri and our Rosé, which is 100% Liatiko. This year, I am fortunate and quite content to have secured some excellent vineyards and I will try to create two more labels, one white from Vidiano with Plyto and another white from 100% Assyrtiko.
Katerina Karsioti: What about the synthesis of the harvest… present year in Crete?
Konstantinos Manouras: Harvesting each year is a difficult equation. We have witnessed years like 2022 where everything was going very well and a few days prior to the harvest heavy rains destroyed a significant part of the production. So this year as well, although present year was performing well until May, rains started and favored the development of downy mildew and shortly after the arrival of summer, in July and August high temperatures resulted in causing heavy burns to the grapes. I personally believe that, in general, we can isolate most problems in bad years, as long as we aim to vine prevention.
Katerina Karsioti: Based on your knowhow, what are the varieties of the Cretan vineyard that have come to the fore in recent years and will continue to do so ?
Konstantinos Manouras: I am of the opinion that there is hardly any single Cretan variety, with strong potential, on the grounds that all our varieties, if we look at each one individually, acquire special characteristics. I believe that with hard work at the vineyards, with improved vilifications and with clearly targeted efforts, all our varieties will find their way to the markets.
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