The gravity of owning your own "grapes" (vineyards) - Ampeloeis Winery | Buy European Wine Online
We have all heard the old adage, "Do not rent; buy your own property" from our parents or financial advisors. Well, that is not our expertise and we are not here to judge one way or the other. We leave those personal decisions to you and yours.
However, when it comes to wines, we have learned a thing or two from those erudite and those "Aristotelian" persons residing on the other side of the pond when it comes to the importance of having "control" of your grapes.
THE GRAVITY OF CONTROL
No one (well, at least no one we know) likes being controlled and far be it from us to control anyone. However, when it comes to controlling all of the processes involving the viticulture process, CONTROL is KING!
The rhetorical question is WHY?
Why do you need control in this wine making process?
Well there are certain things you cannot control (i.e. mother nature) so a common thread with these established wineries and winemakers is having control of what they can control. If you cannot access your own winery or you are in some nasty landlord-tenant battle (seems to be the tune of the moment with these moratoriums on evictions and residents here in Ontario struggling to pay rent), you will have lost valuable time. Put another way, the time is invaluable. If it is lost, your required attention may have been permanently lost!
THE WINEMAKING PROCESS
So "we can see clearly now that that the rain is gone" and so we all have a better understanding of the winemaking process, there are six basic steps (more depending of the sophistication of the winery and expert oenologists:
- DESTEMMING & CRUSHING;
- PRIMARY FERMENTATION;
- PUNCHING;
- PRESSING AND SECONDARY FERMENTATION;
- CLEARING AND RACKING; and
- BOTTLING THE WINE.
OUR MANDATE
We have made it a core philosophy of ours at Victory that we hand-pick (pardon the pun) those wineries to partner with a long-term basis that have ultimate control of the winery and winemaker. We certainly appreciate the buying a winery requires immense capital and not everyone has Jeff Bezos' bank account so we focus on those wineries that have ultimate control of their grapes. Money does not grow on trees but grapes do (well....vines)!
At the end of the day (literally and figuratively), the wine you imbibe must be enjoyed! If one of the above steps or substeps is missed, for whatever reason, we all lose. No one likes to lose!
FROM THE GROUND UP
We work from the ground up! We hustle and travel on our feet and in the air (time, weather and viruses permitting) to the various international wine fairs, festivals and expos!
With that segue, we highlight Ampeloeis winery that has ultimate control. Just sip in that beautiful image of the "main headquarters" on the vineyard! It is a stunning place opitcally but the inner machinations and sophistication of their meticulously controlled vinification (fancy word for winemaking) processes are to be envied!
We have been proud to partner with them for years now and now more than ever (in this unfortunate virus climate), we put a premium (as do they) on the importance of "winery and premises isolation"!
AMPELOEIS WINERY
It is a family owned winery and established in 2006! The family owns their vineyards, which allows them to maintain quality control and create prestigious, high quality wines without the use of herbicides, pesticides and fertilizers. Essentially, the winery's philosophy is simple, they do not add or remove anything, rather they allow nature to take its course. (Going with the river, working with nature and God's Plan (a little homage to Toronto's own Drake - Yeah they wishin' and wishin' and wishin' and wishin'))!
Ampeloeis Power Move - Controlling the Talent!
In order to stay true to their values, Ampeloeis hired internationally recognized French oenologist Noel Rabot, who has 40-years experience in reputable French Chateaus. In 2008, Ampeloeis unveiled three wines to the world Silver, Folia and Symfonia, which gained international acclaim.
Ampeloeis remains true to its philosophy as they continue to combine simplistic vinification ideals with rich innovation, as they were the first, in Greece, to use glass stoppers instead of cork.
We hope you enjoyed a little learning about us, Ampeloeis, the processes in wine making and shared a laugh with some of our attempts at entertainment in the suggestive process!
Now, let's share a glass from distance - wherever you are!