References concerning the name of Thalassitis :


1.“…….by a sea flower……” (Dioscourides 5,76)

In Greek Antiquity, mixing (“krasis” in ancient Greek) wine with sea water was a very well-known practice applied to give wine therapeutic properties. The wine resulting from this process was called “Thalassitis inos” (Sea – originated Wine).

Without mixing our wine with wine sea water, we believe that the proximity of Santorini’s vineyards with the Aegean Sea is one –perhaps, the most important among factors which forms the specific tasty characteristics of this wine.

2.“Ai – Yiorgis o Thalassitis” (Saint George The Seaside Dweller). It is a small chapel located on the area of Exomytis in the Santorini Island.


THALASSITIS

Like Botticelli’s Venus, Santorini Island with its Assyrtiko grapes, rises from the sea and gives birth to THALASSITIS, a dry white wine of a remarkable character.
Assyrtiko is perhaps the only Mediterranean variety of grape to flourish under such difficult climatic conditions. From poor, porous soil formed by volcanic activity and composed largely of pumice, we harvest fully mature grapes with a relatively high acidity. Our vineyard, located on the Southeastern slopes of Episkopi is composed entirely of 70-80 year old, ungrafted vines with a dramatically low yield.
THALASSITIS is a bone-dry wine with a delicate honeysuckle aroma and a crisp finish… a white wine of a strong personality.

THALASSITIS was first released in 1994 in a limited vintage, but the continuously great demand of the wine-loving public increased steadily the production of this unique wine to higher levels.


      Technical points upon the vinification process of Thalassitis wine :

  • Selected grapes are destemed and crushed,
  • Only free-run must (from 0 to 0,2 bars) is retained for Thalassitis,
  • Must clarificatiion by gravity at the level of 100-200 NTU (approx.12h at 15°C),
  • Must inoculation by selected strains of dry active yeast,
  • Fermentation (approx. 30 days at 16 °C),
  • After fermentation wines are stored under N2/CO2 atmosphere,
  • Young wines are clarified only by bentonite,
  • Wine transvasation is limited to minimum necessary in order to preserve natural CO2,
  • Tartar precipitation is controlled by cool stabilization (-4 °C),
  • Bottling is secured through 0,45 µm membrane filters.


Analytical Standards :

  Alcohol
(% vol)
Acidity in Tartaric acid (gr/lit) Sugar (gr/lit)
Thalassitis ’01 12,50 6,80 1,20



Great Greek Wines
Steven Spurrier
May 1997

“Thalassitis 1995 (Gaia Wines S.A.) Winemaker Yannis Paraskevopoulos aims to make limited quantity, hand-crafted wines of world-class potential with a minerally, lasting finish. The finesse and polish of this style, despite 12,8 degrees of alcohol and 7 grams of acidity, make it almost desirable wine”.


Financial Times

“A century of wines in this rich harvest from the high street”
Jancis Robinson
11-12 December 1999

WHITE
Four-Star value

“Gaia Thalassitis 1998 Santorini. Truly exciting mineral-laden, nervy wine made from Assyrtiko grapes. Would be great with bold-flavored Mediterranean foods.


The Greek Wine Guide 1996

Nico Manessis

With a little more structure than the previous vintage calling in at 12,8% vol and 7 grams of acidity, new heights are reached. Platinum in color delicate honeysuckle aroma, mineral, long finish. Packed with finesse, understated, polished.


Daily Telegraph

Drink
Robert Joseph
02 May 1999

White 1997 Gaia Thalassitis has the wonderful pineappley and liquorice flavor of Assyrtiko.


“It ’s all Greek for me, please”
Richard Neill
03 July 1999

Dinner-party dash The wine to buy if you have been invited out tonight. Yanni Paraskevopoulos is going to be winning lots of wine awards in the near future. Although his winery is on the mainland, he loves Assytriko so much he jumps across to Santorini in August and makes this piercing, crisp beauty called Gaia Thalassitis 1998.


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