Cephalonia

Mountainous Cephalonia is the sixth largest island in Greece. It is situated opposite Ithaca, the homeland of Odysseus, and north of the island of Zakynthos in the Ionian Sea.

It is considered the most important of the Ionian islands in terms of wine production and is covered by 792ha of vineyards.

A characteristic aspect of the terroir is its fragmentation into small isolated plots which leads to a huge variation in the style of wines.

Cephalonia shows a unique diversity with more than forty indigenous grape varieties. Many were imported from the rest of the Ionian Islands, mainland Greece and countries like France and Italy. The latter had a great influence on the island due to the Venetian occupation.

The main grape variety on the island is “Robola”. When cultivated on the slopes of Mount Aenos, rich in limestone but poor in organic matter, Robola shows a refined elegance. This is why the Venetians called it “vino di sasso” (wine from the stone).

The most significant event in recent history was the earthquake of 1953 which had a major impact on the local community.