Just a leisurely drive over the hills of the historic town of Corfu lies one of the island’s most captivating wineries, complete with a divine local restaurant, gastronomy shop, verdant landscapes and a healthy dose of Ionian culture.
A must for every visitor to Corfu, Ambelonas (which means vineyard in Greek) will enchant you with its homemade wine and Corfiot cuisine. To begin with, the wine has been produced for 4 centuries by the family in a traditional manner and aged in oak barrels. It remains free of any additives or preservatives and exploits local grown grapes (Skopelitiko and Kakotrigis), which add a robust body enriched by Corfu’s rainy winters and sunny summers.
Fine food for wonderful wine
Every good wine needs an excellent meal, and Ambelonas will certainly not disappoint in this respect. Local fruits and vegetables in season mix with free-range poultry and meat, delicious cheeses from the island, herbs from nearby hills and extra virgin olive oil. By popular demand, Ambelonas’ owner and manager, Mrs. Vasiliki Karounou, published an impressive cookbook based on traditional local recipes that bring back the cooking secrets and flavors of previous generations on the island.
Surrounding all this love for gastronomic excellence is Ambelonas’ pledge to respect the environment by cultivating local produce, using local products and recycling waste. Preservation of tradition and environment can also be seen through the museum-like exhibition on the premises which showcases traditional equipment and machinery once used to produce olive oil and wine. An engaging video presentation unravels these old traditions and takes you back to a time when everything was – and will always remain – natural in this little corner of Corfu.
A myriad of activities around the estate
Drop by the little shop on the premises to take a piece of Corfu back home with you or to enjoy local products while you’re still there. You’ll love the Acordo range of products, whose name still boasts Corfu’s flirtatious past with nearby Italy.
What completes the experience at Ambelonas are the variety of activities, workshops and events, from folklore dances and cooking workshops to creative activities for children. If you like cooking you’ll love the traditional hands-on cooking class and authentic dishes.
Lastly, highly recommended is a private educational tour outlining our estate’s history, traditional practices that highlights wild local flora, the island’s products and rich culinary culture. This is one place you should definitely put on your map when you go to Corfu.