Mercouri Estate - Olympic Legacy

The Mercouri family has made wine near Olympia since 1860. Their estate cultivates Refosco (brought from Italy) alongside indigenous varieties. The historic cellars and museum show six generations of winemaking, while tastings include rare Mavrodaphne sweet wine. The connection to ancient Olympia is palpable - these hills grew vines during the original games.

What to do there

4 things to do

1. 1 Taste the Grape That a Family Renamed After Themselves Wine · Price: low

   The Refosco story - one of the first Italian varieties planted in Greece, and then renamed

   In 1864, Theodoros Mercouri brought Refosco cuttings from northern Italy and planted them in Ilia. They thrived so completely that within a generation, local farmers were calling Refosco 'the Mercouri' - one family's import reshaped the regional grape vocabulary. At the Mercouri Estate tasting room (€10/person covers 30-minute tour plus tasting, book 24 hours ahead at +30 26210 41601, 09:00-15:00 daily except Sunday), ask to taste the Cava Red - 80% Refosco, 20% Mavrodaphne. This flagship blend proves the Italian immigrant grape works alongside native Greek varieties, transforming into something the Veneto never produced.

   Backup: If the Cava Red isn't available, request any wine with Refosco. Even the basic Estate Red uses the grape. The story is in every bottle.

   Log Memory
2. 2 Find the Indigenous Grape Nobody Outside Greece Has Heard Of Wine · Price: low

   Avgoustiatis - bright purple, 2,000-year-old variety, found almost nowhere else

   Avgoustiatis is a grape so local it barely exists outside the Peloponnese - bright purple, aromas of red fruits with cocoa, walnut, and sour cherry. This variety was growing in Ilia when athletes competed at Olympia 2,500 meters away. At the tasting table, request the Avgoustiatis single-varietal or 'Antares' blend (60% Avgoustiatis, 40% Mourvedre). Hold it to the window - the color is unusually deep and purple for a Peloponnese red. The cocoa and walnut notes are distinctive. Ask: 'How many estates still grow Avgoustiatis?' The answer is very few - you're drinking something genuinely rare that the Mercouri family preserved when others planted Cabernet Sauvignon.

   Backup: If Avgoustiatis single-varietal is sold out, the Antares blend is the next best showcase. The Mourvedre softens the Avgoustiatis while keeping its character intact.

   Log Memory
3. 3 Walk Into the 1930 Underground Cellars History · Price: low

   The 300-tonne underground cave built by Leonidas Mercouri - unchanged since 1960

   Leonidas Mercouri built these underground cellars in 1930 to hold 300 tonnes of wine - staggering capacity for a single family estate in 1930 Greece. During the tour, when you descend into the subterranean storage, let your eyes adjust to the temperature drop. These cellars were engineered before refrigeration to maintain the precise cool Refosco needs for long aging. Touch the limestone walls if allowed - this construction kept wines stable across the 1930s, 1940s occupation, 1950s. Six generations of Mercouris stored their wines here, planned exports for European markets when Greece was barely on wine maps.

   Backup: If the cellars are temporarily inaccessible, the estate museum above ground covers the full 160-year family history with photographs and artifacts from the underground period.

   Log Memory
4. 4 Taste the Olive Oil That Predates the Wine Wine · Free · Optional

   The estate-produced EVOO served alongside the tasting - older tradition than winemaking

   The Mercouri family has produced olive oil from the same Ilia groves continuously since 1864 - longer than their wine tradition, since olives have been cultivated here since antiquity. At Ancient Olympia, victory wreaths were cut from sacred olive trees. At the tasting table (extra virgin olive oil included in the €10 tour), taste the Koroneiki EVOO without bread first - notably grassy and peppery at the finish. Ask the guide: 'Which came first on this estate - wine or olive oil?' The answer tells you everything about the land's character that sits on the same soil where every amphora of oil in the ancient world carried symbolic weight.

   Backup: If olive oil tasting isn't offered on your specific tour, ask directly - the estate produces it and staff can usually provide a small taste. It is worth asking.

   Log Memory

Insider tips

• The museum shows 160 years of family winemaking

• Try the Foloi white - unexpected in this region

• Ask about their WWII resistance history

• Sunset tastings available in summer